Susanne Garvis

Child Development and Learning integrates concepts of learning and development into one comprehensive text for understanding child development. At its core is the belief that learning and development are intertwined. As children learn, they also develop. As children develop, they also learn. With an understanding of how children develop, specific activities can be implemented to support the learning of all children. The text explores both classical and emerging theories and assists pre-service teachers to grasp the details of the historical references to current understandings of development. The intention is to highlight the importance of understanding how child development theories can be implemented within the field of education. With its clear and engaging style, the text presents up-to-date research while offering practical applications that will relate to pre-service teachers' personal and professional lives. Child Development and Learning is comprised of six sections. Five of the sections cover the developmental domains, and within each domain there are four chapters based on chronological age, from birth to 18 years. Each section consists of activities to foster engagement by allowing the reader to learn through critical reflection and analysis. The final sixth section provides an overview of how to plan for schooling starting with early childhood education and ending with senior schooling, and draws together the learning techniques necessary to support children within different age ranges. Complete with examples that are research-focused, real-world and cross-cultural, students are provided with practical strategies to help them program and plan for learning and development.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Early Childhood Education and Care explores early childhood education and care in Australia from a variety of perspectives, highlighting the complexity of working within the field and the need for a truly interdisciplinary approach. It argues that only a holistic understanding of each perspective will allow a clear future for early childhood education within Australia, and that all government parties should provide better outcomes around policy and provision to ensure the support and development of the sector. Chapters offer insights into how children and families are positioned in educational reform by examining current government policy, as well as individual and collective initiatives. Key paradigms considered include positivist, behavioural, developmental, economic, sociocultural, and postmodern models. Garvis and Manning identify challenges to the field and propose improvements needed to develop an interdisciplinary approach to help close the disadvantage gap on educational outcomes. With recommendations aimed at stakeholders within different disciplines, it is hoped that this book will encourage significant improvements to early childhood education and care within Australia. Providing important insights into the landscape of early childhood education and care, this book will promote new ways of thinking of policy and provision development for the future. As such, it will be of interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of early years education, education policy and politics, and sociology of education, as well as those studying childcare alongside economics, criminology and sociology.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Early Childhood Education and Care explores early childhood education and care in Australia from a variety of perspectives, highlighting the complexity of working within the field and the need for a truly interdisciplinary approach. It argues that only a holistic understanding of each perspective will allow a clear future for early childhood education within Australia, and that all government parties should provide better outcomes around policy and provision to ensure the support and development of the sector. Chapters offer insights into how children and families are positioned in educational reform by examining current government policy, as well as individual and collective initiatives. Key paradigms considered include positivist, behavioural, developmental, economic, sociocultural, and postmodern models. Garvis and Manning identify challenges to the field and propose improvements needed to develop an interdisciplinary approach to help close the disadvantage gap on educational outcomes. With recommendations aimed at stakeholders within different disciplines, it is hoped that this book will encourage significant improvements to early childhood education and care within Australia. Providing important insights into the landscape of early childhood education and care, this book will promote new ways of thinking of policy and provision development for the future. As such, it will be of interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of early years education, education policy and politics, and sociology of education, as well as those studying childcare alongside economics, criminology and sociology.

Arts education provides students with opportunities to build knowledge and skills in self-expression, imagination, creative and collaborative problem solving and creation of shared meanings. Engagement in arts education has also been said to positively affect overall academic achievement and development of empathy towards others. This book provides key insights from stakeholders across the teaching and learning spectrum and offers examples of pedagogical practice to those interested in facilitating arts education.