The first years of life lay the foundations for a child's future development and learning. Many countries have increased their financial support for provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC) over the past years. More recently, the focus of debate has been shifting from expanding access to affordable ECEC to enhancing its quality. A…

The Research in Practice Series is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an ideal resource…

This book presents for discussion principles and issues that encourage early childhood educators to evaluate their current approaches to programming and planning for young chidren with emphasis on the individual child. The book offers the opportunity to affirm the practice of developmentally appropriate procedures and to suggest directions for…

Noting that play is an essential aspect of learning for young children, this book presents a collection of articles on children's play in Australia. Part 1, "Play, Development, and Learning," contains the following chapters: (1) "The Role of Play in Development and Learning" (Ann Glover); (2) "Stop, Look, and Listen:…

This book examines the implications of existing learning theories for early childhood education, with a special emphasis on Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). Chapter 1, "Challenging Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction (Marilyn Fleer), presents the debate and summarizes the remaining chapters. Chapter 2, "Does…