From a critical perspective, some early childhood educators have proposed that the knowledge base used to ground the field actually serves to support the status quo, reinforces prejudices and stereotypes, and ignores the real lives of children. The purpose of this book is to deconstruct early childhood education, identifying and evaluating the themes and forms of discourse that have dominated the field, leading to the construction of specific theories and forms of practice that privilege particular groups of children and adults and oppress others. An alternative avenue for early childhood education is posited that focuses on social justice and human agency.
Early childhood education has reached a level of unprecedented national and international focus. Parents, policy makers, and politicians have opinions as well as new questions about what, how, when, and where young children should learn. Teachers and program administrators now find curriculum discussions linked to dramatic new understandings about children's early learning and brain development. Early childhood education is also a major topic of concern internationally, as social policy analysts point to its role in a nation's future economic outlook. As a groundbreaking contribution to its field, this four-volume handbook discusses key historical and contemporary issues, research, theoretical perspectives, national policies, and practices. A wealth of information provides the user with up-to-date expert entries on a plethora of topics. Over three hundred entries in volumes 1, 2, and 3 cover such topics as: accountability assessment biculturalism bullying child abuse early intervention ethnicity Head Start No Child Left Behind Zero to three
As the conservative political mood of our nation eliminates programs for the increasing numbers of bilingual children, educators are nevertheless expected to teach linguistically and culturally diverse learners with limited background knowledge and resources. This edited volume challenges "mainstream" educators to critically examine how to best meet the needs of bilingual/bicultural children in contemporary America.
In this book, a group of researchers and educators consider in detail the possibilities and tensions of curriculum-making in early childhood education. The book discusses a wide range of issues related to postfoundational approaches to curriculum, such as the images of children and educators, pedagogical narrations, reflective practice, transitions and routines, the visual arts, social change, and family-educator involvement in the classroom.
Curriculum in Early Childhood Education: Reexamined, Rediscovered, Renewed provides a critical examination of the sources, aims, and features of early childhood curricula. Providing a theoretical and philosophical foundation for examining teaching and learning, this book will provoke discussion and analysis among all readers. How has theory been used to understand, develop, and critique curriculum? Whose perspectives are dominant and whose are ignored? How is diversity addressed? What values are explicit and implicit? The book first contextualizes the historical and research base of early childhood curriculum, and then turns to discussions of various schools of theory and philosophy that have served to support curriculum development in early childhood education. An examination of current curriculum frameworks is offered, both from the US and abroad, including discussion of the Project Approach, Creative Curriculum, Te Whāriki, and Reggio Emilia. Finally, the book closes with chapters that enlarge the topic to curriculum-being-enacted through play and that summarize key issues while pointing out future directions for the field. Offering a broad foundation for examining curriculum in early childhood, readers will emerge with a stronger understanding of how theories and philosophies intersect with curriculum development.
Providing a selection of papers presented at ICECE 2018, a biennial conference organised by the Early Childhood Education Program, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The conference’s general theme was "Finding Alternative Approaches, Theories, Frameworks, and Practices of Early Childhood Education in the 21th Century." Distinct from other periods of time, the 21st century is characterised by so much knowledge -easy to access but hard to grasp, borderless and hyper-connected society mediated by the internet, high competitiveness -not only within a country but across countries, high mobility, and widening economic discrepancy as neoliberalism has strengthened its influence on every sector of human life. The children of today will face many things that have not yet been invented or discovered, sometimes beyond expectations. Scholars and teachers of early childhood education need to be aware of these astonishing changes. The way children and childhood are seen cannot stay the same, and so does the way children of this century are educated. The conference opened a discussion about finding alternative approaches, theories, and best practices of early childhood education for a rapidly changing and globalised society.
Recognizing the various ecological contexts that support children’s development while amplifying voices from across the globe, this book challenges narrow interpretations of quality and best practice. Each author offers a unique perspective on issues germane to the field of early childhood education: perceptions of children, curriculum, teacher education, and play-based learning. An innovative, timely, and much-needed contribution, this book represents an inclusive collection of theoretical and cultural knowledge, as well as research. Such a diverse multicentric lens opens new intellectual pathways for authentic, reciprocal knowledge exchange, while ensuring that a reimagining of early childhood education remains at the core of our teaching practice, scholarship, and activism. This book invites everyone to imagine, to dare to believe, to hope, and to act—in the interests of children, in the interests of communities and families, and in the moral precepts of equity, inclusion and justice.
