Early childhood education is fundamental to a child's later educational achievements and future success. The principles and practices of modern early childhood education have their origins in the past. While the educators who built the field have been the subject of many detailed studies, previous works do not provide adequate coverage of primary and secondary sources, multicultural educators, or more recent leaders in the discipline. This reference book provides biographies and annotated bibliographies of more than 30 pioneers in early childhood education from Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and John Locke (1632-1704), to Maria Montessori (1870-1952), Leland B. Jacobs (1907-1992), and Lillian Weber (1917-1994). Special attention is given to multicultural educators, including Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) and her work with The National Association of Colored Women. Biographies are arranged alphabetically, and each is followed by annotated bibliographies of primary and secondary sources.

This book informs students and scholars of early childhood education about the vital influences that imagination in preschool and early childhood education has exerted upon the lives of various populations. It explores the deeper imaginations of scholars of philosophy and theory, and describes how their work has found its way into present-day classroom practices. The imagination of early philosophers, writers, and teachers, like Aesop, Plato, Socrates, Locke, and Rousseau, are considered in terms of how they affected the theories of Comenius, Oberlin, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Montessori, Freud, Piaget, and Erikson. These thinkers are integrated throughout the text in their proper historical and philosophical periods.

This collection brings together studies and essays that represent the best work being done in early childhood research. It includes materials spanning the full range of early childhood settings and provides cutting edge views by leading educators of new methods and perspectives.

Some educators feel that children's cognitive styles should be taken into account when learning activities are planned for them. The term "cognitive styles" refers to one's "personal style," and describes an individual's mode of understanding, thinking, remembering, judging, and solving problems; in short, how he or she responds to and makes sense of the world. Assessing this functioning makes more sense than relying on a simple score on a standardized intelligence test. Teachers need to be aware of recent cognitive style research and learn to use the results of this research to plan effective educational programs. This book presents historical perspectives, suggests practical classroom applications, and provides implications for future research.

Teachers commonly talk about loving their students, yet no effort has been made to explore the powerful educational potential inherent in these loving feelings. Teaching with Love breaks new ground by paying careful, scholarly attention to the nature, the scope, the dimensions, & the variety of teacherly love. In a highly readable narrative that builds on the feminist notion of an ethic of care & draws from the fields of psychology & women's studies, this book examines & analyzes the experiences of two primary grade teachers as they set about trying to create & enact a vision of early childhood education centered around loving relationships.

This book provides a review of current thinking and best practice within nursery and infant education. The authors include an analysis of current research into how children learn and discussions of issues such as classroom organization, curriculum management, and assessment. In addition, the text covers individual curriculum areas, including new chapters on children's art, ICT and PSHE.

The authors draw on their extensive early years expertise to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the key issues in the field of early childhood care and education. In this timely and accessible text, students will find: · An overview of the principles of effective practice · Discussions on equal opportunities and children's rights · An examination of how children learn and the learning difficulties they may face · Investigations into what working with parents really means · A consideration of the different early years systems in operation · Summaries of key management issues and useful information on how to address them · A comparison with European perspectives on early years care and education The book covers the whole age range from 0-8 years with a special section on the 0-3 years age group. Each chapter is fully referenced to enable the reader to follow up on research or new materials. Informative and engaging, the book challenges the reader to think about how underlying theory may be reflected in practice. It will be essential reading for all students of early years care and education, and early years practitioners.