Beginning Essentials in Early Childhood Education

Beginning Essentials in Early Childhood Education is a condensed foundations textbook that introduces the early childhood student to the field and it's issues, the child and age range, the teacher's role, and the environment. This unique text is organized to answer four key questions: What is the Field? Who is the Child? Who is the Teacher? and What is Being Taught? These four sections address the essentials in early childhood education and place an emphasis on multiculturalism and developmentally appropriate practice. Special features of the text include "Our Diverse World" sidebars, which highlight issues of diversity to help the reader recognize issues of gender, race/ethnicity, ability, language, and family patterns in every aspect of teaching; What Do You Think boxes, which connect the reader to the content presented; and a chapter devoted to history and issues, designed to connect the reader to the past and the present, as well as highlight future trends. This well-organized material is enhanced by a host of sidebars, photos, chapter activities, integrated technology, and notations about Developmentally Appropriate Practice that help new and continuing teachers see the "many right ways" of teaching children. The CD that accompanies this text includes video clips of infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children in a variety of early childhood settings and at different developmental stages. Designed to integrate technology and early childhood education, this invaluable resource provides instructors and students with ample opportunities for reflection and personal and professional development. The technology tie-in boxes in each chapter can be used to connect the material in the text to the segments on the CD.

Ann Miles Gordon has been an early childhood professional for more than 45 years as a teacher of young children, a teacher of parents, and a teacher of college students. She has taught in laboratory schools, church-related centers, and private and public preschool and kindergarten programs. Ann taught at the Bing Nursery School, the laboratory school for Stanford University's Department of Psychology, where she was a head teacher and lecturer in the Psychology Department. Ann also served as an adjunct faculty member in several community colleges, teaching the full gamut of early childhood courses. Ann served as executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools for 14 years, where more than 1,100 early childhood programs were a part of her network. Ann is semi-retired and a hands-on grandmother of two, through which she brings an enhanced perspective on center-based care and early elementary grades.

Kathryn Williams Browne has been teaching children, families, and students for more than 30 years. First a teacher of young children--in nursery school, parent cooperatives, full-day child care, pre-kindergarten, bilingual pre-school, kindergarten, and first grade--she moved to Stanford University's lab school, where she served as head teacher and psychology lecturer. Co-authoring with Ann Miles Gordon was enhanced by Kate's role as a parent, while her consultant and school board experience offered perspectives on public policy and reform. Kate teaches in the California Community College system and Early Childhood Mentor program, which offer the richness of a diverse student population coupled with the challenges of access and privilege that parallel those in the early education field itself.