Early Childhood Education

Parents and teachers today face a swirl of conflicting theories about child rearing and educational practice. Indeed, current guides are contradictory, oversimplified, and at odds with current scientific knowledge. Now, in Awakening Children's Minds, Laura Berk cuts through the confusion of competing theories, offering a new way of thinking about the roles of parents and teachers and how they can make a difference in children's lives. This is the first book to bring to a general audience, in lucid prose richly laced with examples, truly state-of-the-art thinking about child rearing and early education.

Bernard Spodek, one of the most important figures in contemporary early childhood education, has been a seminal figure in early childhood education for approximately six decades. He has also been a creative contributor to contemporary thinking on the integration of theory, research, and practice on the development and education of young children. He is the author of numerous theoretical, research, and practical articles that continue to be published in scholarly journals and the author of textbooks that span the fields of early childhood education and child development. This book, Bernard Spodek: Early Childhood Education Scholar, Researcher, and Teacher, offers an understanding of an eminent scholar who has made significant contributions to the field of early childhood education. It has a richly detailed and intimate picture of the construction of a knowledge base for the development and education of young children. All of the chapters show how Bernard Spodek assumes various roles to promote the field of early childhood education as he functions as a mentor, scholar, researcher, and master teacher. Bernard Spodek: Early Childhood Education Scholar, Researcher, and Teacher is a text for students who are interested in acquiring the basic knowledge about early childhood education, about the work that practitioners do with young children, and about the ideas that underlie that work. It is an appropriate text for graduate students in four-year colleges and universities.

Deliver an in depth programme of teaching for level 3 and level 4 with this classic textbook that inspires your students to go further. Written by an expert team of childcare authors, the sixth edition of this classic textbook offers an in-depth approach to Childcare and Early Years study unmatched by any course specific texts. Child Care and Education 6th Edition provides full details of all the topics and frameworks relevant to level 3 and level 4 qualifications. It offers the opportunity to analyse and explore theories and practice at a high level of detail. - Provides post level 3 material in clearly marked 'Moving On' sections at the end of each chapter. - Focuses on the practicalities of working within a real-life setting using case studies and observation tasks. - Suitable for level 3 qualifications and courses that bridge the gap between levels 3 and 4.

Contemporary Perspectives and Research on Early Childhood Education is a welcome addition to the field of early childhood education. This book enhances the understanding of different approaches to curriculum and instruction; appropriate assessment strategies; the role of math and science in children's development; the importance of seeing the whole child and ensuring children develop holistically through play and arts; training effective teachers; and the importance of helping parents to be better supporters of their children. Along with this comprehensive content, the book also contains diverse methodologies including qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches, which will further enrich the reader's perspective and understanding of a wide range of topics in the field. Thus, this book creates a platform for researchers and practitioners to share and discuss research findings, expertise, and experiences about early childhood education.

Based on Alistair's extensive experience in school, this book brings together his knowledge of Continuous Provision and the high level impact and engagement that it can bring. He explains what Continuous Provision is, how to link it to assessment and provides numerous case studies and illustrations of how this works in practice. This book will help practitioners plan their provision (indoors and out) so that it provides carefully structured learning opportunities.

Engaging Young Children in Mathematics: Standards for Early Childhood Mathematics Education brings together the combined wisdom of a diverse group of experts involved with early childhood mathematics. The book originates from the landmark 2000 Conference on Standards for Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten Mathematics Education, attended by representatives from almost every state developing standards for young children's mathematics; federal government officials; mathematicians; mathematics educators; researchers from mathematics education, early childhood education, and psychology; curriculum developers; teachers; policymakers; and professionals from organizations such as the National Conference of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The main goal of the Conference was to work collectively to help those responsible for framing and implementing early childhood mathematics standards. Although it has its roots in the Conference, the expanded scope of the standards and recommendations covered in this book includes the full range of kindergarten to grade 2.

This book will address a range of issues pertinent and prominent in the revised EYFS including brain development; school readiness; engaging parents; and the rationale behind the new prime and specific areas of learning.

More and more teachers of young children are being asked to develop their curriculum according to standards. This essential resource will guide educators as they grapple with a plethora of issues, questions, and practices surrounding the use of standards in the early childhood classroom. Carol Seefeldt—well-known educator and bestselling author—offers teachers an overview of the standards movement; describes the status of standards in early education; presents the issues around the design and selection of standards; and provides practical strategies for effectively implementing standards with young children (preschool through the early primary grades).This book provides both the background knowledge and a working understanding of standards to help teachers: Successfully judge and select standards. Design appropriate ways of using and working with standards. Develop appropriate assessment strategies. Illustrated with children's work, this "how-to" guide: Provides practical illustrations of how standards can be used to benefit early childhood classrooms, including many sample activities. Demonstrates how to work with standards in the separate subject areas of the sciences, arts, language and literacy, mathematics, and social studies. Offers ideas for including all children, such as those with special needs and those just learning English. Describes a project, Children Study Their Play Yard, illustrating how thematic, standards-based, problem-solving learning can be integrated into the total curriculum.

