Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education
A Guide for Students and Practitioners
- David Whitebread - University of Cambridge
Development in Early Childhood
The importance of high quality early childhood education is now universally recognized, and this quality crucially depends upon the practitioners who work with our young children, and their deep understanding of how children develop and learn. This book makes a vital contribution to this understanding, providing authoritative reviews of key areas of research in developmental psychology, and demonstrating how these can inform practice in early years educational settings.
The book's major theme is the fundamental importance of young children developing as independent, self-regulating learners. It illustrates how good practice is based on four key principles which support and encourage this central aspect of development:
- Secure attachment and emotional warmth
- Feelings of control and agency
- Cognitive challenge, adults supporting learning and learning from one another
- Articulation about learning, and opportunities for self-expression
Each chapter includes:
- Typical and significant questions which arise in practice related to that area of development
- An up-to-date review of key research, including insights from observational and experimental work with young children, from evolutionary psychology, and from neuroscientific studies of the developing brain
- Practical exercises intended to deepen understanding and to inform practice
- Questions for discussion
- Recommended further reading
This book provides an invaluable resource for early years students and practitioners, by summarizing new research findings and demonstrating how they can be translated into excellent early years practice.
Will supplement unit three and five and give different perspectives of physchology. A good book with some interesting viewpoints. Need to encourage our students to read rather than rely on Internet.
An excellent introduction to early childhood development and education for students taking the EY PGCE route into teaching.
A very useful book for understanding theories of learning and development within childcare. Though the text may be alittle advanced for level 3 learners, it would be of use for higher level courses as a source of reference. My learners operating at a higher level on the BTEC National Diploma in CCLD have found this a useful additional reference to their core texts on child psychology.
This book provides a contemporary perspective on some long established ideas.
Useful text to support analysis of educational theory to early years practice.
A book which covers relevant topics and helps the students to extend their knowledge of child development. It is informative and written with clarity. Thankyou for the inspection copy.
This is an accessible and well written text, with useful illustrations for students. I will be ordering copies for the university library as I have selected one of the chapters as a key lecture reading. I feel the book is useful as a supplementary reading for a module on the Psychology of Development and Learning; however, I would not recommend it as a core accompanying text as I don't feel that it contains sufficient breath and depth for the topic area of this particular module.
The book is particularly useful for students undertaking higher level child development modules. The author uses other professionals work in order to support thier writing and often uses diagrams and pictures, which assists the reader in further understanding concepts. Definitely a useful book for higher education.
An excellent exploration of young children's learning. The students have engaged with this book possibly because of the warmth it exudes as it discusses children's learning through play .
Useful for some students who focus on early years education.
Sage College Publishing
