Introducing Research To Early Childhood Students

"What a useful book for the beginner researcher! Offering a grounding in the different kinds of research conducted in the field of early childhood, this book’s inviting and accessible style will support the novice researcher, and the development of criticality in relation to research." Deborah Albon, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, University of Roehampton What does the term ‘research’ in early childhood actually mean? What does research involve, and how do you go about doing it? This book explains exactly what ‘research’ is; it explores key ideas, themes and terminology to provide you with a clear understanding of its importance to your early years or early childhood studies degree. It will help you: · Understand what it means to think critically, and unpick childhood research · Learn how to analyse, examine and understand the importance of others’ research · Get to know how research is designed and carried out · Appreciate the importance of ethics · Get to grips with translating research into real life in an early childhood setting. Laying the foundations to develop your confidence in talking about research and making links between theory and practice, this book will support you as you begin your research journey into the world of early years. Polly Bolshaw is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. Jo Josephidou is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. Polly Bolshaw and Jo Josephidou will be discussing ideas from Introducing Research in Early Childhood in Doing Your Early Years Research Project, a SAGE Masterclass for early years students and practitioners in collaboration with Kathy Brodie. Find out more here.

Introducing research to early childhood students.

Introducing research to early childhood students.

Introducing Research to Early Childhood Students is not about how to do research. It is about assisting pre-service students to become confident research readers. How to enjoy reading research, how to question it, how to identify its basic strengths and weaknesses, and how to use it to stimulate one's own professional thinking, are the sub themes of this text. To this end a range of research issues have been contextualised into familiar early childhood topics that are relevant to students across all years of pre-service preparation and that relate to the core areas of learning environments and professional experience. Introducing Research to Early Childhood Students is therefore a course text and not a single subject text. The chapters on outdoor learning environments and play for example, relate more to the early stages of training and might best be used first. Students can return to the chapters at any time and work more specifically on the research or theoretical issues presented in them. Chapters do not have to be used in their entirety, instead specific sections can be selected for an in-depth focus.

Contemporary Perspectives and Research on Early Childhood Education is a welcome addition to the field of early childhood education. This book enhances the understanding of different approaches to curriculum and instruction; appropriate assessment strategies; the role of math and science in children’s development; the importance of seeing the whole child and ensuring children develop holistically through play and arts; training effective teachers; and the importance of helping parents to be better supporters of their children. Along with this comprehensive content, the book also contains diverse methodologies including qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches, which will further enrich the reader’s perspective and understanding of a wide range of topics in the field. Thus, this book creates a platform for researchers and practitioners to share and discuss research findings, expertise, and experiences about early childhood education.

This second edition invites readers to be informed consumers of both quantitative and qualitative methods in early childhood research. It offers side-by-side coverage and comparison about the assumptions, questions, purposes, and methods for each, presenting unique perspectives for understanding young children and early care and education programs. The new edition includes updated examples and references as well as a new chapter on equity issues in research. By using this book, students will be able to read, evaluate, and use empirical literature more knowledgeably. These skills are becoming more important as early childhood educators are increasingly expected to use evidence-based research in practice and to participate in collecting and analyzing data to inform their teaching.

This book emphasizes the significance of teaching science in early childhood classrooms, reviews the research on what young children are likely to know about science and provides key points on effectively teaching science to young children. Science education, an integral part of national and state standards for early childhood classrooms, encompasses not only content-based instruction but also process skills, creativity, experimentation and problem-solving. By introducing science in developmentally appropriate ways, we can support young children’s sensory explorations of their world and provide them with foundational knowledge and skills for lifelong science learning, as well as an appreciation of nature. This book emphasizes the significance of teaching science in early childhood classrooms, reviews the research on what young children are likely to know about science, and provides key points on effectively teaching young children science. Common research methods used in the reviewed studies are identified, methodological concerns are discussed and methodological and theoretical advances are suggested.

Packed full of even more examples of research methods in practice, this second edition now comes with a fantastic website giving you all you need to understand research methods in early childhood. With new case studies and reflective tasks throughout, this bestselling textbook covers all you need to know about undertaking research in early childhood, including action research, ethics and doing your research project. Online, you’ll find: - Quizzes to test your methods knowledge - Free journal articles with accompanying activities to broaden understanding and develop critical thinking - Useful web links as well as videos of the authors answering FAQs about research If you are undertaking research in early childhood then this book is for you. ? Penny Mukherji and Deborah Albon will be discussing ideas from Research Methods in Early Childhood in the SAGE Early Years Masterclass, a free professional development experience hosted by Kathy Brodie. To sign up, or for more information, click here.