The book provides fascinating insights for students on Early Childhood Studies courses and other courses aimed at people intending to work with young children. It should also be of interest to students of social history. --Book Jacket.

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.

Since Labour came to power in 1997, early years services have undergone a huge transformation – for example a significant increase in the scale of provision, the creation of an over-arching policy approach (Every Child Matters), the establishment of new departments focused on children and their families at local and national level, new structures designed to promote partnership between different bodies concerned with children’s welfare, significant changes in the early years curriculum, new subsidies for childcare and education and new arrangements for regulation. The book would offer an historical account of the development of early years services in the United Kingdom (with consideration of developments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as England). After an Introduction arguing the relevance of an historical perspective, it would offer a fairly brief account of developments from the 16th century to the Second World War, a similarly brief account of developments from the Second World War up until the Conservative victory of 1979, a more detailed account of developments in the period of Conservative Government (1979-1997) and three chapters with an even more detailed account of developments since 1997. It is easy for those involved to become so focused on the implementation of the latest changes that they lose sight of the process of change itself. This book would be intended to help them to understand what has happened so far, to evaluate that process and to prepare for the future. The objective would be to assist the reader to understand what has happened, and why, rather than argue that what we have now is, or is not, better than what went before or than any other set of arrangements that might be conceived.

For more than fifty years, the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute has conducted groundbreaking research that revolutionized the field of early childhood care and education. Based on presentations made at FPG's 50th anniversary symposium, this essential reference looks back on the Institute (TM)s trailblazing history, analyzes contemporary issues in child development, and recommends critical new research directions. More than a dozen high-profile contributors thoroughly examine the three themes of the anniversary symposium: early care and education, diversity, and children with disabilities and their families. Readers will learn from in-depth chapters on: understanding the social, cultural, educational, and political forces that affect children (TM)s outcomes meeting the challenge of serving diverse populations as U.S. demographics shift preparing practitioners to work with young dual language learners improving connections between the knowledge base and professional practice strengthening the early childhood workforce through effective professional development analyzing decades of research and policy and examining ways to support continuous improvement A celebration of progress and a compelling call to action for the next generation of professionals, this important volume is a must for researchers, policy makers, and faculty. Whether used as a textbook or a reference, this book will help shape the future of the early childhood field--and improve outcomes for tomorrow's young children and families.

This book helps readers better understand both the developmental patterns and sequences in children′s development and how the context of this learning impacts on children′s progress.

Pre-school childcare in England, 1939–2010 investigates how competing ideas about child development influenced the provision, practice and experience of childcare for the under fives since 1939. It explores how theories which developed during the war about the psychological harm caused by separating an infant from its mother influenced the organisation of childcare outside the family in light of the social, economic and demographic changes seen during the years that followed. Focusing on four different forms of childcare – day nurseries, nursery schools and classes, playgroups, and childminders – it considers how both individual families and wider society managed the care of young children in the context of dramatic increases in the employment of married women. Using a new body of oral history interviews specifically undertaken for the book, it also examines the experiences and effects of care on those involved and the current policy implications raised.

How does early years policy impact on practitioners, children, settings and families? What are the implications of current policy for the future? How can early years professionals shape and craft practice in ways that genuinely focus on the needs of children and families, rather than the interests of policy makers? This exciting new text explores the changing context and increasing importance of early years policy. It takes a broad look at policy developments and shows how these have affected children, settings, parents and the early years workforce. Divided into two parts, the first examines theoretical perspectives and sets out the early years policy context, looking at issues surrounding accountability, international influences on policy and the Early Years Foundation Stage. The second half of the book directly shows how policy has influenced practice, and considers: the upskilling of the workforce and the impact of this on practitioners; the development of the learning environment including outdoor provision; sustained shared thinking and its link to high quality learning and teaching; the impact of policy on parents. Offering a fresh perspective on early years policy, this timely textbook will be essential reading for students on undergraduate and postgraduate Early Years and Childhood Studies courses and those working towards Early Years Teacher status.