Going Beyond the Theory/Practice Divide in Early Childhood Education focuses on the use of pedagogical documentation as a tool for learning and transformation. Based on innovative research, the ...author presents new approaches to learning in early childhood education, shifting attention to the force and impact which material objects and artefacts can have in learning. Drawing upon the theories of feminist Karen Barad and philosophers Gille Deleuze and Félix Guattari, Hillevi Lenz Taguchi discusses examples of how pens, paper, clay and construction materials can be understood as active and performative agents, challenging binary divides such as theory/practice, discourse/matter and mind/body in teaching and learning. Numerous examples from practice are explored to introduce an intra-active pedagogy. 'Methodological' strategies for learning with children in preschools, and in teacher education, are brought to the fore. For example:
the neighbourhood around the preschool and children's homes is explored, using drawing and construction-work on the floor;
mathematics is investigated in teacher education, using the body, dance and music to investigate mathematical relationships and problems;
taken-for-granted forms of academic writing are challenged by different forms of praxis- and experience-based writings that transgress the theory/practice divide;
children, students and teacher educators use pedagogical documentation to understand their own learning, and to critique dominant habits of thinking and doing.
Challenging the dominant understanding of ‘inclusion’ in educational contexts, and making ‘difference’ actively visible and positive, this book is rooted in the experiences, practices and words of teachers, teacher educators and student teachers. It will appeal to all those involved in early childhood education and also to those interested in challenging educational thinking and practices.
Hillevi Lenz Taguchi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Education, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Introduction 1. Going beyond the theory/practice and discourse/matter divides 2. Learning and becoming in an onto-epistemology 3. The tool of pedagogical documentation 4. An intra-active pedagogy and its dual movements 5. Transgressing binary practices in Early Childhood Teacher Education 6. The hybrid-writing-process – going beyond the theory/practice divide in academic writing 7. An ethics of immanence and potentialities for early childhood education References
Coding as a Playground, Second Edition focuses on how young children (aged 7 and under) can engage in computational thinking and be taught to become computer programmers, a process that can increase ...both their cognitive and social-emotional skills. Learn how coding can engage children as producers-and not merely consumers-of technology in a playful way. You will come away from this groundbreaking work with an understanding of how coding promotes developmentally appropriate experiences such as problem-solving, imagination, cognitive challenges, social interactions, motor skills development, emotional exploration, and making different choices. Featuring all-new case studies, vignettes, and projects, as well as an expanded focus on teaching coding as a new literacy, this second edition helps you to learn how to integrate coding into different curricular areas to promote literacy, math, science, engineering, and the arts through a project-based approach and a positive attitude to learning.
Investing in Young Children Sophie Naudeau, Naoko Kataoka, Alexandria Valerio, Michelle J. Neuman, Leslie Kennedy Elder
2011, 2010, 11-08-2010, 2010-11-08
eBook, Book
Open access
Investing in young children is the responsible thing to do. All children deserve a chance to grow into healthy, educated, and competent people, no matter where and when they were born. While parents ...bear most of the responsibility for raising their children, especially in the early years of life, governments also have an important role during this critical time of human capital accumulation. For example, governments can ensure that all expectant mothers and young children have access to quality health services and nutrition. They can support parents and other caregivers in providing a positive and stimulating environment for children from birth on by promoting parenting information programs, investing in direct services such as home- based visits, funding daycare centers and preschools, or providing financial incentives to access good quality programs for infants and children. This Early Childhood Development (ECD) guide presents lessons and experiences that have been useful in informing the policy debate about ECD interventions and the design of such programs across the world. Whether the user of this guide is at the initial stage of deciding whether to expand an ECD portfolio or already in the program design stage, the content offers a range of evidence- based options to inform policy and investment choices.
Early Learning and Development provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the twentieth century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such ...as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and it reflects specifically upon the implications for the early childhood profession. Divided into parts, with succinct chapters that build upon knowledge progressively, the everyday lives of children at home, in the community, at pre-school and at school are discussed in the context of child development and pedagogy. The book explicitly problematises the foundations of early childhood education, inviting postgraduates, researchers and academics to drill down into specific areas of international discourse, and extending upper-level undergraduates beyond the fundamental underpinnings of their learning. Ultimately Early Learning and Development offers new models of 'conceptual play' practice and theory within a globally resonant, cultural-historical framework.
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, Rachel M. Heydon and Luigi Iannacci shed light on the ways in which joint notions of normality and abnormality are used to pathologize childhood.
A "must read" for practitioners, policy makers and researchers interested in the detail and the theory underpinning this important family literacy initiative′ - Neil McClelland OBE, Director, ...National Literacy Trust `The REAL Project is one of the best conceptualized, most intensively documented and successful British family literacy initiatives and the book provides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of this powerful project. It is essential reading for anyone working alongside families to promote children′s early development′ - Professor Nigel Hall, Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University Anyone involved in the field of early-childhood literacy should be familiar with the work of the REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) Project. Here, leading members of the project team Cathy Nutbrown, Peter Hannon and Anne Morgan, discuss the research. An essential guide to the subject, this book will be of great practical use to all in the field of early childhood literacy: students, practitioners and course leaders on literacy and early childhood courses. The authors discuss the policy contexts of early-childhood and literacy today and use their experience of the REAL project to discuss and illustrate practical research and evaluation strategies for family literacy workers. They examine the issues from all perspectives: teachers, parents and young children. The book concludes with examples of how the theoretical framework of the REAL Project (ORIM) has been used by other practitioners and an examination of the implications of such work for the future of early-childhood and literacy policy development.
