Bronwyn Davies' first book was an ethogenic study of primary school children. Written at the beginning of the 1980s, it did what was virtually unthinkable at the time--it asked children for their own accounts of what was going on in the classroom and playground. By looking at classrooms from the point of view of the children, instead of the teachers, this book made it possible for teachers to imagine how their words and actions impacted on children's lives and on their capacity to learn. This book argues that teachers who can take children's perspectives into account will have a far greater chance of communicating their adult knowledge to the children in their classrooms.
Life in the Classroom and Playground was published by Routledge in 1989.