Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government
Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government
Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government
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For those who would like more detailabout the literature search process, theAppendix explains how the team foundthe reports on different pieces of research<strong>and</strong> the kinds of information it seemedimportant <strong>to</strong> include. Following theintroduc<strong>to</strong>ry chapter, there are five mainchapters <strong>to</strong> the literature review,containing the following:-a brief introduction <strong>to</strong> influentialtheories <strong>and</strong> philosophies concernedwith early childhoodinformation about research relating<strong>to</strong> A Strong Childinformation about research concernedwith the baby <strong>and</strong> young child asA Skilful Communica<strong>to</strong>rinformation about research focusingon A Competent Learnerinformation about research onA Healthy Child<strong>and</strong> the review concludes with a furtherchapter providing some pointers aboutthe implications of the research forparents, policy makers, practitioners,trainers <strong>and</strong> researchers.The second chapter, which is anintroduction <strong>to</strong> theories <strong>and</strong> philosophiesexplains the ideas <strong>and</strong> thinking – ‘gr<strong>and</strong>’or key theories – which have helped people‘make sense’ of what they believe <strong>to</strong> bepatterns in very young children’sdevelopment <strong>and</strong> learning. Thesubsequent chapters outline research,mainly that carried out during the last tenyears, <strong>and</strong> review research reports relevant<strong>to</strong> each of the four Components of anAspect of the Framework.RESEARCH,DISCIPLINES,ASSUMPTIONSAND VALUESOwing <strong>to</strong> the broad scope of thecomponents in the pack,<strong>and</strong> the numberof different disciplines, or areas of study,which inform the field of Early ChildhoodEducation <strong>and</strong> Care (ECEC) concerningchildren from birth <strong>to</strong> <strong>three</strong>, this literaturereview covers a huge number of fields ofknowledge, ranging from law, social work,health <strong>and</strong> medicine, <strong>to</strong> developmentalpsychology, linguistics, cognitive science<strong>and</strong> neurophysiology, policy studies <strong>and</strong>sociology. Such a review could also haveincluded other areas of knowledge, suchas his<strong>to</strong>rical studies of early childhood <strong>and</strong>childrearing for example, because thesecould have provided insights in<strong>to</strong> the waysin which our attitudes <strong>to</strong> <strong>and</strong> beliefs aboutyoung children <strong>and</strong> their place in societyhave changed, <strong>and</strong>, as a result, how theways in which we actually treat childrenunder <strong>three</strong> have changed. Societychanges over time <strong>and</strong> we can learn fromanalyses of these changes. However, <strong>to</strong>include all the fields <strong>and</strong> all the researchthat could be used would have resultedin an encyclopaedia,<strong>and</strong> taken far longer<strong>to</strong> compile than the time allowed.We can also learn from observations <strong>and</strong>ex p l o rations of the ways in which peoplein other societies or co u nt ries tre at theirve ry young childre n ,w h at they be l i eve<strong>to</strong> be appro p ri ate provision for them <strong>and</strong>8 EDUCATION ANDSKILLS B I RT H T O T H R E E M AT T E R S