This book presents previously unexamined connections between teaching practices and specific philosophical ideas, locating the prior beliefs and practical knowledge of early childhood practitioners in urban India within the broader social and historical religio-philosophical context.

Early childhood education the world over is heavily influenced by Western discourses which emphasize play-based, child centered education. Dr Viruru offers an alternative understanding of preschool education from the postcolonial perspective which does not aim at discovering universal laws that will be valid regardless of contexts. She emphasizes the need for meaningful and respectful interactions with children as complete human beings and stresses that early childhood education should be constructed on the basis of the lived experiences of individual children rather than on collective anonymity. Perhaps the first full-length study to explore current issues in early childhood education through the lens of postcolonial theory, this book will be of considerable value to those involved in education, child development, developmental psychology, social anthropology and sociology.

This book presents previously unexamined connections between teaching practices and specific philosophical ideas, locating the prior beliefs and practical knowledge of early childhood practitioners in urban India within the broader social and historical religio-philosophical context.

The Routledge Handbook of Philosophies and Theories of Early Childhood Education and Care brings together leading writers in the field to provide a much-needed, authoritative guide to the major philosophies and theories which have shaped approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care. Providing a detailed overview of key concepts, debates and practical challenges, the handbook combines theoretical acumen with specific examples to show how philosophies and theories have evolved over the centuries and their impact on policy and society. It examines the ways in which societies define and make sense of childhood and the factors that influence the development of philosophies about young children and their learning. The collection offers an insight into the key theorists and considers how the economics and politics of their time and personal ideology influenced their ideas about childhood. It looks at curricula and provision which have proved inspirational and how these have impacted on policy and practice in different parts of the world. The handbook also explores alternative and perhaps less familiar philosophies and ideas about babies and young children, their place in society and the ways in which it might be appropriate to educate them Bringing together specially commissioned pieces by a range of international authors, this handbook will enable academics, research students, practitioners and policy-makers to reflect on their own understandings and approaches, as well as the assumptions made in their own and other societies.

Diverse Early Childhood Education Policies and Practices explores issues in early childhood education and teacher preparation in five Asian countries: India, Singapore, China, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Some observed classrooms in these countries reflect influences that are simultaneously indigenous and colonial, local and global. By highlighting the diverse and often hybrid classroom pedagogies at work in these 21st century Asian classrooms, the discussions in this book take into consideration the influence of globalization on local policies and practices, and the challenge educators face when they are expected to reconcile different and sometimes conflicting cultural and pedagogical world views. Through a research-driven analysis of key issues such as recent revisions to national early childhood education policies, perceptions on "play-based and child-centered" pedagogy, curriculum and learning materials, and an emphasis on the teaching of values, this book illuminates the diversity of the observed classrooms as well as current trends in early childhood education in parts of Asia. The cross-national perspective serves to expand and diversify the global discourse of early childhood education and teacher education.

This book is a comparative study of how early childhood educational policies and initiatives in three countries—China, India, and the United States—have been utilized as both direct and indirect strategies for responding to fierce global economic competition. Human capital theory and cultural ecology theory serve as the conceptual framework for discussing how this has played out in each of the three countries. In addition, this book presents a discussion and analysis of how the beliefs, parents’ perspectives, and practices with regard to child-rearing and the education of young children have both changed and remained the same in response to forces of globalization.