Routledge Reader in Early Childhood Education

<p>Early childhood education has always provoked passionate feelings amongst stakeholders at all levels, from practitioners working with children and families in pre-school and school settings, to advisers, managers, politicians, and academics</p><p></p><p>The purpose of this reader is to examine change, transformation and continuity, and to present indicative scholarship in relation to five key themes: </p><p></p><p>theoretical perspectives on learning </p><p></p><p>curriculum and pedagogy </p><p></p><p>play </p><p></p><p>policy </p><p></p><p>professionalism and research methods </p><p></p><p>Within each theme, the readings have been chosen to exemplify national and international perspectives and trends. This is not to present a homogenised view of early childhood provision and services across cultural contexts; rather the intention is to take a critical perspective on past, present and future directions, and to identify some of the challenges, dilemmas and contradictions posed in research and scholarship. </p> <p>Introduction: Contestation, Transformation and Re-Conceptualisation in Early Childhood Education <strong>Theme 1: Theoretical Perspectives on Learning, Curriculum and Pedagogy</strong> 1. Introduction From ‘Play in the Infants' School’ E.R. Boyce, Methuen, 1946 2. Fleer, M. (2006) The Cultural Construction of Child Development: Creating Institutional and Cultutral Intersubjectivity. <em>International Journal of Early Years Education</em>, 14(2), 127-140 3. Soler, J & Miller, L. (2003) The Struggle for Early Childhood Curricula: A Comparison of the English Foundation Stage Curriculum, Te Whariki and Reggio Emilia, <em>The International Journal of Early Years Education</em>, Vol.11, No. 1, (Taylor and Francis) 4. Brooker, L(2003), Learning How to Learn : Parental Ethnotheories and Young Children’s Preparation for School, <em>The International Journal of Early Years Education</em>, Vol. 11, No. 1, (Taylor and Francis) <strong>Theme 2: Play: Advances in Theory and Practice</strong> 5. Newman, F and Holzman, L. (1993) Playing in/with the ZPD, <em>Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist</em> (Routledge) 6. Janson, U. (2001) Togetherness and Diversity in Pre-school Play, <em>The International Journal of Early Years Education</em>, Vol. 9, No. 2, (Taylor and Francis) 7. Marsh, J. ‘But I Want to Fly Too!’: Girls and Superhero Play in the Infant Classroom, Gender <em>and Education</em>, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Taylor & Francis) 8. Sawyers, J. and Carrick, N. (2003). Symbolic Play through the Eyes and Words of Children, <em>Play and Educational Theory and Practice</em>, Ed. Lytle, D. Ablex Publishing Corporation, U.S <strong>Theme 3: Policy Generation and Implementation</strong> 9. Neuman, M. (2005). Governance of Early Childhood Education and Care: Recent Developments in OECD Countries, <em>Early Years</em>, Vol. 25, No. 2. (Taylor & Francis) 10. Sylva, K. and Pugh, G. (2005). Transforming the Early Years in England, <em>Oxford Review of Education</em>, Vol. 31, No. 1. (Taylor & Francis) 11. Ball, S. and Vincent, C. (2005) The ‘Childcare Champion’? New Labour, Social Justice and the Childcare Market, <em>British Educational Research Journal</em>. Vol. 31. No. 5. (Taylor & Francis) 12. Rosemberg, F. (2005) Childhood and Social Inequality in Brazil, in H. Penn (2005) (Ed) Unequal <em>Childhoods: Young Children’s Lives in Poor Countries</em>. London, Routledge, Chapter 8, pp. 142-170. <strong>Theme 4: Professionalism and Professionalisation</strong> 13. Duncan, J. (2004). Misplacing the Teacher? New Zealand Early Childhood Teachers and Early Childhood Education Policy Reforms, 1984-96, <em>Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education</em>, Vol. 5, No. 2. (Symposium Journals) 14. Osgood, J. (2006). Professionalism and Performativity; The Feminist Challenge Facing Early Years Practitioners, <em>Early Years</em>, Vol. 26, No. 2. (Taylor & Francis) <strong>Theme 5: Research Methods: Agency and Voice</strong> 15. Sumsion, J. (1999). Critical Reflections on the Experiences of a Male Early Childhood Worker. Gender <em>and Education</em>, Vol. 11, No. 4. (Routledge) 16. Farrell, A. Tayler, C. and Tennent, L. (2004). Building Social Capital in Early Childhood Education and Care: An Australian Study. <em>British Educational Research Journal</em>. Vol. 30. No. 5. (Taylor & Francis) 17. Montgomery, H. (2005). Gendered Childhoods: A Cross Disciplinary Overview. <em>Gender and Education</em>, Vol. 17, No. 5. (Routledge). References</p>