Early Childhood Studies: An Introduction to the Study of Children's Lives and Children's Worlds

Can children's play be planned by adults?

Early Childhood Studies tackles these questions and more. It explores the why, how and what of studying and working with young children and their families, considering how a range of theories can help us to identify useful questions.

This is a comprehensive, up-to-date, challenging and accessible core text for the Early Childhood Studies course. Throughout, key theories and research findings are highlighted and explored to help link theory and practice. It covers the important themes of child development, communication, wellbeing, observation, working with parents, inclusive practice, leadership and research. This fourth edition has been fully updated throughout and includes new chapters on children and risk, inclusive learning environments, play and adults′ concepts of childhood.