Laurie Kocher is a Faculty member in the Department of Early Childhood Care and Education, Capilano University, Canada. Catherine Patterson is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood, Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Australia.

Music for all : everyone has the potential to learn music / Markku Kaikkonen -- Twice exceptional / Alice M. Hammel -- How the Orff approach can support inclusive music teaching / Shirley Salmon -- Lessons learned from the Prism project : pedagogical viewpoints in music education for teaching students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) / Ryan Hourigan -- Assistive technology to support students in accessing the music curriculum / Emily H. Watts, Kimberly McCord, & Deborah V. Blair -- SoundOUT : examining the role of accessible interactive music technologies within inclusive music ensembles in Cork City, Ireland / Grainne McHale -- Music activities for children with disabilities : an example from Taiwan / Liza Lee -- Behavioral issues in the music classroom : promoting the successful engagement of all students / Alice Ann Darrow and Mary Adamek -- Specified learning disabilities and music education / Kimberly McCord -- Including students with disabilities in instrumental ensembles / Christine M. Lapka -- Music for children with hearing loss / Alan Gertner and Lyn Schraer-Joiner -- Reading acquisition frameworks for music and language : layering elements of literacy for students with exceptionalities / Elaine Bernstorf -- Understanding the U.S. individualized education program model / Kimberly VanWeelden -- Special education and special music education outside of the United States / Kimberly McCord

Recent decades have seen a growing emphasis, in a number of professional contexts, on acknowledging and acting on the views of children. This trend was given added weight by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1990. Today, seeking the perspective of the child has become an essential process in all sorts of tasks, from framing new legislation to regulating professions. This book answers the fundamental question of what it is that constitutes a ‘child perspective’, and how this might differ from the perspectives of children themselves. The answers to such questions have important implications for building progressive and developmental adult-child relationships. However, theoretical and empirical treatments of child perspectives and children’s perspectives are very diverse and idiosyncratic, and the standard reference work has yet to be written. Thus, this work is an attempt to fill the gap in the literature by searching for and defining key formulations of potential child perspectives within parts of the so-called ‘new child paradigm’. This has been derived from childhood sociology, contextual-relational developmental psychology, interpretative humanistic psychology and developmental pedagogy. The highly experienced authors develop a comprehensive professional child perspective paradigm that integrates recent theory and empirical child research. With its clear presentation of underlying theories and suggested applications, this book illustrates a child-oriented understanding of specific relevance to both child-care and preschool educational practice.

Early Childhood educational research is a constantly evolving field. This book brings together Cathy Nutbrown’s considerable knowledge and expertise in the field, to deliver a comprehensive and critical overview of national and international research. The strengths of various types of research, and their influence on theory, policy and practice, are identified along with new and emerging research areas, and anticipated future topics and patterns of research. Through an analytical discussion of research topics addressing Children, Adults and Pedagogy, these key areas are highlighted: - Issues in research design - Types of and trends in methodological approaches - The ethics of research With digestible chapter introductions, thinking points and suggestions for research or dissertation topics, readers are also able to locate their own work in an international landscape. This is the perfect ‘go to’ resource for all early childhood education and social science researchers. Cathy Nutbrown will be discussing ideas from Early Childhood Educational Research in Doing Your Early Years Research Project, a SAGE Masterclass for early years students and practitioners in collaboration with Kathy Brodie.

In the 21st century what the future holds for young learners is unclear, what is clear is that they need to be confident, capable and resilient. As wider communication about education is increasing, there is a developing understanding that children in settings across the globe learn in the same ways and have the same needs. How these are best met demands reflection and effective contexts for early learning reflect the needs and demands of the communities they serve. This book considers international and multicultural learning environments from both theoretical and practical perspectives. It is written by specialists in early years education in the UK and in international contexts, all of whom have a passion for young children's learning. The theoretical perspectives are supported by eight case studies, from Uganda, Indonesia, Mexico, Qatar, Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Romania.

This volume discusses the importance of positive schooling in producing responsible and potentially productive adults. Students are generally more motivated to do well and to realize their full potential in schools that have a positive schooling climate, where they feel safe, included and supported. Nevertheless, the reality in today's schools is very different. This volume discusses the major challenges faced by children and adolescents in schools, including problems with curricula, safety issues, lack of inclusive policies, non-availability of teachers, ineffective teaching, insensitivity towards students’ issues, improper evaluation methods, harmful disciplinary measures, and so on. Experts in child psychology and education discuss these issues at length in this volume and offer viable solutions for policymakers, school administrators, teachers and parents to make suitable changes and create a positive atmosphere in educational institutions. This volume further discusses the role of various stakeholders---school principals, teachers, counsellors and psychologists---in addressing these challenges. In addition, it raises other, emerging issues which have not been covered in previous volumes on this topic and offers evidence-based suggestions to address them. The intended readership of the volume is researchers and students of psychology, education, sociology, social work and public health, and school teachers, administrators and teacher-trainers.

Pedagogical documentation is a vital method of assessing and observing young children, and is a practice that enables practitioners, families and children to learn alongside each other. This book draws on the projects and experiences of senior researchers from nations including Australia, Canada, Sweden, Singapore, the UK and the USA to highlight multiple approaches to pedagogical documentation. Topics explored include: using video in pedagogical documentation making the most of outdoor learning environments developing pedagogical documentation within curriculum frameworks the relationship with Early Years transitions the potential of pedagogical documentation for leadership enactment. The book offers guidance, support and inspiration to practitioners and researchers on how to implement meaningful and sustainable child-focused observation in early years contexts.

This book studies the major characteristics of the social pedagogical approach to early childhood education and care. It does so by investigating the distinctive elements of the Nordic approach and tradition. The cultural, educational, and ideological structures and values within the Nordic tradition indicate a strong “social pedagogical” rather than “early education” emphasis. The Nordic tradition applies a social learning approach that emphasizes play, relationships and outdoor life, and presumes that learning takes place through children’s participation in social interaction and processes. Set against this background, the book examines the characteristics of the pedagogue and the important features that develop through the Nordic approach. It compares children educated in the Nordic tradition with those educated in the French-English and Anglo-American tradition. It explores quality in relation to how children can enjoy childhood, and at the same time become able to actively participate in society and develop the social and cognitive skills and competences that individuals require to do well in society.

Children’s curiosity about their lives and worlds motivates many interests. Yet, adults often have fixed ideas about what children’s interests are and have been criticised for trivialising children’s interests. This book offers a critical and accessible engagement with research on children’s interests that challenges us to move beyond surface-level understandings. Children’s Interests, Inquiries and Identities argues that the powerful relationship between interests and informal learning has been under-recognised and undervalued. The book proposes new principles for understanding children’s learning. It provides evidence that we need to look beyond the activities or topics children may currently be selecting to find out who and what has stimulated their interests, how we might identify and interpret interests more analytically and deeply, and how we might respond and engage with these in ways that take children’s interests seriously. Moving beyond play-based activities, Helen Hedges explains and illustrates a number of ways by which children’s interests can be interpreted and understood, to get to the heart of what really matters to, and for, children. The book draws on examples from research with children aged under 5 years, and young adults aged 18-25. It also includes a chapter on teachers’ interests. It presents new and original models for interests-based curriculum and sociocultural curriculum and pedagogy for future examination in research and practice. This book demonstrates that leaving behind long-standing, taken-for-granted practices that have influenced understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, learning, and outcomes allows a new perspective of children’s interests to emerge. It will be of interest to researchers, postgraduate students, and practitioners in the early years, parents, and other professionals who work with young children.