The child-centred principles of early years education - which emphasize play and holistic learning - are being challenged by the implementation of a subject-based National Curriculum. The contributors to this book explore this challenge and offer some ways of meeting it practically and productively. Issues covered include: pedagogical issues, such as the cross-curricular, topic-based teaching; teacher's attitudes to subject knowledge; assessment issues, including baseline assessment at the age of five; and parental attitudes to the National Curriculum and its content at Key Stage 1.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.

What does the National Curriculum mean to pupils and teachers at Key Stage One? How have teachers and children coped with the ongoing changes? How has subject teaching altered in infant classrooms? In A National Curriculum for the Early Years, Angela Anning and her team of contributors set out to examine these issues. Infant teachers and their pupils were the guinea pigs for the introduction of the National Curriculum over a five year period. Despite many reservations about a subject-based curriculum for young children, teachers struggled to interpret the National Curriculum Orders into a workable, if not manageable, curriculum in their classrooms. The contributors to this book, each experts in a subject discipline, have kept in close touch with practising and intending infant teachers as the National Curriculum was operationalized in primary schools. They have used their teacher networks, as well as research evidence, to tap into the strategies used by infant teachers to cope with the planning, delivery and assessment of the National Curriculum subjects and the effects of government policy changes on young children's learning. Together the contributors provide a timely analysis of subject discipline based education for young children and look ahead to the prospects for those subjects at Key Stage One in the second half of the 1990s. This book will be essential reading for anyone involved in the education of young children.

Anti-bias education begins with you! Become a skilled anti-bias teacher with this practical guidance to confronting and eliminating barriers.

A core textbook mapped to the specifications for BTEC National Early Years.

The second edition of Early Childhood Curriculum provides a comprehensive and lively introduction to curriculum theories, approaches and issues in early childhood settings. Drawing on contemporary research and case studies, the book employs a cultural-historical framework to illustrate a variety of approaches to early childhood education. In this new edition there is an up-to-date coverage of national curriculum documents, including the Early Years Framework and Te Whariki, a glossary of key terms and learning intentions at the beginning of each chapter. There is also an updated companion website at www.cambridge.edu.au/academic/earlychildhood. In each chapter, hypothetical transcripts and real-world examples help bring theory to life. The book explores specific domain areas, including science and mathematics; literacy and language; information and communication technology; the arts; and health and well-being. Early Childhood Curriculum equips pre-service teachers with the practical skills and tools to promote young children's learning. It is an essential resource for pre-service teachers and practitioners alike.

The foundation stage has a fundamental role in the laying of foundations for children's learning. In this new edition the author uses a wide range of material, including research evidence, to offer an additional dimension to work currently taking place in the Foundation Stage. Each chapter includes the 'early learning goals' for the majority of children and advice on providing for each area of learning: personal, social and emotional development, language and literacy, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world, and physical and creative development. Students training to be specialist early years teachers and those already working in the sector will welcome this up-to-date guide to planning and providing for high quality learning experiences for children under five. With case studies of good practice, practical help in writing an early years policy and guidance on assessment and devising an effective post-inspection plan, this is a truly comprehensive guide to planning and implementing an appropriate curriculum for the under fives.