The journey to professional and personal growth takes time, and the road isn't always smooth, but it is a learning-filled adventure Holly Elissa Bruno, Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Luis Antonio Hernandez, and Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan are accomplished professionals and respected leaders in the early childhood field. After a decade of speaking together at national professional development conferences, they now give you twelve of their most important presentation topics as essays. Each chapter presents a dialogue among the authors about a particular topic and the lessons gleaned from facing and overcoming uncertainty and obstacles. Merging each author's distinct voice, expertise, and life experiences, this collection unveils the authors' personal and meaningful histories, insecurities, and insights. You will be encouraged and challenged to think more deeply and openly about your own practices and philosophies. You will gain a renewed sense of purpose as you help children reach their full potentials. And you will discover--as the authors did--that every bump in the road is an invitation to grow and opportunity to learn. Holly Elissa Bruno, MA, JD; Janet Gonzalez-Mena, MA; Luis Antonio Hernandez, MA; and Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan, EdD, are acclaimed keynote speakers, authors, and experts on a variety of topics in early childhood.

This book presents cutting edge work and recent findings in the areas of language development, social skills, and behavioural functioning in pre-school children with and without disabilities. Each chapter is of high quality, using rigorous methodology, strong research designs, and sophisticated data analysis. The book brings the unique gathering of minds with backgrounds in early childhood special education and psychology. Authors of the chapters produce high quality research on important issues such as evidence-based interventions for young children with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, and challenging behaviour. Other critical topics addressed in the book include the negative impact of risk factors on child development, and screening and early identification of behavioural problems in young children. If you are a teacher or a parent who has a child with a social skills or language difficulty, the information provided in this book can assist you in helping this child navigate the social and language environment and achieve success in the early childhood classroom. The screening and early identification information is useful as a background resource for those navigating the special education assessment process.

A groundbreaking resource for the field of early intervention.Full of clear, straightforward steps, guiding principles and useful techniques backed by neuroscience and research, Dr. Mona Delahooke provides practical methods so that all childhood providers can better support the social and emotional lives of children and families.Illustrated with worksheets, charts and handouts, this reader-friendly book will provide valuable tools to nurture relationships, measure progress, reduce child stress, address challenging behaviors and promote self-regulation.Proven and effective tools for children diagnosed with:Developmental and learning differencesCommunication and speech differencesAutismSensory Processing DisorderMedical conditionsEmotional or behavioral challenges.

This text should help teachers expand their knowledge and practical skills teaching children ages 0-3 in the light of recent initiatives in the UK.

Today's Youth, Tomorrow's Leaders is for parents, teachers, caregivers, directors, educators, administrators and all who work with children to encourage learning. This book has examples of effective practices in early childhood education from different countries worldwide. This book will emphasize the different ways that adults can make difference in the lives of children so that today's children will be well nurtured and will become effective citizens in future. The structure of the book is adapted to the new Early Childhood Common Core. The book has case studies, illustrations, pictures, and tables to help the readers. Each chapter will also have a summary at the end with discussion questions.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Understanding Early Childhood is an introductory text for students on early years courses which offers broad and insightful perspectives across a range of themes on the ways in which we understand and study young children.

Decades of research have proven the value of reading aloud to children, and the years between birth and age two are arguably the most crucial for language development. As a parent, it's important that you help your baby acquire the foundation needed to speak earlier, read on his or her own sooner, and benefit from an increased vocabulary and attention span. Baby Read-Aloud Basics shows you how to establish an effective daily read-aloud routine to take charge of your baby's future understanding and success. Organized around the six stages of early language development from birth to age two, the book provides simple but effective techniques on: selecting what to read; making reading aloud an interactive experience; knowing when and how often to read; incorporating reading in a bilingual home; and ensuring your baby gets the right amount of language from a caretaker or nanny. Filled with step-by-step instructions, scripted demonstrations, and a list of recommended titles, Baby Read-Aloud Basics gives you all the guidance and information you need to instill a lifelong love of reading and learning, and start your baby along on the road to success.

he emerging field of family literacy, which cuts across early childhood education, early literacy development, parent education, adult education, and parent-child literacy interactions, has never had a comprehensive volume that pulls together and integrates its many interacting components. That is the mission of this handbook. It provides scholars, students, policymakers, and practitioners (both inside and outside the field) with an invaluable snapshot of its current boundaries and rapidly growing content. With contributions from experts in each of its component fields, it provides an up-to-date picture of existing family literacy programs, of the research and theories that guide these programs, of current issues, and of likely future directions.

