Full Description
"A celebration of the tremendous strides made towards the achievement of a multiprofessional early years workforce, and a challenge to those responsible for training the next generation of professionals... Students and trainers, policy makers and practitioners have a duty to be knowledgeable, to be able to reflect on their beliefs and practice and to articulate concerns, share their views, convey their enthusiasm and act as advocates for young children. This book will help them do just that." Lesley Abbott OBE, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityEarly Childhood Studies critically engages the reader in issues that relate to young children and their lives from a multiprofessional perspective. Whilst offering a theoretically rigorous treatment of issues relating to early childhood studies, the book also provides practical discussion of strategies that could inform multiprofessional practice. It draws upon case studies to help the reader make practical sense of theoretical ideas and develop a critical and reflective attitude. Hard and pressing questions are asked so that beliefs, ideas, views and assumptions about notions of the child and childhood are constantly critiqued and reframed for the post-modern world.
The first part of the book explores the early years, power and politics by looking at child rights, the politics of play, families, and working with parents and carers. The second part explores facts and fantasies about childhood experiences, such as anti-discriminatory practice, the law, child protection, and health issues. The final section encourages the reader to explore what childhood means from historical, ideological and cultural perspectives, and looks at how popular assumptions arise.
This is a key critical text for early childhood students, academics and researchers, as well as practitioners who want to develop their reflective practice.
Contents
List of Contributors
Foreword
Lesley Abbott OBE
Preface and Acknowledgements
Liz Jones, Rachel Holmes and John Powell Introduction
Liz Jones and Ian Barron
Part 1: Power, Politics and Childhood
1 Researching young children within a multiprofessional perspective
Liz Jones, Karen Browne, Iris Keating
2 Exploring tensions within the interplay of rights, duties and responsibilities
Rachel Holmes
3 The politics of play
Liz Jones, Elaine Hodson and Nell Napier
4 Exploring families
Sue Aitken and Liz Jones
5 Working with parents and carers
Liz Jones, Karen Browne, Sue Aitken,Iris Keating and Elaine Hodson
Part 2: Working Together: Facts, Frameworks and Fantasies
6 MultiProfessional perspectives
John Powell
7 Anti-discriminatory practice
Russell Jones
8 Legal issues
Catherine Baxter
9 Child protection
John Powell
10 Integration, inclusion and diversity
Rosemary Boys
11 Health in childhood
Caroline Bradbury-Jones and Jane Bates
Part 3: Children's Childhoods
12 Exploring representations of children and childhood in history and film: Silencing a voice that is already blue in the face from shouting
Rachel Holmes and Ian Barron
13 Exploring representations of children and childhood in photography and documentary: Visualizing the silence
Rachel Holmes
14 International perspectives
Sue Aitken and John Powell
15 Understanding development
Ian Barron
16 Concluding remarks
Liz Jones, Ian Barron, John Powell and Rachel Holmes
Index
