In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals set out targets aimed at creating a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable world. If these goals were to be achieved, children's lives would indeed be transformed. In this collection, achievements against these targets are identified, with each contributor examining the progress made in early years provision in Australia, China, England, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. They highlight the priorities and agendas of their respective governments, and focus on the trends and issues which are particularly relevant to each situation, thereby revealing the social and educational inequalities that persist across countries. A common theme running through this volume concerns the political tensions that arise when governments and educators hold fundamentally different views about the nature and purpose of early years education and the needs of children and families. It is clear that although the past two decades have seen many changes in attitude towards the importance of the early years of life; politically, economically, and environmentally, much still remains to be done if the Millennium Development Goals for young children and their families are to be fully met. Despite this, this volume demonstrates that those who work in this area continue to experience a deep concern for the well-being of young children, which transcends cultures, frontiers, and political and sectarian divides. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Early Years Education.

This reader explores the nature of interactions between children and their teachers in the classroom. It emphasises the importance of such relationships for children's learning and for educational practice. Part 1 looks at different cultural conceptions of the teacher-learner relationship, and how this relates to schooling, cognitive development and the aquisition of knowledge. Part 2 takes a closer look at the role of language and dialogue in interactions between adults and children in classrooms. Part 3 describes research by developmental psychologists on peer interaction and collaborative learning, and discusses how it has advanced our understanding of how children learn from each other. Part 4 considers the implications of classroom-based collaborative learning initiatives and the potential for creating 'communities of enquiry' which change how we think about knowledge acquisition.

This book explores children's social relationships in and out of the classroom. Chapters focus on the growing importance of children's friendships and how these influence social participation and development later on in life. Issues such as peer rejection, bullying and adolescent development are analysed from both psychological and sociological perspectives. The book concludes with a re-examination of cultural concepts of childhood, child development and the nature of children's autonomy.

This reader explores the nature of interactions between children and their teachers. Part one looks at different cultural conceptions of the teacher-learner relationship, and how this relates to schooling, cognitive development and the aquisition of knowledge. Part two takes a closer look at the role of language and dialogue in interactions between adults and children in classrooms. Part three provides an overview of current research on collaborative learning. Part four looks at the potential impact of new technology on children's learning and cognition and its role in creating global learning communities.

Using the examples of attachment theory and language development, part one of this book elaborates a cultural approach to early development. Part two considers children's emerging capacities for empathy, perspective taking and social understanding, exploring how young children negotiate, talk about and play out relationship themes. The way children learn through relationships is examined in Part three - which covers topics such as "scaffolding" learning, and how children learn to collaborate with each other. Part four returns to the issue of cultural variation, asking how far textbook accounts of early social relationships reflect particular cultural beliefs and practices, and taking examples from such diverse contexts as Cameroon, Guatemala, Italy, Japan and the United States.

This reader explores the nature of interactions between children and their teachers in the classroom. It emphasises the importance of such relationships for children's learning and for educational practice.
Part 1 looks at different cultural conceptions of the teacher-learner relationship, and how this relates to schooling, cognitive development and the aquisition of knowledge.
Part 2 takes a closer look at the role of language and dialogue in interactions between adults and children in classrooms.
Part 3 describes research by developmental psychologists on peer interaction and collaborative learning, and discusses how it has advanced our understanding of how children learn from each other.
Part 4 considers the implications of classroom-based collaborative learning initiatives and the potential for creating 'communities of enquiry' which change how we think about knowledge acquisition.

This reader contains source material for an up-to-date study of child development as it applies to major issues in child care and education. The emphasis is on studying early childhood in cultural contexts - in families and in preschool settings. Part 1 elaborates a socio-cultural approach to early development, taking emotional attachment, communication and language and daycare as examples. Part 2 considers how children's emerging capacities for empathy, inter-subjectivity and social understanding enable them to negotiate, talk about and play out relationship themes, both in the family and preschool. Part 3 concentrates on early learning, with chapters on the way parents support children's acquisition of new skills, young children negotiating their role in learner-teacher relationships and toddlers learning to collaborate with each other. Part 4 continues the theme of children's initiation into socio-cultural practices from a cross-cultural perspective, with studies drawn from such diverse contexts as Cameroon, Guatemala, Italy, Japan and the United States. This is the first of three readers which have been specially prepared as readers for the Open University MA Course: ED840 Child Development in Families, Schools and Society.

How should we understand children s creativity?

This fascinating collection of international research offers fresh perspectives on children s creative processes and the expression of their creative imagination through dramatic play, stories, artwork, dance, music and conversation.

Drawing on a range of research evidence from innovative educational initiatives in a wide variety of countries, Exploring Children s Creative Narratives develops new theoretical and practical insights that challenge traditional thinking about children s creativity. The chapters, written by well-respected international contributors:

• offer new conceptual and interpretive frameworks for understanding children s creativity
• contest conventional discourses about the origins and nature of creativity
• challenge the view that young children s creativity can only be judged in terms of their creative output
• explore the significance children themselves attribute to their creative activity
• argue the need for a radical reappraisal of the influence of the sociocultural context on children s creative expression
• discuss the implications of this research in relation to teacher education and curriculum design.

This broad yet coherent compilation of research on creativity in childhood is essential reading for students, researchers and policy makers in early childhood as well as for Early Years professionals with a particular interest in creativity.

In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals set out targets aimed at creating a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable world. If these goals were to be achieved, children's lives would indeed be transformed. In this collection, achievements against these targets are identified, with each contributor examining the progress made in early years provision in Australia, China, England, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. They highlight the priorities and agendas of their respective governments, and focus on the trends and issues which are particularly relevant to each situation, thereby revealing the social and educational inequalities that persist across countries. A common theme running through this volume concerns the political tensions that arise when governments and educators hold fundamentally different views about the nature and purpose of early years education and the needs of children and families. It is clear that although the past two decades have seen many changes in attitude towards the importance of the early years of life; politically, economically, and environmentally, much still remains to be done if the Millennium Development Goals for young children and their families are to be fully met. Despite this, this volume demonstrates that those who work in this area continue to experience a deep concern for the well-being of young children, which transcends cultures, frontiers, and political and sectarian divides. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Early Years Education.