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.

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

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.

Contents:
Part 1: Concepts of Childhood, Concepts of Parenthood Part 2: Frameworks for Child Care Part 3: Expectations in Early Education Part 4: Pupil Perspectives on Classrooms and Playgrounds Part 5: Gender, Race and the Experience of Schooling

This first volume of readings for the "Child Development in Social Context" series concentrates on the development of infants. While not neglecting the discoveries of laboratory research in recent years, it emphasizes the growing concern of the discipline with naturalistic observations of everyday life, and shows how analysis of these can enrich our understanding of the relation between the behaviour of the caregiver and the emerging competencies of the child. The cross-cultural dimension of early development is a particular focus of this volume.

Contents:
Part 1: Perspectives on Development and Education Part 2: Teaching and Learning Interactions Part 3: Tools for Thought Part 4: Context and Cognition