Early Childhood Matters documents the rapid development of early years education and care from the late 1990s into the new millennium. It chronicles the unique contribution of the EPPE research to ...our understanding of the importance of pre-school.
The Effective Pre-school and Primary Education (EPPE) project is the largest European study of the impact of early years education and care on children’s developmental outcomes. Through this ground-breaking project a team of internationally-recognised experts provide insights into how home learning environments interact with pre-school and primary school experiences to shape children’s progress.
The findings of this fascinating project:
provide new evidence of the importance of early childhood experiences
show how these experiences influence children’s cognitive, social and behavioural development
give new insights on the importance of early years education
will be relevant to a wide audience who are interested in policy development, early years education and care, and ‘effectiveness’ research
examine how the combined effects of pre-school, primary school and the family interact to shape children’s educational outcomes.
This insightful book is essential reading for all those interested in innovative research methodology and policy development in early childhood education and care. It provides new evidence on good practice in early years settings and will have a wide appeal for students and those engaged in providing accredited courses of study at a range of levels in early childhood.
Selected Contents: Chapter 1 Introduction: Why EPPE? Kathy Sylva and the EPPE Team Chapter 2 The EPPE settings in the context of English pre-schools Iram Siraj-Blatchford Chapter 3 The EPPE Research design: An educational effectiveness focus Pam Sammons Chapter 4 Why children, parents and home learning are important Edward Melhuish Chapter 5 Quality in Early Childhood settings Kathy Sylva Chapter 6 Does pre-school make a difference?: Results over the pre-school period (to aged 5) Pam Sammons Chapter 7 Do the benefits of pre-school last? Investigating pupil outcomes to the end of Key Stage 2 (aged 11) Pam Sammons Chapter 8 A focus on pedagogy: Case studies of effective practice Iram Siraj-Blatchford Chapter 9 Vulnerable children: Identifying children ‘at risk’ Brenda Taggart Chapter 10 A linked study: Effective Pre-school Provision in Northern Ireland Edward Melhuish Chapter 11 Making a difference: How research can inform policy Brenda Taggart Chapter 12 Re-thinking the evidence-base for Early Years policy and practice Kathy Sylva Glossary of terms Appendix 1 How children were assessed at different time points throughout the study Appendix 2 The Home Learning Environment at different time points Appendix 3 The EPPE Technical Papers Appendix 4 Social/behavioural dimensions at different time points (items associated with dimensions) Appendix 5 The Multiple Disadvantage Index Appendix 6 Results from analyses of pre-school effects compared with those of family income and parents’ employment status
Kathy Sylva is Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Oxford.
Edward Melhuish is Professor of Human Development, Birkbeck College, University of London.
Pam Sammons is Professor of Education, University of Oxford.
Iram Siraj-Blatchford is Professor of Education, Institute of Education, University of London.
Brenda Taggart is Senior Research Officer, Institute of Education, University of London.
This open access book’s theme is Teaching mathematics as to be meaningful – foregrounding children’s play and perspectives. It discusses the relation between teachers, children and mathematical ...content within the context of play with a particular focus on the framing of these relations within this context, which is an important theme in the debate on whether teaching should be integrated with or separated from children’s play. The work further addresses meaningfulness in the learning process, particularly from the child’s perspective. Globally, most guidelines and curricula for early childhood education mention play as one of the key features for young children’s learning. Still, there are quite different views on the definitions of play and in what ways play should become part of children’s learning. The chapters of the book mirror the research topics presented at the fifth POEM conference in May 2022 divided into four sub-themes: Play and learning, Children’s perspectives on mathematics, Teachers’ competencies and Theorizing aspects of early mathematics education.
In this fascinating new book, Affrica Taylor encourages an exciting paradigmatic shift in the ways in which childhood and nature are conceived and pedagogically deployed, and invites readers to ...critically reassess the naturalist childhood discourses that are rife within popular culture and early years education.
Through adopting a common worlds framework, Reconfiguring the Natures of Childhood generates a number of complex and inclusive ways of seeing and representing the early years. It recasts childhood as:
messy and implicated rather than pure and innocent;
situated and differentiated rather than decontextualized and universal;
entangled within real world relations rather than protected in a separate space.
Throughout the book, the author follows an intelligent and innovative line of thought which challenges many pre-existing ideas about childhood. Drawing upon cross-disciplinary perspectives, and with international relevance, this book makes an important contribution to the field of childhood studies and early childhood education, and will be a valuable resource for scholars, postgraduate students and higher education teachers.
Introduction 1. Rousseau’s Legacy: Configuring Nature’s Child 2. Representing Nature’s Child 3. Educating Nature’s Child 4. Assembling Common Worlds Childhoods 5. Enacting Common Worlds Childhoods Conclusion: Towards Common Worlds Pedagogies
Affrica Taylor is Associate Professor of Education, University of Canberra, Australia.
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