Contemporary Perspectives On Early Childhood Curriculum

This book considers and interrogates a range of new and critical issues in contemporary early childhood education. It discusses both fundamental and emerging topics in the field, and presents them in the context of reflective and contemporary frameworks. Bringing together leading experts whose work is at the cutting edge of contemporary early childhood education theory and research across the world, this book considers the care and education of young children from a global perspective and deals with issues and groups of children or families that are often marginalized. The contributing authors challenge traditional views and maintain that new ways of thinking and doing are required in these new times. The chapters in this book highlight some of the most important issues as catalysts for discussion and critique. Central to the discussions is the notion that these are complex issues that warrant debate and that there are often no simple solutions to them. These theoretical perspectives are situated in practice with the use of engaging case studies. This edited collection is essential reading for anyone studying or working in early childhood education. Contributors: Marina Umaschi Bers, Erica Burman, Judith Duncan, Anne Haas Dyson, Karen Gallas, Rachael Holmes, Elizabeth Jones, Michelle Leiminer, Hillevi Lenz Taguchi, Maggie MacLure, Christina MacRae, Joanna McPake, Veronica Pacini Ketchabaw, Alan Pence, Helen Penn, Lydia Plowman, Valerie Polakow, Christine Stephen, Gail Yuen.

Contemporary Perspectives and Research on Early Childhood Education is a welcome addition to the field of early childhood education. This book enhances the understanding of different approaches to curriculum and instruction; appropriate assessment strategies; the role of math and science in children’s development; the importance of seeing the whole child and ensuring children develop holistically through play and arts; training effective teachers; and the importance of helping parents to be better supporters of their children. Along with this comprehensive content, the book also contains diverse methodologies including qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches, which will further enrich the reader’s perspective and understanding of a wide range of topics in the field. Thus, this book creates a platform for researchers and practitioners to share and discuss research findings, expertise, and experiences about early childhood education.

For decades, politicians, businessmen and other leaders have been concerned with the quality of education, including early childhood education, in the United States. While more than 50% of the children between the ages of three and five are enrolled in preschool and kindergarten programs in the United States, no state, federal, or national standards exist for science or technology education in preschool or kindergarten programs. Knowledge about science and technology is an important requirement for all in contemporary society. An increasing number of professions require the use of scientific concepts and technological skills and society as a whole depends on scientific knowledge. Scientific and technological knowledge should be a part of every individual’s education. There are many ways to enhance young children’s scientific thinking and problem-solving skills as well as their technological abilities. The purpose of this volume is to present a critical analysis of reviews of research on science and technology education in early childhood education. The first part of the volume includes contributions by leading scholars in science, while the second part includes contributions by leading scholars in technology.

Researchers, educators, professional organizations, administrators, parents, and policy makers have increased their involvement in the assessment and evaluation of early childhood education programs. This interest has developed swiftly during the last decades. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) developed a position statement titled, “Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8,” to address related trends, issues, guiding principles, and values. Appropriate and well-designed evaluations need to address several audiences including researchers, educators, policy makers, children, and parents. They need to encourage the implementation of a strong foundation that improves the quality of the children’s education. Child assessment and program evaluation can lead to effective results and better accountability for preschool, kindergarten, and primary school programs. The purpose of this volume is to share a collection of research strands on contemporary perspectives on research in assessment and evaluation in early childhood education. It provides a review and critical analysis of the literature on assessment and evaluation of programs, children, teachers, and settings. The volume begins with a brief introductory chapter that presents the reader with a map of the area, laying out the issues and alternatives, and linking these to the chapters that follow. It addresses several areas including (1) understanding assessment and evaluation with young children, (2) schools and assessment implications, (3) teacher evaluation and professional development, (4) social relationships and assessment, (5) content areas in early education assessment, (6) technology and assessment, and (7) conclusion with future research directions in assessment and evaluation in early childhood education. The volume is of interest to researchers, educators, policy makers, university faculty, graduate students, and general readers who are interested in research on assessment and evaluation in early childhood education. The chapters are authored by established scholars in the field.

The purpose of the book series is to present reviews of current research in specific areas of early childhood education. Each volume is devoted to a particular area of the field. Within each volume scholars present reviews of research on particular aspects of the field of early childhood education. Each chapter summarizes the current research and provides an extended set of references which will facilitate readers in furthering their inquiries into research in that area. All contributions to each volume are juried, with an Editorial Board and additional scholars reviewing the draft chapters, suggesting ways that the chapters could be improved , and finally recommending them for publication. This process insures the quality of the contributions to the chapter and avoids the possibility of bias in the work. Recent findings suggest that young children’s learning experiences are critical to their learning development, which has attracted the attention of researchers, scholars, and policy makers. Interest has focused on the early childhood policy and practice that can help improve the academic paths of children in poverty. Many of these children are from linguistically and culturally diverse families. The purpose of this volume is to review and summarize the current state of knowledge related to linguistically and culturally diverse children. It expanded cultural diversity to include social justice which can contribute knowledge in providing effective teacher preparation programs and high quality programs for linguistically and culturally diverse children.

This volume provides a comprehensive critical analysis of the research in mathematics education for young children. The researchers who conducted the critical analysis focused on the relationship between (1) mathematics learning in the early years and domain specific approaches to cognitive development, (2) the children’s social learning and their developing understanding of math, and (3) the children’s learning in a natural context and their understanding of mathematics concepts. The work of these scholars can help guide those researchers who are interested in pursuing studies in early childhood mathematics in a specific area of study. This volume will facilitate the research conducted by both novice and expert researchers. The volume has accomplished its major goals, which consists of critically analyzing important research in a specific area that would be most useful in advancing the field and provide recommendations for both researchers and educators.

Early childhood education has always been an enterprising one. Innovative models that provide connections among the family, community, and school of early childhood will continue to emerge through the years to acknowledge new educational ideologies, new social demands, and new knowledge. The issues addressed in this volume can provide new directions to prepare early childhood scholars, researchers, and practitioners to work as a team in these different settings.

Recently, a new understanding of creative thought and creative performance has surfaced. It has also attracted the attention of early childhood professional organizations and researchers. Professional organizations have included it in their publications and conferences. While current creativity researchers have initiated a far more sophisticated understanding of young children’s creative thinking, ways to assess creativity, strategies to promote creativity, and research methodologies. The purpose of this volume is to present a wide range of different theories and areas in the study of creativity to help researchers and theorists work toward the development of different perspectives on creativity with young children. It focuses on critical analyses and reviews of the literature on topics related to creativity research, development, theories, and practices. It will serve as a reference for early childhood education researchers, scholars, academics, general educators, teacher educators, teachers, graduate students, and scientists to stimulate further “dialogue” on ways to enhance creativity. The chapters are of high quality and provide scholarly analyses of research studies that capture the full range of approaches to the study of creativity --- behavioral, clinical, cognitive, cross-cultural, developmental, educational, genetic, organizational, psychoanalytic, psychometric, and social. Interdisciplinary research is also included, as is research within specific domains such as art and science, as well as on critical issues (e.g., aesthetics, genius, imagery, imagination, insight, intuition, metaphor, play, problem finding and solving). Thus, it offers critical analyses on reviews of research in a form that are useful to early childhood researchers, scholars, educators, and graduate students. It also places the current research in its historical context. The volume is also of interest to the general readers who are interested in the young children’s creativity. The chapters are authored by established scholars in the field of young children’s creativity.