Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum

Elizabeth Wood is Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield. She teaches on a range of post-graduate programmes and runs in-service courses for teachers and early years practitioners. She has worked on a number of collaborative research projects with teachers in early years and primary schools. Elizabeth co-directed two ESRC funded research projects with Neville Bennett: Reception Teachers′ Theories of Play (1995-97) and Progression and Continuity in the Early Years (1999-2000). She has authored books and articles based on her research interests in play, young children′s learning, early childhood pedagogy, equity and equality, policy critique and collaborative action research.

′Students find this book accessible and valuable for both undergraduate and postgraduate levels′ -Lecturer′s comments′Liz Wood has given us an essential, thoughtful and engaging book which contributes to the discourse of early years pedagogy. The book is a speculative work that offers ways of thinking and a fresh perspective about play by engaging with theory and practice as they are interrelated in the reality of early years pedagogy. This book situates play in the centre of early years pedagogy and deals with the debates around learning, curriculum, assessment and policy, not only through a lucid discussion of play, but also through highly effective and moving examples of play situations in practice′-Dr Ioanna Palaiologou, The University of Hull

• List of figuresAbout the AuthorPrefaceA Note from the AuthorAdd-on MaterialUnderstanding Play: Complexity and ChallengeUnderstanding Children′s Learning: Contemporary Theoretical PerspectivesPlay in National Policies: International PerspectivesPlay and the CurriculumPlay and PedagogyPlay and Learning in Outdoor EnvironmentsAssessing Children′s Learning in PlayDeveloping PlayAppendixBibliographyAuthor indexSubject index