This book uniquely describes the work of two Early Years Professionals, drawing on their narrative accounts as they robustly describe and analyse their work with young children. Against a backcloth of increasing regulation and inspection of early years care and education, Kathy Gooch emphasizes the importance of building authentic relationships with children and their families, explores how play can be promoted as the central site for learning, and shows how professionals can use play to account for children’s development and learning.

In analysing the Early Year Professionals’ narratives, this book explores key themes including:

Traditional notions of ‘teaching’ and how they can be redefined

The significance of talk in children’s lives

Teachers’ professional identities

How children’s potential in learning can be achieved through play

Celebrating knowledge, skills and understanding and re-defining what it means to be a teacher, in its broadest sense, this fascinating book brings together research and literature from across disciplines. Containing a foreword by Tricia David, it will be of interest to academics, early years educators and students on early childhood education degree programmes and initial teacher education courses, as well as others concerned with the over prescriptive nature of early education.

Contents

@contents: Foreword by Tricia David Introduction Part One: Research and the Early Learning Landscape 1. Policy and Play 2. Understanding Stories, Storying and Young Storymakers 3. Playful Teachers, Playful Pedagogies: Intuition, Relationships and Ideologies 4. The Significance of Talk 5. Research and Identity Part Two: The Teachers' Story 6. Narratives of Practice: The Data 7. Who are These Teachers and What are They Doing? 8. Conclusion: Mind and Body, Values and Action

Author Bio

Kathleen Goouch is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Canterbury Christ Church Univers