Despite the extensive research evidence about the importance of high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), English policy makers continue to promote nurseries for the 'childcare' they provide, rather than the transformational effects they can have in areas of socio-economic challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate if and…

Purpose: Research has indicated that interactive shared book reading can support a wide range of early language skills and that children who are read to regularly in the early years learn language faster, enter school with a larger vocabulary, and become more successful readers at school. Despite the large volume of research suggesting interactive…

This paper draws on observational studies of three young children in order to demonstrate firstly, their intrinsic motivation to explore systematically through repeated patterns of action or 'schemas'; secondly, how those repeated actions appear and are explored in their emerging language demonstrating their increasing construction of and…

This article draws on a study which was designed to extend understanding of habitual and committed adolescent readers. The study brought together four theoretical perspectives -- the social, cultural, spatial and historical -- as a way of re-imagining the field of reading. The historical perspective is the one foregrounded here, offering views of…

This paper is derived from a wider small-scale study of digital literacy practice that explores the ways in which a multilingual seven-year-old child, Bablu, interacts with his grandmother during Internet activities connected to Qur'anic literacy. The study aims to reveal how intergenerational learning support was given to Bablu by his…

Trilingual families need language support if they wish to maintain three languages. Most studies on trilingualism have paid little attention to the influence of grandparents as an affective factor. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the impact of the extended family, particularly grandparents, on trilingual families' language maintenance.…

An account is given of a series of drawings done by two boys (four and six years old) while staying with their grandparents. These are considered within a child development framework emphasising the place of context and the socio-cultural theory of Wertsch. Context is explicated through looking at how household, local culture, mediated action and…

With people living longer and more mothers working, there is some evidence that grandparents are more involved in rearing the next generation. Although there is research in the United Kingdom on kinship care, there is no national research on the extent of grandparent involvement from the perspective of young people. This, the first national survey…

This book challenges taken for granted views of early childhood across the globe. It deepens and broadens our understanding of what it means to be a child today and of the challenges children face in different parts of the world. It will be essential reading for all who work with young children or are students of early years education and…

This paper presents a case study of one local Sure Start programme's significant success in engaging large numbers of fathers with its services. The paper details both the levels of male involvement in the programme over time and the strategies found to be effective in involving men. Numbers of fathers using programme services rose to over 100 in…

In many cultures, elders are revered within the extended family as a source of wisdom gained from long experience. In Western societies, this role has been marginalised by changes in family structure, and grandparents' significant contribution to children's upbringing often goes unacknowledged. A research study with families of three- to…

Therapy for one 5 1/2-year-old boy combined psychodynamic and behavioral elements and resulted in positive changes in the child, his parents, and his grandmother. Changes were maintained for as long as three years. (The relevance of inhibited aggression in family members is discussed.) (RH)

This report, based on a recent survey of over 8,000 primary and secondary pupils in England, explores why some pupils choose to read and others do not. The research literature shows that reading for pleasure benefits children in numerous ways. Yet, research also shows that young people's reading enjoyment may be declining. Given current political…