Exploring Children S Learning

This open access book examines the educational conditions that support cultures of exploration in kindergartens. It conceptualises cultures of exploration, whether those cultures are created through children’s own engagement or are demanded of them through undertaking specific tasks within different institutional settings. It shows how the conditions for children’s exploration form a web of activities in different settings with social relationships, local landscapes and artefacts. The book builds on the understanding of cultural traditions as deeply implicated in the developmental processes, meaning that local considerations must be reflected in education for sustainable futures. Therefore the book examines and conceptualises exploration and cultural formation through locally situated cases and navigates toward global educational concepts. The book provides different windows into how children may explore in everyday practice settings in kindergarten, and contributes to a loci-based, ecological, integral knowledge relevant for early childhood education.

Building on highly topical research surrounding young children’s participation, this book draws on a diversity of disciplines exploring the importance of participatory approaches to children’s early education and shows how fostering a sense of identity and belonging are essential to early learning. Taking young children seriously demands a high level of confidence and leadership in early years practitioners, and the author provides a convincing, well researched rationale for using this approach in early years contexts. The chapters • demonstrate the importance of listening to the voices of the children, • show how to help young children make sense of the rules and hierarchies they encounter in the classroom • explore ways of working that include the young children but also allow adults to shape approaches to collective decision making • use examples of the type of questions which children might ask when they first enter school, which are presented as ‘windows’ into children’s experiences via key moments or incidents in the school day • provide a framework and practical tools for planning This book is an important addition to debate about the politics and ethics of a highly prescribed and mainly developmentally-informed early years curriculum. Researchers and students of early childhood education will find much here of interest to them.

Exploring Children’s Learning: 3–11 years is essential reading for those passionate about supporting children’s learning environments from Early Years to Key Stage 2. By combining learning with important aspects of a broad curriculum content it will inspire and enhance an interest in supporting children’s learning. Individual chapters focus on key areas of the curriculum such as literacy and history, numeracy and science, as well as more general topics such as creativity, assessment and the emotional and behavioural aspects of learning. The book takes an objective view on control over curriculum and offers practical insights into how supportive learning opportunities can create enjoyable and satisfying lifelong learning habits, preparing children for the challenges they may face in their adult working life. Whether you dip into chapters, or read through the book as a whole, you will develop your understanding of the complexity of learning and the lifelong effects implicit in this, not only from the individual basis that each child faces in terms of learning how to learn, but also concerning the differences in learning strategies required to successfully negotiate subject knowledge across a range of disciplines. This book is a must-read for students of Childhood and Education Studies programmes, those undertaking Initial Teacher Training as well as general readers with an interest in supporting children’s learning.

This book introduces the role of children′s literature in promoting reading for pleasure and creating lifelong readers. Focusing on a range of fiction relevant to the National Curriculum, it covers genres such as poetry, non-fiction, traditional stories and picture books. Concepts and terminology are explained through a wide range of examples. This revised edition includes -Investigative activities and practical exercises for personal or classroom use -Examples from world literature and work in translation highlighting the range of diverse material available for teaching inspiration -Coverage of social, cultural and political reading practices to increase understanding of factors that influence children′s reading experience -Coverage of disability and equality issues to help inform teaching strategies that overcome barriers to learning. This book is essential for students on PGCE, BEd and BA Education courses, and for teachers undertaking CPD in English, literacy or children′s literature. It provides useful support material for language coordinators and literacy consultants, and can be used to support distance-learning, as an aid to self-study, or as a course text.

Describes the many ways in which humans use nature and how animals and plants exist in the wild.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Having a good working knowledge of children′s literature is vital for primary teachers; the best way to develop switched-on young readers is to ensure they get access to high-quality age-appropriate material that engages and inspires them. This book explores the rich and varied world of children′s literature and how it can be used in teaching to promote reading for pleasure and create lifelong readers. This new edition has been completely updated to include: - 5 brand new chapters covering Knowledge & skills, Classics, Illustrated fiction & graphic novels, Non-fiction, and Humour - New expert voice features providing commentaries from educators, literary experts and authors such as Lucy Worsley - Up to date book lists featuring recent and more diverse literature and authors - New practical activities and case studies show casing children′s books and how to use them in the classroom - Further reading links to take students further

Discovering Successful Pathways in Children's Development provides a new perspective on the study of childhood and family life. Successful development is enhanced when communities provide meaningful life pathways that children can seek out and engage. Successful pathways include both a culturally valued direction for development and competence in skills that matter for a child's subsequent success as a person as well as a student, parent, worker, or citizen. To understand successful pathways requires a mix of qualitative, quantitative, and ethnographic methods—the state of the art for research practice among developmentalists, educators, and policymakers alike. This volume includes new studies of minority and immigrant families, school achievement, culture, race and gender, poverty, identity, and experiments and interventions meant to improve family and child contexts. Discovering Successful Pathways in Children's Development will be of enormous value to everyone interested in the issues of human development, education, and social welfare, and among professionals charged with the task of improving the lives of children in our communities.