Extending Professional Practice in the Early Years: (Published in Association with The Open University)

Extending Professional Practice in the Early Years is aimed at early years practitioners engaged in on-going learning and working in a diverse range of settings. It will be of interest to those undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate training in early years, and those involved in continuing their professional development. It is a valuable and unique resource for those in the later stages of their professional development. The book encourages readers to take a critical stance in relation to a wide range of themes and issues which are reflected in the four parts of the book: - listening to children - diversity and transitions - pedagogy and practice - leadership and change. Throughout the book, authors reflect common concerns such as the rights of children, diversity and a more holistic approach to working with young children, and highlight key research in the field.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART ONE: LISTENING TO CHILDREN Introduction Ways of Seeing: Using the Mosaic Approach to Listen to Young Children′s Perspectives - Alison Clark Is My City or Community Child-Friendly? - Dora Giusti, Roger Hart and Selim Iltus Horses in the Sandpit: Photography, Prolonged Involvement and ′Stepping back′ as Strategies for Listening to Children′s Voices - Alison Stephenson Conducting Research with Young Children: Some Ethical Considerations - Rosie Flewitt Promoting Young Children′s Development: Implications of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - Martin Woodhead PART TWO: DIVERSITY AND TRANSITIONS Introduction - Rose Drury Questioning Diversity - Jeanette Rhedding-Jones Inclusive Practice for Children with Special Educational Needs - Christine Hickman and Kyffin Jones Childcare Practitioners and the Process of Professionalization - Jan Peeters and Michel Vandenbroeck Reflective Family-Centred Practices: Parents′ Perspectives and Early Intervention - Alice Paige-Smith, Jonathan Rix and Anna Craft The Challenges for Children Experiencing Rural Poverty in Wales - Siân Wyn Siencyn ′Just Like Having a Best Friend′: How Babies and Toddlers Construct Relationships with Their Key Workers in Nurseries - Liz Brooker ′I Didn′t Expect I Would Get Tons of Friends… More Each Day′: Children′s Experiences of Friendship during the Transition to School - Sally Peters Postmodern and Post-Structuralist Perspectives on Early Childhood Education - Deborah Albon PART THREE: PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE Introduction - Linda Miller ′Improper′ Children - Liz Jones, Rachel Holmes, Christina MacRae and Maggie MacLure Digital Technologies at Home: the Experiences of Three and Four-Year-Olds in Scotland - Christine Stephen, Joanna McPake and Lydia Plowman A Cultural-Historical Theory of Children′s Development - Mariane Hedegaard Through a Different Lens: Exploring Reggio Emilia in a Welsh Context - Trisha Maynard and Sarah Chicken Pedagogy: a Holistic, Personal Approach to Work with Children and Young People Across Services - Pat Petrie, Janet Boddy, Claire Cameron, Ellen Heptinstall, Susan McQuail, Antonia Simon and Valerie Wigfall PART FOUR: LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE Introduction Constructions of Professional Identity - Gill McGillivray Leading and Managing in the Early Years - Mary E. Whalley Building and Leading a Team - Jillian Rodd Effective Leadership in the Early Years Sector: The ELEYS Study - Iram Siraj-Blatchford and Laura Manni Negotiating the Moral Maze: Developing Ethical Literacy in Multi-Agency Settings - Judith Whitmarsh