Vivian Vasquez draws on her own classroom experience to demonstrate how issues raised from everyday conversations with pre-kindergarten children can be used to create an integrated critical literacy curriculum over the course of one school year.

This book offers a range of perspectives on children's multimodal experiences, providing a ground-breaking account of the ways in which children engage with popular culture, media and digital literacy practices from their earliest years. Many young children have extensive experience of film, television, printed media, computer games, mobile phones and the Internet from birth, yet their reaction to media texts is rarely acknowledged in the national curricula of any country. This seminal text focuses on children from birth to eight years, addressing issues such as: • media and identity construction• media literacy practices in the home• the changing nature of literacy in technologically advanced societies• The place of popular and media texts in children's lives and the use of such texts in the curriculum. By exploring children's engagement with popular culture, media and digital texts in the home, community and early years settings, the contributors look at empirical studies from around the world, and draw out vital new theoretical issues relating to children's emergent techno-literacy practices. With an unmatchable team of international experts evaluating topics from text-messaging to the Teletubbies, this book is a long-overdue, fascinating and illuminating read for policy-makers, educational researchers and practitioners, and crosses over to appeal to those in the linguistics field.

In recent years, a growing number of children and adults have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a neurological condition characterized by severe difficulties with social communication. While extremely talented in their areas of special interest, many with the diagnosis also have problems with coordination and sensory processing. Professionals and families struggle to help them function competently and make the most of their unique abilities.This readable and practical book synthesizes the latest knowledge about how to do so in various contexts from early childhood on. The authors include psychologists, psychiatrists, special educators, an occupational therapist, a specialist in communication disorders, and a lawyer, with diverse philosophies and methods of intervention. They suggest a variety of ways to help those with Asperger's adapt to the'neurotypical'world, and to bridge the social chasms that can develop as they are integrated into schools, organizations, and communities.Asperger's Syndrome: Intervening in Schools, Clinics, and Communities constitutes a vital resource for all those who seek to improve the lives of individuals with the syndrome.

This easy-to-use guide gives you a quick overview on many topics related to working with young children with special needs. Learn about inclusion in early childhood programs and disability law, as well as typical vs. atypical development. The quick guide also covers several specific disabilities/special needs and provides definitions, common characteristics, and practical strategies for adaptation. Cindy Croft is the director of the Center for Inclusive Child Care at Concordia University and on faculty for several university education programs. She has her MA in Education and has worked in the field of early childhood for over twenty years.

Some chapters focus on interventions for the child, and others on training for the parents and professionals. The combination of current information and evidence contained in these chapters includes an emphasis on the importance of supporting families with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and indicates how team support (including families as part of the team) is crucial for these children. Parents of children with special needs may have their own challenges and this may create an additional need for support and resources for the family and the professional. The dynamic interaction between provider or teacher, theoretical approaches and curriculum used, and the child's individual needs is what maximizes the impact of any intervention. The information is useful for early care and preschool teachers, early intervention providers, therapists, psychologists and administrators.

Response to intervention (RTI) is improving student outcomes in K - 12 classrooms across the U.S., but how can it best be applied to early childhood settings? Find out in this authoritative handbook, the first complete resource on what we know about using RTI to promote all young children's school and social success. With cutting-edge research from more than 60 of today's leading experts, this foundation resource will be an essential reference for every early childhood administrator, whether program-, district-, or state-level. You'll get a comprehensive primer on RTI, including detailed information on its defining principles and features, its evidence base, specific RTI models, and program-level supports for implementing RTI. Then you'll get research-based knowledge and guidance to help you: implement specific tiered approaches to instruction and intervention; use valid, reliable universal screening and progress monitoring measues, use RTI to enrich literacy and math curriculum and instruction, strengthen school-wide positive behviour supports with an RTI framework; integrate RTI and inclusion to strengthen education for students with disabilities; adapt RTI to meet the needs of young dual language learners; and develop effective professional development to support RTI in early childhood.

The popular, research-based Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model is used in schools and childcare settings to address challenging behaviours in children with and without disabilties. Now, with the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Families (PTR-F) model in this accessible guidebook, you can use this proven approach with families to help them resolve their child's challenging behaviour in their own homes and communities. Developed by top behaviour experts, PTR-F is a highly effective intervention model that helps families prevent behaviour problems in children ages 2-10, teach proactive communication and social skills, and reinforce positive behaviour. In this expertly organized book, you'll discover how to take on the role of PTR-F facilitator to meet each family's unique needs, and you'll get a clear 5-step process for guiding families as they promote their child's positive behaviour. With this comprehensive, adaptable model of behaviour support, you'll strengthen family engagement, set each child on the path to healthy social-emotional development, and improve quality of life for the entire family. Help families with the 5-step PRT-F Process: Initiating the process; Assessment; Intervention; Coaching; Monitoring. Practical materials include: printable forms (including a Behavior Rating Scale for data collection, Assessment Checklists, Behavior Support Plan Summary, Fidelity of Strategy Implementation Form, and complete PRT-F Plan Implementation Guide), plus extended case examples that walk you through the PTR-F steps and bring the process to life.

