Early Childhood Education

Cathy Nutbrown is President of Early Education and Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield. Her research over the last 30 years, has focussed on young children’s learning and work with parents to support young children’s literacy development.  She won an ESRC Award for Research with Outstanding Impact on Society and a Nursery World Lifetime Achievement Award. She is author of over 150 publications including Early Literacy Work with Families (with Hannon and Morgan, Sage, 2005), Early Childhood Educational Research (Sage, 2019), and Home Learning Environments for Young Children (with Clough, Davies and Hannon, Sage, 2022).Peter Clough is Professor of Education at the University of Brighton. Often using innovative, arts-based qualitative methodologies, his research is concerned particularly with the inclusion of marginalised voices, and spans all age phases. Among his many publications are Inclusion in the Early Years (Sage), and Narratives and Fictions in Educational Research (OUP). Recent research includes the Family Literacy in Prisons project in collaboration with the Prison Advice and Care Trust.

‘This book is an essential read for all those studying and working in the early years.  It does indeed give a rootedness to our work and allows us to ponder. Most importantly it reminds us about the importance of the early years and our responsibility to continually advocate for the youngest children.’

• IntroductionPART ONE: A SHORT HISTORY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATIONThe Legacy of HistoryEarly Childhood Education in the UK: A Brief HistoryFoundation Stones: Some Key Figures Whose Work Has Influenced Thinking and Development of Provision for Young PeopleInto the Twenty-First Century: Twenty-Five Years of Policy ChangeUnderstanding Recent History: 1988-2013Into the Future, Learning from the PastPART TWO: THE PIONEERS: THEIR LIVES AND WORKSSocratesJohn Amos Komensky (Comenius)Jean Jacques RousseauJohann Heinrich PestalozziRobert OwenFriedrich FroebelCharles DickensCharlotte MasonRudolf SteinerSigmund FreudRachel McMillanJohn DeweyMargaret McMillanMaria MontessoriAlexander Sutherland (A.S. Neill)Susan Sutherland IsaacsLouis Christian SchillerLev Semyonovich VygotskyDonald Woods WinnicottJean PiagetErik EriksonCarl RogersRobin TannerBurrhus Frederick SkinnerSir Alexander Bradshow Clegg (Alec Clegg)Loris MalaguzziChris AtheyPART THREE: TALKING OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: NINE CONVERSATIONSConversation 1 So, Who Needs History?Conversation 2 Why Early Childhood Education?Conversation 3 What Motivates Young Children to Learn?Conversation 4 How Do Young Children Learn?Conversation 5 A Policy of CreativityConversation 6 Looking Back to ′Education′ and ′Care′... Challenging Current Policy through HistoryConversation 7 Literacy in the Early Years: A Pedagogy of Patience?Conversation 8 Children′s Rights and Early LearningConversation 9 From God and Church to Awe and Wonder: Spirituality and Creativity in Early Childhood EducationPART FOUR: LINKING THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT1. Children′s Rights2. The Arts and Creativity3. Literacy4. Play, Learning and Pedagogy5. Early Intervention6. Home Learning and Parental Involvement in Early Education7. Inclusion8. Professional Development and Training