Critical issues in early childhood education (Open University Press, 2005)
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Includes bibliographical references and index
Against the tide : new ways in early childhood education -- Reconceptualizing the field (of early care and education) : if "western" child development is a problem, then what do we do? -- Developmental theory and early childhood education : necessary but not sufficient -- How "bad" can it be? : Troubling gender, sexuality, and early chilldhood teaching -- Preschool children's portrayals of their male teacher : a poststructuralist analysis -- Who can speak? : Silence, voice and pedagogy -- Freedom to choose : examining children's experiences in choice time -- Learning to be a child : cultural diversity and early years ideology -- Questioning diversity -- Secret children's business : resisting and redefining access to learning in the early childhood classroom -- "Civilizaiton of replicas" : disrupting multicultural pretend play props -- Digikids : young children, popular culture and media -- Literarily lost : the quest for quality literacy agendas in early childhood education -- Curriculum, padagogies and practice with ICT in the information age -- Postmodernism, passion and potential for future childhoods
What are some of the long held bellefs in early childhood education that need to be challenged? What can postmodern perspectives offer to early childhood educators? How can early childhood educators deal with the complex issues that arise in the lives of young children? This book examines critical issues in early childhood education across a broad range of contexts. The issues explored are critical not only in terms of being fundamental to early childhood education, but also in that they present ideas and use frameworks which are not traditional to the field. The topics under review include questioning the developmental basis of early childhood education and the notion of what constitutes child-centred curricula, and extends into a discussion of the complex nature of teacher's work in early childhood contexts which require new ways of reconceptualising the field and the role of the teacher in the lives of children.; The chapters explore contemporary issues using methodologies that are increasingly being favoured by teacher educators, parents and community members who find that developmental perspectives do not satisfactorily explain and assist us in our interactions with young children and their families in the 21st century