How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

This reader contains source material for an up-to-date study of child development as it applies to major issues in child care and education. The emphasis is on studying early childhood in cultural contexts - in families and in preschool settings. Part 1 elaborates a socio-cultural approach to early development, taking emotional attachment, communication and language and daycare as examples. Part 2 considers how children's emerging capacities for empathy, inter-subjectivity and social understanding enable them to negotiate, talk about and play out relationship themes, both in the family and preschool. Part 3 concentrates on early learning, with chapters on the way parents support children's acquisition of new skills, young children negotiating their role in learner-teacher relationships and toddlers learning to collaborate with each other. Part 4 continues the theme of children's initiation into socio-cultural practices from a cross-cultural perspective, with studies drawn from such diverse contexts as Cameroon, Guatemala, Italy, Japan and the United States. This is the first of three readers which have been specially prepared as readers for the Open University MA Course: ED840 Child Development in Families, Schools and Society.

This important collection examines peer rejections among children.

Highly readable and comprehensive, this volume explores the significance of friendship for social, emotional, and cognitive development from early childhood through adolescence. The authors trace how friendships change as children age and what specific functions these relationships play in promoting adjustment and well-being. Compelling topics include the effects of individual differences on friendship quality, how friendship quality can be assessed, and ways in which certain friendships may promote negative outcomes. Examining what clinicians, educators, and parents can do to help children who struggle with making friends, the book reviews available interventions and identifies important directions for future work in the field.

This comprehensive, authoritative handbook covers the breadth of theories, methods, and empirically based findings on the ways in which children and adolescents contribute to one another's development. Leading researchers review what is known about the dynamics of peer interactions and relationships from infancy through adolescence. Topics include methods of assessing friendship and peer networks; early romantic relationships; individual differences and contextual factors in children's social and emotional competencies and behaviors; group dynamics; and the impact of peer relations on achievement, social adaptation, and mental health. Salient issues in intervention and prevention are also addressed.

The period of adolescence involves growth, adaptation, and dramatic reorganization in almost every aspect of social and psychological development. The Encyclopedia of Adolescence, Three Volume Set offers an exhaustive and comprehensive review of current theory and research findings pertaining to this critical decade of life. Leading scientists offer accessible and easily readable reviews of biological, social, educational, occupational, and cultural factors that shape adolescent development. Issues in normative development, individual differences, and psychopathology/maladjustment are reviewed. Over 130 chapters are included, each covering a specific aspect or issue of adolescence. The chapters trace differences in the course of adolescence in different nations and among youth with different backgrounds.The encyclopedia brings together cross-disciplinary contributors, including academic researchers, biologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, anthropologists and public policy experts, and will include authors from around the world. Each article features an in-depth analysis of current information on the topic, along with a glossary, suggested readings for further information, and cross-references to related encyclopedia articles. The volumes offer an unprecedented resource for all audiences, providing a more comprehensive understanding of general topics compared to other reference works on the subject.Available both in print and online via SciVerse Science Direct. Winner of the 2011 PROSE Award for Multivolume Reference in Humanities & Social Science from the Association of American Publishers; and named a 2012 Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association's Choice publication Brings together cross-disciplinary contributors, including developmental psychologists, educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, biologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, anthropologists and public policy experts Published both in print and via Elsevier's ScienceDirectTM online platform

Early childhood is a time of wonder, excitement, adventure and learning. A time to experience social relations and friendships, and all of the emotions involved. The joy, and the excitement – of creating a common world with friends. A world of ‘what if’ and ‘as if’ moments that are accepted and built together, or rejected – leading to frustration, sadness and exclusion – the darker side of friendship. In this book, cultural-historical concepts are used to analyse the everyday lives of children. Inspired by contemporary ideas about moral imagination, Collaborative Pathways to Friendship in Early Childhood theorises friendship as a concept. Traditionally, studies about friendship in early childhood focus on relations built in educational settings. As a point of difference, Dr Adams and Dr Quinones introduce the conditions that are created for, with, and by young children as they move between everyday family life, and transition into education settings. Through narratives of internationally mobile families moving into Malaysia and established families in Mexico, varying perspectives of children, parents, teachers and principals are presented — culminating in a holistic understanding of friendship in early childhood. Providing insight into varied perspectives and processes involved when young children enter into friendships, this book will be of interest to researchers, post graduate students and teacher educators specialising in early childhood education, child psychology or social work.