In this Book
- Transforming Early Childhood in England: Towards a Democratic Education
- Book
- 2020
- Published by: University College London
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
summary
Early childhood education and care has been a political priority in England since 1997, when government finally turned its attention to this long-neglected area. Public funding has increased, policy initiatives have proliferated and at each general election political parties aim to outbid each other in their offer to families. Transforming Early Childhood in England: Towards a Democratic Education argues that, despite this attention, the system of early childhood services remains flawed and dysfunctional. National discourse is dominated by the cost and availability of childcare at the expense of holistic education, while a hotchpotch of fragmented provision staffed by a devalued workforce struggles with a culture of targets and measurement. With such deep-rooted problems, early childhood education and care in England is beyond minor improvements. In the context of austerity measures affecting many young families, transformative change is urgent.
Transforming Early Childhood in England offers a critical analysis of the current system and proposes change based on young children’s universal right to education. The book calls for provision built on democratic principles, where all learning by all children is visible and recognised, educators are trusted and respected, and a calmer approach called ‘slow pedagogy’ replaces outcomes-driven targets. Combining criticism and hope, and drawing on inspiring research and examples from home and abroad, the book is essential reading for students, educators, practitioners, parents, academics and policymakers - anyone, in fact, who seeks to understand the policy problems for early childhood education and care in England, and see better prospects for the future.
Table of Contents
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- Half Title
- pp. i-ii
- Title Page
- p. iii
- Copyright Page
- p. iv
- Table of Contents
- pp. v-vi
- About the contributors
- pp. vii-xii
- List of figures and tables
- p. xiii
- List of abbreviations
- p. xiv
- Preface: The pandemic as a moment of decision
- pp. xv-xviii
- 2. Families living in hard times
- pp. 19-33
- 3. Child health and homelessness
- pp. 34-53
- 5. Towards a ‘rich’ ECEC workforce
- pp. 67-82
- 6. Towards a public ECEC system
- pp. 83-99
- 7. Towards a child-centred curriculum
- pp. 100-118
- 9. Towards a listening ECEC system
- pp. 134-150
- 10. Towards a democratic ECEC system
- pp. 151-169
Additional Information
ISBN
9781787357167
Related ISBN(s)
9781787357174
MARC Record
OCLC
1182854757
Launched on MUSE
2021-01-19
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY