Description

• Presents a socio-historical perspective tracing the evolution of early education in Ireland through to present day

• Analyses and critiques current early childhood policy development and implementation

• Contextualises international research findings on young children’s development and learning, the role of practitioners and the critical importance of the learning environment as applied to children’s everyday experiences and setting practice in Ireland

• Introduces the concept of a nurturing pedagogy, and explores its potential to integrate care and education in practice

• Complements other developments in the field in Ireland such as Síolta – the National Quality Framework and the National Framework for Early Learning

• Foreword written by Elly Singer (Assoc. Prof at the University of Utrecht and University of Amsterdam and leading author in the area of childcare)

• Written for those studying Early Childhood Education at degree, or postgraduate level in Institutes of Technology, Universities and some Senior Colleges

• Also suitable for students taking Primary Teaching and Montessori courses


Author Biography
Nóirín Hayes PhD is a developmental psychologist. She is Head of School of Social Sciences and Law at the Dublin Institute of Technology where she teaches on the early education programmes. She is Director of the Centre for Social and Educational Research [CSER] at the DIT, National Research Coordinator for the IEA longitudinal Pre-primary Project in Ireland, a member of the management team of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) and author of a number of reports, articles and books on practice and policy in early childhood care and education. She is also author of the popular textbook, Early Childhood: An Introductory Text.

Margaret Kernan PhD trained as a primary school teacher in the Froebel College of Education, Dublin and has worked in early childhood education settings and primary schools in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. She was a lecturer in early childhood education in the Dublin Institute of Technology and a researcher in the Centre for Social Educational Research (CSER) at the DIT. She currently works as an independent educational consultant and is based in The Netherlands.


Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Engaging Young Children
Chapter 2 Early Childhood education and care through a socio-historical lens
Chapter 3 Multiple perspectives on early childhood education & care
Chapter 4 Dynamics of early learning
Chapter 5 From vision to curriculum
Chapter 6 A nurturing pedagogy in practice
Chapter 7 Creating inclusive learning environments
Chapter 8 Changing the landscape of early childhood education & care in
Ireland.