A Critical Companion to Early Childhood

In this stimulating and provocative book the editors have drawn together a diverse and international range of respected authors, each of whom has taken a critical approach to the contentious question of how you define and achieve quality early childhood services. It is a book designed to provoke and promote critical dialogue and discourse amongst practitioners and students through critical engagement with the position of the authors within the text. I believe anyone who reads this book will be inspired and motivated to challenge and extend their thinking and professional practice, adopting the critical stance which lies at the heart of quality services for children and families.

Professor Chris Pascal, Director of Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC)

Early childhood is a complex and important area of study where it is important to develop your critical thinking and reflect upon key issues. This book will help do both. 

It explores interrelated topics such as:

• Child development
• Play
• Safeguarding
• Professionalism
• Curriculum and Policy

Each chapter will not only engage with what you need to know but help you develop your academic skills.

The book also comes with lots of online resources which can be found at https://study.sagepub.com/reedandwalker and include: 

• Podcasts from the authors of each chapter so you can better understand the key concepts

• PowerPoints to help you revise the essential information

• Journal articles related to each chapter provide further reading
  

Michael Reed and Rosie Walker are both Senior Lecturers in Early Childhood at the Institute of Education, University of Worcester.

Michael Reed is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Early Childhood, within the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester. He teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to child development, practice based research and leadership.  He is a qualified teacher and hold advanced qualifications in Educational Inquiry, Educational Psychology and Special Education.  He was a member of course development and writing teams at the Open University and an experienced author. He has a particular interest in practice based inquiry and research evaluating ways to improve quality in practice. He has co-edited a number of books including  Reflective Practice in the Early Years (2010), Quality Improvement and Change in the Early Years (2012)  and Work Based Research in the Early Years (2012), all published by SAGE.

Rosie Walker coordinates a Foundation Degree with seven partner institutions. She is a Senior Lecturer within the Centre for Early Childhood, within the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester. She has supervised many research projects with Foundation Degree, BA and Top up students as well as at Masters level and is responsible for managing student practice based experience. She has published book chapters, co-authored  a textbook exploring practice based research as well as journal articles. Professionally, she has managed two large children’s centres and is a qualified Social Worker. She has worked in a variety of childcare settings including child protection teams. Rosie is also the author of Success with your Early Years Research Project (2014) with Carla Solvason, published by SAGE.