The essential resource to the issues surrounding childhood care and education with contributions from noted experts The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Care and Education is a comprehensive resource that offers a review of the historical aspects, best practices, and the future directions of the field. With contributions from noted experts in the field, the book contains 30 interdisciplinary essays that explore in-depth the central issues of early childhood care and education. The handbook presents a benchmark reference to the basic knowledge, effective approaches to use with young children, curriculum design, professional development, current policies, and other critical information. The expert contributors address the myriad complex policy and practice issues that are most relevant today. The essays provide insight into topics such as child development and diversity, the sociocultural process of child development, the importance of the home environment in the lives of young children, early childhood special education, teaching and learning literacy, and much more. This important resource: Presents a comprehensive synopsis of the major components of the field of early childhood care and education Contains contributions from leading scholars, researchers, and experts in the field Offers the foundational knowledge and practices for working with young children Puts the focus on how early childhood works and presents an understanding of culture as a foundational component of both child development and early childhood education Written for academic scholars, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and students of early childhood care and education, The Wiley Handbook of Early Childhood Care and Education is a comprehensive resource to the major issues for dealing with childhood care and education with contributions from noted scholars in the field.
What are some of the long held bellefs in early childhood education that need to be challenged? What can postmodern perspectives offer to early childhood educators? How can early childhood educators deal with the complex issues that arise in the lives of young children? This book examines critical issues in early childhood education across a broad range of contexts. The issues explored are critical not only in terms of being fundamental to early childhood education, but also in that they present ideas and use frameworks which are not traditional to the field. The topics under review include questioning the developmental basis of early childhood education and the notion of what constitutes child-centred curricula, and extends into a discussion of the complex nature of teacher's work in early childhood contexts which require new ways of reconceptualising the field and the role of the teacher in the lives of children.; The chapters explore contemporary issues using methodologies that are increasingly being favoured by teacher educators, parents and community members who find that developmental perspectives do not satisfactorily explain and assist us in our interactions with young children and their families in the 21st century.
This book considers and interrogates a range of new and critical issues in contemporary early childhood education. It discusses both fundamental and emerging topics in the field, and presents them in the context of reflective and contemporary frameworks.
Equity as Praxis in Early Childhood Education and Care aims to map, deconstruct, and engage with different models of equity as they pertain to the early childhood education landscape in Ontario. Drawing on marginalized narratives of gender, race, Indigeneity, dis/ability and inclusion, and migration, immigration, and displacement, the authors discuss how to advance the field and make it more equitable for children, families, early childhood educators, and all other practitioners. This edited collection outlines the current political climate of early childhood education and care in Ontario through a critical analysis of policies and dominant discourses of equity and inclusion. By prompting readers to reflect on and critique their understandings of children, families, communities, and practices in the field, the authors seek to provide counternarratives to Eurocentric developmentalist hegemonies and an alternative strength-based approach to critical and transformative praxis. This vital text encourages rethinking how narratives of equity and inclusion are constructed and what this means for young children and their families in Ontario, as well as throughout Canada. This is an essential resource for students in early childhood education and care, early childhood studies, and education programs. FEATURES: - Includes perspectives from multiple positionalities in the field to provide a critical and interdisciplinary approach - Draws on a reconceptualist lens to present a critique of developmentalist approaches - Encourages readers to engage with the content by practising critical self-examination and considering social factors and forces that inform their own concepts
This powerful edited collection disrupts the deficit-oriented discourses that currently frame the field of early childhood education (ECE) and illuminates avenues for critique and opportunities for change. Researchers from across the globe offer their insight and expertise in challenging the logic within ECE that often frames children and their families through gaps, risks, and deficits across such issues as poverty, language, developmental psychology, teaching, and learning. Chapters propose practical responses to these manufactured crises and advocate for democratic practices and policies that enable ECE programs to build on the wealth of cultural and personal knowledge children and families bring to the early learning process. Moving beyond a dependence on deficits, this book offers opportunities for scholars, researchers, and students to consider their practices in early education and develop their understanding of what it means to be an educator who seeks to support all children.
![Early Childhood Education: An International Encyclopedia [4 Volumes]](https://books.google.com/books/content/images/frontcover/JulOlhMP3JAC)