Audra Jensen'son began reading when he was only two years old. She shares her experiences - both the challenges and joys - of raising a child with autism and hyperlexia - an early and obsessive interest in the written word associated with social deficits and significant difficulty in understanding verbal language. The author stresses the importance of diagnosis of the condition for successful implementation of effective teaching strategies and encouragement of more typical childhood development. As well as useful advice, this guide provides a comprehensive reading curriculum specially designed for young, challenged children to help promote their reading ability. With practical suggestions on how to modify teaching and therapy programmes to suit a child's individual learning style, this practical guide will prove invaluable for parents of children with autism and hyperlexia.

There is a growing interest in understanding how early years care and education is organised and experienced internationally. This book examines key influential approaches to early years care as well as some less well-known systems from around the world. In particular the book aims to: Inform those studying early years about perspectives in other countries Encourage critical thinking about issues, influences and the complexities of early years provision around the world Promote critical reflection on students' own provision and the current context of that provision Each chapter provides an overview of early years provision and explores historical and current influences in context, as well as offering insights into daily life through short vignettes, longer case studies and commentary from practitioners. Whilst many approaches - such as Reggio Emilia, Te Whariki and Head Start - are widely admired, it is important for reflective practitioners to understand the motivation which gave rise to these influential approaches in their original context. Additionally, broadening understanding through information on less widely known systems, the book provides students with a good grounding in the international context of early years, the provenance of different early years approaches and principles, and the influences on their own countries' provision. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, the book is designed to meet the needs of students studying modules related to international perspectives on a range of foundation, bachelor and master's degrees in early years. Contributors: Verity Campbell-Barr, Federica Caruso, Carmen Dalli, Rebecca Carter Dillon, Annie Davy, Chandrika Devarakonda, Alena Drzalová, Hasina Banu Ebrahim, Susan Edwards, Dora Ho, Valerie Huggins, Anne Hunt, Kerstin Kööp, Éva Kovácsné Bakoski, Caroline Leeson, Beth Marshall, Nancy McDermott, Julia Morgan, Joce Nutall, Elin Eriksen Ødegaard, Philip Selbie, Paolo Sorzio, Manabu Sumida, Keang-ieng (Peggy) Vong, Karen Wickett "The book rightly challenges common assumptions about the value of Western perspectives of ECEC and skilfully enables the reader to recognize the various social, political and economic drivers and processes that have shaped early years pedagogy on a global level." Dr Janet Rose, Early Years Education Award Leader, Bath Spa University, UK "Given the ever increasing interest and importance of global early childhood education and care, this critically informed book offers valuable and challenging internationalised comparative arguments for students and academics at all levels." Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes, Senior Lecturer, Early Years and Primary Education Department, University of London, UK

The driving forces behind mathematics learning trajectories is the need to understand how children actually learn and make sense of mathematics—how they progress from prior knowledge, through intermediate understandings, to the mathematics target understandings—and how to use these insights to improve instruction and student learning. In this book, readers will come to understand what learning trajectories are, the research and methodology that are necessary for developing them, and gain insight into potential applications of learning trajectories. A synthesis and research outcome in their own right, learning trajectories provide detailed description of instructionally-grounded development of mathematical concepts and reasoning from the perspective of student learning, and, overall, building on decades of accumulated experience in mathematics education research. However, their greater importance may lie in their potential as frameworks that contribute an unprecedented coherence across classroom instruction, professional development, standards, and assessment, by focusing squarely on conceptual understanding and reasoning instead of assessment-driven procedural knowledge. This potential was sufficiently compelling as an organizing framework to have been cited as a basis for the Common Core mathematics standards, the new mathematics learning expectations that are now consistent across most of the United States. (Among the conference attendees were the writers of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, at the beginning of the Standards drafting process.) This book is an outgrowth of a conference on learning trajectories, hosted in 2009 at North Carolina State University, which examined research on learning trajectories. An overarching message of the chapters in this volume is that learning trajectories, by focusing on how children's mathematical reasoning develops, are coming into their own as a rigorous underpinning for both instruction and accountability. Some of the learning scientists featured in this volume have played major roles learning trajectories'evolution--from small-scale day-to-day conjectures by individual teachers, to systematic research endeavors that teachers and scientists alike can use to interpret standards, plan instruction, and formatively assess student work. The work in this volume will be of interest to mathematics educators, teachers, and professional development specialists.