Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education
A Guide for Students and Practitioners
- David Whitebread - University of Cambridge
The book's major theme is the fundamental importance of young children developing as independent, self-regulating learners. It illustrates how good practice is based on four key principles which support and encourage this central aspect of development:
- secure attachment and emotional warmth
- feelings of control and agency
- cognitive challenge, adults supporting learning and children learning from one another
- articulation about learning, and opportunities for self-expression.
Each chapter includes:
- typical and significant questions which arise in practice related to that area of development
- an up-to-date review of key research, including insights from observational and experimental work with young children, from evolutionary psychology, and from neuroscientific studies of the developing brain
- practical exercises intended to deepen understanding and to inform practice
- questions for discussion
- recommended further reading.
This book provides an invaluable resource for early years students and practitioners, by summarizing new research findings and demonstrating how they can be translated into excellent early years practice.
David Whitebread is Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Early Years Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.
this book gives both the basics and further information which new and old students of psychology will find useful when working with early years children
This is a useful book for contextualising policy and practice in early childhood especially for those students who come to the PGCE course with no/little background in knowledge of the theories in early years or psychology. Whilst the succinct and clear nature of the chapters make the book very readable it also enables the reader a deep understanding of the key issues in each section, well supported by the questions to reflect on, activties to consider and extenive reading suggestions. At times to writing can be a little dogmatic but this in itself is a provocation to PGCE students to analyse and critically review what has been written. The quality of diagrams and co make their interpretation straight forward and memorable.
Great detail relating to theories.
David Whitebread is an excellent writer for this level of student and I was very pleased to find this book.
An interesting book
Great for the psychology aspect of the CACHE level 3 course students are able to understand psychology more after using this book
An excellent text book for the Year 1 students on the Early Years Education degree course
Clear and concise for early years students and foundation degree students needing to understand the complexities of development
A really useful addition to existing literature on children’s development which brings together seminal work within the area, updated with most recent research. Useful activities will help students to consolidate understanding and well illustrated. This would be a valuable book to any student studying on early years courses.
