What does it mean to inquire? Grownups would say it means to question, to search for information, or to finding out about a topic of interest. For children in an early childhood classroom, the definition is no different. From the time of their birth, children want to know how the world works and actively seek out information. How educators respond…

Caregiver fatigue and low morale is a problem in many early care settings. "Overcoming Teacher Burnout in Early Childhood" focuses on the many reasons why early childhood professionals can suffer from low staff morale that causes such a high industry turnover rate. Included are ways to motivate and inspire yourself and others to view…

Research shows that teaching sign language to all young children has a wide range of benefits, from enhancing social-emotional and preliteracy skills to supporting positive parent-child relationships. With "Sing & Sign for Young Children," early childhood professionals will have a fun, easy, and highly effective way to teach and…

There's a lot of conversation in the early childhood community on evaluating teachers to improve their performance. Raising the quality of early care and education is a priority for policymakers and practitioners on local, state, and federal levels. As a result, much attention is being focused on early childhood educators to ensure that they do a…

Most practitioners and scholars agree that critical and reflective early childhood and elementary teachers are foundational for children's holistic growth and development. Yet current policies focused on elevating testing and performativity are contributing to student and teacher anxiety and alienation. This book offers a counternarrative to…

"Inside PreK Classrooms" provides school leaders with much-needed guidance and knowledge to ensure quality instruction for their youngest students. Based on their extensive experience working with children and educators, the authors bring readers inside real classrooms, where teachers are grappling with the "big ideas" that lie…

In this much-needed text, the author provides dilemma-based teaching cases that teachers and early childhood leaders can analyze and discuss to build problem-solving and decision-making skills. Readers will reflect on challenges they are likely to experience in practice, addressing issues such as linguistically and culturally isolated children,…

You know what it's like to spend time with youngsters who are particularly puzzling or hard to help. "When Young Children Need Help" helps early childhood educators make sense of what is going on for such children and use that understanding to promote growth and mastery. Written for child care center staff, family child care providers,…

Based on Laura Colker, Derry Koralek, and Diane Trister Dodge's classic book, originally published by NAEYC in 1993, High-Quality Early Childhood Programs offers detailed descriptions of what one should see in high-quality programs (and why) to provide a strong foundation of child development knowledge and principles translated into practice.…

Positive relationships between practitioners and parents are essential for young children's wellbeing, but achieving this can be difficult if there is not enough understanding about how relationships work when one person (the practitioner or teacher) has to play the professional role. Strong communication skills are fundamental to this…

Over the past three decades, more than a quarter of a million children have become citizens of the United States through international adoption. Kindergarten teacher Jane Katch recently found herself with three such children in her class: Katya, born in Russia, Jasper, from Cambodia, and Caleb, from Romania. Each child had spent early years in an…

What is early childhood teacher research and why is it important? How does a teacher researcher formulate a research question and a plan for doing research? How do teachers apply research results to effect change? "Early Childhood Teacher Research" is an exciting new resource that will address the sorts of questions and concerns that pre- and…

This accessible and timely book builds upon and contributes to ongoing debates surrounding professionalism in the early years workforce. In a sector where policy is rapidly changing, Jayne Osgood challenges existing assumptions concerning professional identities and questions what broader lessons might be learnt about race, ethnicity, social class…

How do composing and decomposing numbers connect with the properties of addition? Focus on the ideas that you need to thoroughly understand in order to teach with confidence. The mathematical content of this book focuses on essential knowledge for teachers about numbers and number systems. It is organized around one big idea and supported by…

"Early Learning and Development" provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the 20th century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and…