This is a comprehensive review of the key issues in the field of early childhood care and education. Maureen O'Hagan and Audrey Curtis draw on their extensive expertise in the field to provide a book which is wide-ranging in its coverage. It gives: an overview of the principles of effective practice; discussions on equal opportunities and children's rights; an examination of how children learn and the learning difficulties they may face; investigations into what working with parents really means; consideration of the different early years systems in operation; summaries of key management issues and useful information on how to address them; and a comparison with European perspectives on early years care and education. The book covers the age range from 0-8 years with a special section on the 0-3 years age group. Each chapter is fully referenced to enable the reader to follow up on research or new materials. The book challenges the reader to think about how underlying theory may be reflected in practice. Students of early years care and education, as well as early years practitioners, should find this text helpful.

Author Biography

Audrey Curtis was formerly World President of OMEP. (World Organisation for Early Childhood Education) Maureen O'Hagan was formerly Director of Quality Assurance at CACHE (Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education). She now works as a freelance consultant.