Glenda Mac Naughton – författare

There are powerful sections on parents and communities ... I particularly liked the stimulating 'ideas galleries' with their statements from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners around the world." Nursery World, October 2004

This key textbook introduces students and practitioners to a wide range of different approaches to early childhood. It provides practical strategies for developing and implementing early learning experiences that promote excellence and equity for children.

The book presents the latest research and thinking about good practice, discusses how various philosophies and beliefs influence decisions in early childhood education, and identifies the key thinkers behind each approach. By examining different perspectives, the book helps early childhood practitioners to navigate their way through competing views, make informed choices, and be critically reflective in their work.

In an accessible, lively and user-friendly way, it explores issues such as:

There are powerful sections on parents and communities ... I particularly liked the stimulating ''ideas galleries'' with their statements from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners around the world." Nursery World, October 2004

This key textbook introduces students and practitioners to a wide range of different approaches to early childhood. It provides practical strategies for developing and implementing early learning experiences that promote excellence and equity for children.

The book presents the latest research and thinking about good practice, discusses how various philosophies and beliefs influence decisions in early childhood education, and identifies the key thinkers behind each approach. By examining different perspectives, the book helps early childhood practitioners to navigate their way through competing views, make informed choices, and be critically reflective in their work.

In an accessible, lively and user-friendly way, it explores issues such as:

Written in a lively and accessible style, this is the essential step-by-step guide to conducting your own action research project. The book introduces and evaluates different approaches to action research and explores how they can be applied in early childhood settings to create positive change and to improve practice.

Using varied illustrations and case studies of contemporary projects in diverse early childhood contexts, the book addresses specific issues and challenges that you might face when conducting action research in such settings.

Each chapter offers gentle guidance and support at a specific stage of the research process, from choosing your initial topic to formulating your research question, through to sharing the lessons of your project.

The book's key features include:

Doing Action Research in Early Childhood Studies is an essential resource for students and practitioners of early childhood studies.

This book presents early childhood students and staff with a broad and diverse range of teaching techniques to support children's learning. It examines 26 techniques ranging from simple ones, such as describing and listening, to more complex methods, such as deconstruction and scaffolding.

The strategies selected are derived from the best current research knowledge about how young children learn. A detailed evaluation of each strategy enables childcare staff, early childhood teachers and students to expand their repertoire of teaching strategies and to critically evaluate their own teaching in early childhood settings.

Vignettes and examples show how early childhood staff use the techniques to support children's learning and help to bring the discussion of each technique to life. Revised and updated in light of the latest research, new features include:

* Coverage of the phonics debate* Addition of ICT content* Questions for further discussion* Revision to the chapter on problem solving* Updated referencing throughout

Teaching Young Children is key reading for students and experienced early childhood staff working in diverse settings with young children.

Written in a lively and accessible style, this is the essential step-by-step guide to conducting your own action research project. The book introduces and evaluates different approaches to action research and explores how they can be applied in early childhood settings to create positive change and to improve practice.

Using varied illustrations and case studies of contemporary projects in diverse early childhood contexts, the book addresses specific issues and challenges that you might face when conducting action research in such settings.

Each chapter offers gentle guidance and support at a specific stage of the research process, from choosing your initial topic to formulating your research question, through to sharing the lessons of your project.

The book''s key features include:

Doing Action Research in Early Childhood Studies is an essential resource for students and practitioners of early childhood studies.

Drawing on the authors' research with hundreds of parents, staff and students, the book explores relationships between staff and families through a series of 'issue stories'. Each story features the voices and perspectives of 'real' staff and families and captures their various understandings, desires and feelings about a complex, difficult and/or controversial issue.

The authors support each 'issue story' with snippets from relevant international research, 'Fairness Alerts' that highlight unfair thinking habits and show how to challenge them, and some 'points to ponder' and 'points to discuss' that encourage readers to extend their thinking about the issue/s in the story.

Parents and Professionals in Early Childhood Settings is written for the diverse people in the international field of early childhood education and care. They include staff, students, academics, trainers, curriculum advisors, policy officers and managers, together with the parents and other carers of young children.

Drawing on the authors'' research with hundreds of parents, staff and students, the book explores relationships between staff and families through a series of ''issue stories''. Each story features the voices and perspectives of ''real'' staff and families and captures their various understandings, desires and feelings about a complex, difficult and/or controversial issue.

The authors support each ''issue story'' with snippets from relevant international research, ''Fairness Alerts'' that highlight unfair thinking habits and show how to challenge them, and some ''points to ponder'' and ''points to discuss'' that encourage readers to extend their thinking about the issue/s in the story.

Parents and Professionals in Early Childhood Settings is written for the diverse people in the international field of early childhood education and care. They include staff, students, academics, trainers, curriculum advisors, policy officers and managers, together with the parents and other carers of young children.

The theories and analyses of post-structural thinkers such as Michel Foucault can seem a long way from practice in early childhood services. In recent years, however, many early childhood researchers and practitioners have found this work important and this fascinating book brings together a range of research and case-studies showing how teachers and researchers have brought post-structuralism to the classroom. The book covers such issues as:

Case-studies and examples taken from real situations are used and will be of interest to anyone studying or researching early childhood practice and policy.