A Critical Companion to Early Childhood

Michael Reed is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Early Childhood, within the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester. He teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to child development, practice based research and leadership. He is a qualified teacher and hold advanced qualifications in Educational Inquiry, Educational Psychology and Special Education. He was a member of course development and writing teams at the Open University and an experienced author. He has a particular interest in practice based inquiry and research evaluating ways to improve quality in practice. He has co-edited a number of books including Reflective Practice in the Early Years (2010), Quality Improvement and Change in the Early Years (2012) and Work Based Research in the Early Years (2012), all published by SAGE. Rosie Walker coordinates a Foundation Degree with seven partner institutions. She is a Senior Lecturer within the Centre for Early Childhood, within the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester. She has supervised many research projects with Foundation Degree, BA and Top up students as well as at Masters level and is responsible for managing student practice based experience. She has published book chapters, co-authored a textbook exploring practice based research as well as journal articles. Professionally, she has managed two large children's centres and is a qualified Social Worker. She has worked in a variety of childcare settings including child protection teams. Rosie is also the author of Success with your Early Years Research Project (2014) with Carla Solvason, published by SAGE.

Part I: Developing Critical Reflection - Michael Reed and Rosie Walker Chapter 1: The Undergraduate Journey - Michael Reed, Linda Tyler and Rosie Walker Chapter 2: Reflective Practice - Karen Hanson and Karen Appleby Chapter 3: The Ethical Practitioner with Children and Families - Sue Callan Chapter 4: Critical Thinking - Jennifer Worsley and Catherine Lamond Chapter 5: ICT and Learning for Students: A New Way of Thinking - Michelle Rogers Part II: The Developing Child - Michael Reed and Rosie Walker Chapter 6: Deliberating on Practices with Young Children in the United States - Mary Benson McMullen Chapter 7: 'Vygotsky Rocks!' An Argument That Helps Use Lev Vygotsky's Ideas in Early Years Practice - Anna Popova Chapter 8: The Developing Child: Some Critical Perspectives - Jackie Musgrave Chapter 9: Play and Creativity: How Important Is This in Terms of the Developing Child? - Frances Brett Chapter 10: Repositioning Developmentalism - Anna Kilderry Part III: Taking a Holistic View - Michael Reed and Rosie Walker Chapter 11: Security and Attachment - Robin Balbernie Chapter 12: Developing Child in Society: Making Transitions - Aline Wendy Dunlop Chapter 13: Taking a Holistic View: Critically Examining Complex Professional Issues - Claire M Richards Chapter 14: The Language of Special Educational Needs: Learning from the Past to Build the Future - Caroline Jones Chapter 15: Supporting Children with Complex Health Needs and Life-Limiting Conditions and Their Families - Erica Brown Part IV: Policy and Practice - Michael Reed and Rosie Walker Chapter 16: Whose Curriculum Is It Anyway? - Derval Carey-Jenkins Chapter 17: Approaches to the Early Years Curriculum: A Critical View from Wales - Sian Wyn Siencyn Chapter 18: Parental Involvement and Partnership with Parents: "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" - Martin Needham and Dianne Jackson Chapter 19: Supporting Parents - Josephine Bleach Chapter 20: Policy into Practice: Implementing the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia from a Western Australian Perspective - Sandra Hesterman Part V: Professional Roles and Responsibilities - Michael Reed and Rosie Walker Chapter 21: Professional Roles and Responsibilities: Professional Practice and Early Childhood Today - Michael Gasper Chapter 22: Integrated Working in Practice: Why Don't Professionals Talk to Each Other? - Alison Nicholls Chapter 23: Children's Developing Identity - Victoria Cooper Chapter 24: Assessment: A Critical Companion to Early Childhood Pedagogy - Alma Fleet Chapter 25: The Responsibility of the Practice-Based Researcher - Carla Solvason

In this stimulating and provocative book the editors have drawn together a diverse and international range of respected authors, each of whom has taken a critical approach to the contentious question of how you define and achieve quality early childhood services. It is a book designed to provoke and promote critical dialogue and discourse amongst practitioners and students through critical engagement with the position of the authors within the text. I believe anyone who reads this book will be inspired and motivated to challenge and extend their thinking and professional practice, adopting the critical stance which lies at the heart of quality services for children and families. -- Professor Chris Pascal