Early Childhood Studies

Rod Parker-Rees is the co-ordinator of Early Childhood Studies and joint programme director for the BA (Hons) ECS at the University of Plymouth, where he also helped to develop the Early Childhood Studies Specialist pathway on the Bed and the BA (Hons) degree in ECS. Before he taught three to five year-old children in Bristol and conducted research with the National Primary Centre (South West). His research interests centre on playfulness, early communication and the role of young children as active social agents. Dr Caroline Leeson is Associate Professor in Early Childhood Studies at Plymouth University. She has particular interests in the welfare of looked after children, children’s centre leadership and reflective practice and enjoys working with students towards their goal of being strong advocates for young children and their families. Her research interests are in social justice; children with a parent in prison; children who go missing and/or are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and the involvement of children in decision making processes. She is also active in researching the articulation of leadership in early years settings. Before working in higher education she worked as a social worker in child protection, fostering and adoption and was the leader of a family centre for a period of time. This experience proved particularly profound as she learnt the importance of communication, collaboration and the joy of spending time in the home corner making stone soup. Dr Jan Savage was joint co-ordinator of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Plymouth until August 2005, and helped to create the specialist pathway on the B Ed and BA (Hons) degree in ECS. Shehas always been interested in promoting an inter-disciplinary collaborative approach to Continued Professional Development work in Early Years. She is currently working as a tutor on the national leadership programme for Children Centre leaders, deputies and others across professional boundaries (NPQICL). Jenny Willan teaches on modules with a focus on research methodology. She previously worked in educational research at the University of Cambridge and the National Foundation for Educational Research. She has worked on children′s writing, gender studies and teacher action research.

Part 1: What can children do? Sociocultural factors in development
Frameworks for understanding development
Active playing and learning
Developing communication: enjoying the company of other people
Children’s health and wellbeing: investigating the health of the nation
Part 2: Working with children: extending opportunities for participation
Observing children
Providing an enabling environment
Tackling inequality in the early years
Part 3: Multi-professional practice: developing empowering communities
Working with colleagues
Leadership in early childhood settings
The benefits of comparison: recent developments in the German early years workforce
Part 4: Comparing children′s worlds: making the familiar strange
Adults’ concepts of childhood
Children′s well-being in the developing world
The research, policy and practice triange in early childhood education and care
Part 5: Researching practice: developing critical engagement
In praise of reflective practice
Research projects in early childhood studies: students′ active explorations of children′s worlds
Action research