Foundations and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education: History, Theories, and Approaches to Learning

This is a core text for Introduction/Foundations in Early Childhood Education courses or Issues/Models of Early Childhood Education courses. 

This text differs from other models or approaches texts in its vivid descriptions of programs and settings and practical instructional applications.  Foundational chapters on Early Childhood Education history, learning theories, and NAEYC's Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Code of Ethics give students an introduction to the field, while chapters discussing The Project Approach, Multiple Intelligences, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Waldorf help students to understand distinctions and similarities among classroom learning approaches.  Highly practical, realistic "Putting It Into Practice" features show students how to apply theory with young children in today's classrooms.  This text includes themes of self-reflection and developing an identity as an early childhood teacher, using developmentally appropriate practices, and developing sections of a professional portfolio in each chapter. This text is especially well suited for use with the Early Childhood Education Settings and Approaches DVD by Charles Bleiker. To enhance your course with this media, please contact your local representative.