Based on a year-long micro-ethnography of a nursery school, this book presents a unique approach to childhood socialization by focusing directly upon the social, interactive, and communicative processes that make up the world of young children. It contains micro-sociolinguistic analyses of videotaped peer interactive episodes which are the basis of explanations of children's development and use of social concepts such as status, role, norms, and friendship. Stable features of peer culture in the nursery school are identified, and the importance of interpreting children's behavior from their own perspective is demonstrated. The author also addresses the implications of the findings for early childhood education.

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.

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.

Internationally, linguistic diversity is at its highest to date. With increasing numbers of children learning additional languages, it is important to understand the nature of the social relationships that children are experiencing. This volume features the rich, varied and complex aspects of children's friendships in multilingual settings.

In the second edition of his unique study of peer relationships in childhood, Dr Barry Schneider re-examines this fundamental aspect of childhood. Taking the work of Jacob Moreno as its starting point, the book provides an up-to-date and accessible understanding of how children develop social competence in different environments, from school to cyberspace. It is informed by a cross-cultural perspective that examines how peer relationships vary in different cultures, as well as among children who have migrated to a new culture, and provides increased coverage of how bullying is perceived and managed within peer groups. The book is informed, too, by new research techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, which mean we know far more about how children relate to each other than ever before. Childhood Friendships and Peer Relations is a fascinating and very timely overview of what we know about making friends and enemies in childhood, showing how these relationships can have lasting effects. It will be essential reading to all students of Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology, as well as anyone training towards a career working with children and young people.

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.