There is a growing interest in understanding how early years care and education is organised and experienced internationally. This book examines key influential approaches to early years care as well as some less well-known systems from around the world. In particular the book aims to: Inform those studying early years about perspectives in other countries Encourage critical thinking about issues, influences and the complexities of early years provision around the world Promote critical reflection on students’ own provision and the current context of that provision Each chapter provides an overview of early years provision and explores historical and current influences in context, as well as offering insights into daily life through short vignettes, longer case studies and commentary from practitioners. Whilst many approaches - such as Reggio Emilia, Te Whariki and Head Start - are widely admired, it is important for reflective practitioners to understand the motivation which gave rise to these influential approaches in their original context. Additionally, broadening understanding through information on less widely known systems, the book provides students with a good grounding in the international context of early years, the provenance of different early years approaches and principles, and the influences on their own countries’ provision. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, the book is designed to meet the needs of students studying modules related to international perspectives on a range of foundation, bachelor and master’s degrees in early years. Contributors: Verity Campbell-Barr, Federica Caruso, Carmen Dalli, Rebecca Carter Dillon, Annie Davy, Chandrika Devarakonda, Alena Drzalová, Hasina Banu Ebrahim, Susan Edwards, Dora Ho, Valerie Huggins, Anne Hunt, Kerstin Kööp, Éva Kovácsné Bakoski, Caroline Leeson, Beth Marshall, Nancy McDermott, Julia Morgan, Joce Nutall, Elin Eriksen Ødegaard, Philip Selbie, Paolo Sorzio, Manabu Sumida, Keang-ieng (Peggy) Vong, Karen Wickett “The book rightly challenges common assumptions about the value of Western perspectives of ECEC and skilfully enables the reader to recognize the various social, political and economic drivers and processes that have shaped early years pedagogy on a global level.” Dr Janet Rose, Early Years Education Award Leader, Bath Spa University, UK “Given the ever increasing interest and importance of global early childhood education and care, this critically informed book offers valuable and challenging internationalised comparative arguments for students and academics at all levels.” Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes, Senior Lecturer, Early Years and Primary Education Department, University of London, UK

The Leading Edge of Early Childhood Education aims to support the effort to simultaneously scale up and improve the quality of early childhood education by bringing together relevant insights from emerging research to provide guidance for this critical, fledgling field. It reflects the growing recognition that early childhood experiences have a powerful effect on children’s later academic achievement and long-term life outcomes. Editors Nonie K. Lesaux and Stephanie M. Jones bring together an impressive array of scholarly contributors. Topics include: · creating learning environments that support children’s cognitive and emotional development; · identifying and addressing early risk factors; · using data to guide educators’ practice; and · capitalizing on the use of technology. Recent years have seen a surge of local, state, and national initiatives aimed at expanding and improving early childhood initiatives, particularly regarding access to preK programs. The Leading Edge of Early Childhood Education promises to be a valuable resource for those charged with enacting the next level of work in this critical area.

The general public often views early childhood education as either simply “babysitting” or as preparation for later learning. Of course, both viewpoints are simplistic. Deep understanding of child development, best educational practices based on development, emergent curriculum, cultural competence and applications of family systems are necessary for high-quality early education. Highly effective early childhood education is rare in that it requires collaboration and transitions among a variety of systems for children from birth through eight years of age. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education presents in three comprehensive volumes advanced research, accurate practical applications of research, historical foundations and key facts from the field of contemporary early childhood education. Through approximately 425 entries, this work includes all areas of child development – physical, cognitive, language, social, emotional, aesthetic – as well as comprehensive review of best educational practices with young children, effective preparation for early childhood professionals and policy making practices, and addresses such questions as: · How is the field of early childhood education defined? · What are the roots of this field of study? · How is the history of early childhood education similar to yet different from the study of public education? · What are the major influences on understandings of best practices in early childhood education?

Over the years, educational scholars have proposed different conceptions of the curriculum. It is as if each scholar, researcher, university educator, and practitioner has developed her or his own personal definition. Unfortunately, there is no one single definition that everybody has agreed upon. Table 1 presents a sample of these definitions. A universal definition for curriculum may continue to be elusive and may even change through the years to address changes in the social forces and changes in related school goals. Nonetheless, the approach in curriculum development is consistent. Curriculum developers establish goals, develop experiences, designate content, and evaluate experiences and outcomes. Most curriculum developers consistently use such terms as curriculum planning, curriculum development, curriculum implementation, and curriculum evaluation, and many others to describe curriculum related activities. Unfortunately, without a consistent definition of curriculum, it is difficult for the curriculum developers to identify what it is that needs to be planned, developed, implemented, or evaluated. If curriculum developers rely on the curriculum experts’ definitions, they will find that their definitions identify a product, a program, determine goals and objectives, and learner experiences. However, its heterogeneity may be inspiring if curriculum developers rely on the components of each definition that depict the richness of the field, which in turn, can provide a foundation for contemporary content, concepts, and creativity. A curriculum is an anthology of learning experiences, conceived and arranged based on a program’s educational goals and the community’s social forces. Each curriculum manifests an image of what children "ought to be and become" (Biber, 1984, p. 303) grounded on the awareness of social values and a system that interprets those values into experiences for learners. The concept of curriculum, as a distinctive domain of study within education, arose from the demand to arrange, organize, and translate such awareness into educational programs of study. It integrates the historical study of the goals and content of schooling, analyses of curriculum documents, and analyses of the children’s experiences in school. The first formal curriculum text was published in 1918 (Bobbit, 1918), although in the United States contemporary curriculum study goes back to the early 1890's, when lead committees challenged the form and structure of public schooling. Presently curriculum development is fundamental at all educational levels.

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.

This title examines the relationships between the personal, social and educational experiences of children and explores the ways in which they are influenced by the use multiple modes of communication and the use of new technologies that enable them to make meaning in multimodal environments.

Locally or individually, STEM programs provide additional opportunities to engage K-12 students, including those from marginalized groups, with the support of STEM outreach organizations through the co-construction and implementation of STEM activities during school, out of school, at home, and in the community. Research suggests that community-engaged partnerships forge relationships that can enhance and sustain K-12 STEM education efforts between K-12 districts and the scholarly community. There is a need to highlight community-engaged teaching and scholarship produced from partnerships between K-12 school districts and STEM outreach organizations. Developing and Sustaining STEM Programs Across the K-12 Education Landscape describes the purpose of the collaboration between K-12 school districts and STEM outreach organizations, the STEM activities that participating K-12 students engage in, and the impacts on STEM learners that emerge from the partnership. Covering topics such as continuous program improvement, school-industry partnerships, and student success, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for educational leaders and administrators, pre-service and in-service educators, teacher educators, researchers, and academicians.

Comprehensive and authoritative, this forward-thinking book reviews the breadth of current knowledge about early education and identifies important priorities for practice and policy. Robert C. Pianta and his associates bring together foremost experts to examine what works in promoting all children's school readiness and social-emotional development in preschool and the primary grades. Exemplary programs, instructional practices, and professional development initiatives?and the systems needed to put them into place?are described. The volume presents cutting-edge findings on the family and social context of early education and explores ways to strengthen collaboration between professionals and parents.