Description

A comprehensive overview of sociology and its importance to the field of ECE, revealing how a child is shaped and impacted, both positively and negatively, within and by their society.

• Introduces many of the fundamentals of sociology: how sociology is defined; the sociological perspective; and the core concepts and dominant perspectives in sociology

• Explains sociology of ECE concepts such as understanding learning, pedagogy and care and how these are embedded within, and reflective of, a society’s culture, values and policies

• Examines how we understand children’s learning, its function and how more traditional ideas are being challenged in the transition to more ‘child as an agent in their own learning’ understandings

• Introduces concepts such as culture, the family and health with reference to ECE as well as inequality and social issues in society and their implications for ECE

• Defines the perspectives of social constructionism, social structuralism, ethnography and the child standpoint approach

• Discusses the issue of ‘agency’ against the backdrop of the UNCRC and a ‘rights vs needs’ approach

WRITTEN FOR:

• Any student embarking on a course on sociology and social policy in early childhood education

• Professional practitioners and educators in early childhood learning and care.