This title offers students an overview of a range of theoretical concepts, some traditionally associated with early childhood and some less traditionally. It aims to stimulate debate and to demonstrate how theoretical thinking can inform pedagogy and research with innovative results.
Rethinking Early Childhood Education is alive with the conviction that teaching young children involves values and vision. This anthology collects inspiring stories about social justice teaching with young children. Included here is outstanding writing from childcare teachers, early-grade public school teachers, scholars, and parents.Early childhood is when we develop our core dispositions -- the habits of thinking that shape how we live. This book shows how educators can nurture empathy, an ecological consciousness, curiosity, collaboration, and activism in young children. It invites readers to rethink early childhood education, reminding them that it is inseparable from social justice and ecological education.An outstanding resource for childcare providers, early-grade teachers, as well as teacher education and staff development programs.
This book challenges received wisdom and the tendency to reduce philosophical issues of value to purely technical issues of measurement and management.
Recent decades have seen an upsurge of research with and about young children, their families and communities. The Handbook of Early Childhood Research will provide a landmark overview of the field of early childhood research and will set an agenda for early childhood research into the future. It includes 31 chapters provided by internationally recognized experts in early childhood research. The team of international contributors apply their expertise to conceptual and methodological issues in research and to relevant fields of practice and policy. The Handbook recognizes the main contexts of early childhood research: home and family contexts; out-of-home contexts such as services for young children and their families; and broader societal contexts of that evoke risk for young children. The Handbook includes sections on: the field of early childhood research and its key contributions new theories and theoretical approaches in early childhood research collecting and analysing data applications of early childhood research This Handbook will become the valuable reference text for students, practitioners and researchers from across the social sciences and beyond who are engaged in research with young children.
"This book offers a unique and critical approach to the theme of adults working in early years settings through a focus on seven key dimensions encompassed in the term 'the plural practitioner'. The discussion is strongly underpinned by a consideration of the two important principles of child centredness and social justice. The authors also draw on multiple perspectives, including the role of neuroscience and socio cultural perspectives, to consider who these early years professional are and the complexity of what they bring to their work." Linda Miller, Professor Emeritus, Early Years, The Open University, UK This essential book focuses on the adult role within early years education and care. The book introduces the concept of the 'plural practitioner', which acknowledges that the role of the adult in early years settings is complex and entails many different responsibilities. The book argues that the 'plural practitioner' can create quality early years provision by implementing child-centred and socially just practices. The idea of the 'plural practitioner' is embedded in theory and research, providing a robust rationale and framework to help early years practitioners understand of a range of theories and relate them to their work with young children. The book includes: Discussion of the seven different dimensions of the adult role - to help practitioners reflect on the multiple and complex ways in which they work with young children including: The Critical Reflector, The Carer, The Communicator, The Facilitator, The Observer, The Assessor and The Creator Key questions at the end of each chapter to stimulate further reflection and reading Case study examples of real practitioner experiences The Role of the Adult in Early Years Settings will appeal to all students and practitioners either planning to or currently working in early years settings and aiming to develop their practice.
The characteristics of effective learning – playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically – underpin young children’s learning and development and are central to the revised Early Years Foundation Stage. Practitioners need to be confident of planning, observing and assessing characteristics of effective learners and understand how they support children’s learning and development. The book explores what the characteristics of effective learning look like and how practitioners can create opportunities for children to express them. It considers the ways in which they connect with children’s natural explorations, play, enjoyement and the environments created by adults. Throughout the focus is on building on children’s own interests as practitioners plan for, observe and assess playing and exploring, active learning and creativity and critical thinking. Including encounters from authentic settings and provocative questions for reflective practice, the book covers: children’s well-being and motivations creating effective learning possibilities for all children engaging children’s interests the role of the adult and environment sustained shared thinking This timely new text aims to help practitioners and students develop their understanding of the charactersitics of effective learning and show them how they can support young children in become effective and motivated learners.
Providing a fresh approach to examining development in the early years, this book draws together well-established ideas and theories based on outdoor play experiences and connects them to spiritual development in children. Elemental Play and Outdoor Learning considers socio-cultural perspectives, guided participation and mediated learning alongside playfulness as it looks at young children’s developing interest in the people around them, the environment they experience and the ideas and objects that involve them. Including rich encounters with young children and adults, chapters cover: elemental play as an approach to observe and support children’s holistic development; the role of people in developing effective exploratory and social skills; using the concept of elemental play to consider the spiritual system as an aspect of child development; imaginative play with raw, natural materials and how prepared environments can encourage children’s natural exploration; an exploration of well-established constructs of play and how elemental play can be integrated or re-conceptualised with the other theories. Exploring current thinking about natural experiences, interest in forest school activity and fresh insight into dynamic ecological concepts, this book will be essential reading for practitioners and students on undergraduate and postgraduate early years and childhood studies courses.
Inclusion is a difficult, complex issue for which there are no off-the-shelf answers. To be an effective practitioner it is necessary to identify what makes each situation and circumstance unique and use this knowledge to develop strategies and approaches that are appropriate. This timely new text examines the key perceptions, perspectives and concepts around inclusion in the Early Years. Drawing on real-life experiences of practitioners, it considers the questions practitioners are likely to come across in their professional lives and how they might genuinely go about meeting the needs of all the children in their care. The book covers all aspects of inclusion including special educational needs, gender and sexuality, multiculturalism, multilingualism, Roma and traveller communities and economic wellbeing. Each chapter features: Case studies to develop reflective thinking Boxed examples to illustrate key points Questions to promote discussion and debate Annotated further reading lists With case studies drawn from current research and thinking points which encourage reflective practice, this book will be essential reading for students on early childhood studies programmes and early years foundation degrees that wish to become reflective and critically aware practitioners.
Recent and increasing efforts to standardize young children’s academic performance have shifted the emphases of education toward normative practices and away from qualitative, substantive intentions. Connection to human experience, compassion for societal ailments, and the joys of learning are straining under the pressure of quantitative research, competition, and test scores, exemplified by federal funding competitions and policymaking. Disrupting Early Childhood Education Research critically interrogates the traditional foundations of early childhood research practices to disrupt the status quo through imaginative, cutting-edge research in diverse U.S. and international contexts. Its chapters are driven by empirical data derived from unique research projects and a variety of contemporary methodologies that include phenomenological studies, auto-ethnographic writings, action-oriented studies, arts-based methodologies, and other innovative approaches. By giving voice to marginalized social science researchers who are active in learning, school, and early education sectors, this volume explores the meanings of actionable and everyday approaches based on the experiences of young children, their families, and educators.