Book reviews [International Journal of Emotional Education, 14(1)]

Abstract

Each of the three books reviewed here is quite distinctive with no apparent common theme. Daniel M. Meier and Stephanie Sisk-Hilton, editors of Nature Education with Young Children: Integrating Inquiry and Practice, have gathered a collection of chapters by educators who have been inspired by the child-centred ideas of Piaget and Vygotsky, the classic observational work of Thoreau, and the nature preschool and forest kindergarten movements. Catherine A. Sanderson’s The Bystander Effect: The Psychology of Courage and Inaction, re-visits the impact of the social group on behaviour, with a focus on bystander apathy in the face of violence and “bad behaviour” enhanced within the anonymity of the group. Lisa Lazard, author of Sexual Harassment, Psychology and Feminism, documents change in attitudes towards sexual harassment through collective action involved in such campaigns as #MeToo and related international movements. However, if you look more carefully, there is a common theme. Each book

addresses a significant contemporary issue – threat to the natural environment, re- positioning the role of women in society, or challenging violence and anti-social

behaviour through collective upstanding. Each author demonstrates the power of a social movement to effect change and to foster sensitivity to important issues, whether by opening pre-schoolers’ eyes to the wonders of the natural world or challenging the stance of passive bystanders or questioning the sexual entitlement of powerful individuals, whether males or females.