Themes and Debates in Early Childhood: (Early Childhood Studies Series)

Early Childhood is a complex and diverse field. This text is designed to help students understand and engage with current themes in early childhood, supporting the development of critical thinking skills. Key themes such as children's voice, child wellbeing, identities and professional relationships are presented and opened up for the reader through essential theory and selected extracts. Thought provoking activities in all chapters help students to get a deeper understanding of contemporary themes in early childhood, supporting them in assignment writing and in linking theory to practice. About the Early Years Series This series has been designed to support students of degrees and foundation degrees in Early Years, Early Childhood and related disciplines. Each text takes a focused look at a specific topic and approaches it in an accessible and user-friendly way. Learning features help readers engage with the text and understand the subject from a number of different viewpoints. Activities pose questions to prompt thought and discussion and further reading suggestions, including useful websties, are included to help students access extended learning in each topic. Other titles in the series are Early Childhood Studies, Child Development for Early Childhood Studies, Child Observation for the Early Years and Exploring Play for Early Childhood Studies.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION: THEMES AND DEBATES - Mary Wild and Alison Street STRAND 1: EXPLORING IDENTITIES Equality and Difference in the Early Years - Alison Street Children′s Rights and Children′s Voice - Catherine Gilson Working Inclusively in the Early Years - Catherine Gilson and Alison Street STRAND 2: EXPLORING LEARNING AND WELL-BEING Exploring How Children in the Early Years - Mary Wild The Place of Play in the Early Years Curriculum - Nick Swarbrick Ensuring Children′s Emotional Well-being in the Early Years - Mary Wild and Ingram Lloyd STRAND 3: EXPLORING PROFESSIONALISM Working with Families in the Early Years - Alison Street and Mary Wild Professionalism - Raising the Stakes in the Early Years: ′She′s Only Going to Work with Little Children′ - Helena Mitchell and Ingram Lloyd Multi-professional Working in the Early Years - Helena Mitchell

About the Author :
Mary Wild is Field Chair for Early Childhood Studies. Mary is a qualified teacher with experience in both the primary and early years sectors. She has recently been awarded a DPhil at Oxford University for her research thesis investigating the use of ICT in early years classrooms. Additional research interests include early childhood literacy. Mary is also a member of the British Psychological Society.

Review :
′Ideal as text for students engaged in early childhood studies courses, this is  also a very useful starting point for stimulating discussion and reflection among members of existing early years teams′