Early Learning and Development: Cultural-historical Concepts in Play

by Marilyn Fleer , Mariane Hedegaard

• ISBN13: 9780521122658
• ISBN10: 0521122651
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Early Learning and Development provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the twentieth century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and it reflects specifically upon the implications for the early childhood profession. Divided into parts, with succinct chapters that build upon knowledge progressively, the everyday lives of children at home, in the community, at pre-school and at school are discussed in the context of child development and pedagogy. The book explicitly problematises the foundations of early childhood education, inviting postgraduates, researchers and academics to drill down into specific areas of international discourse, and extending upper-level undergraduates beyond the fundamental underpinnings of their learning. Ultimately Early Learning and Development offers new models of 'conceptual play' practice and theory within a globally resonant, cultural-historical framework.

Author Biography

Marilyn Fleer MEd, MA (Science and Technology), PhD (Philosophy/Education) holds the Fountain Chair of Early Childhood Education at Monash University, Australia, and is the President of the International Society of Cultural Activity Research (ISCAR). Her research interests focus on early years learning and development, with special attention to pedagogy, culture, science and technology. More recently she has investigated child development in the contexts of home and school.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
List of figures	p. xv
List of tables	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Learning and development in play	p. 1
A political-pedagogical landscape	p. 3
Parallel conceptual worlds	p. 20
Teacher beliefs about teaching concepts	p. 33
Valued curriculum concepts in early childhood education	p. 51
Teacher knowledge of subject matter concepts	p. 62
Empirical and narrative knowledge development in play	p. 68
Children building theoretical knowledge in play	p. 75
Cultural-historical theories of play and learning	p. 99
Cultural-historical programs that afford play development	p. 101
Theories about play and learning	p. 122
The imaginative act as conceptual play	p. 133
Learning and development as cultural practice	p. 153
Views on child development matter	p. 155
A revolutionary view of child development	p. 165
Children's development as participation in everyday practices	p. 189
A cultural-historical view of play, learning and development	p. 198
Glossary	p. 218
References	p. 221
Index	p. 237
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.