Reconceptualizing the Early Childhood Curriculum

The field of early childhood education has been heavily influenced by cognitive psychology and child development theory. "Reconceptualizing the Early Childhood Curriculum: Beginning the Dialogue" draws upon alternative modes of thinking, such as critical and feminist theory, which have been extensively discussed in curriculum studies but have rarely been applied to early childhood education. Editors Shirley A. Kessler and Beth Blue Swadener, along with early childhood theorists and practitioners, pay special attention to issues of gender, race, and ethnicity as reflected in these theories. The book breaks down into four major themes, as seen in the titles to the book's four parts: "Alternative Perspectives on Prevailing Theory and Practice"; "Critical and Feminist Perspectives on Early Childhood Education"; "Issues of Cultural and Linguistic Pluralism"; and "Voices from the Field: Teacher Narratives and Collaborative Work". Contributors include Janet L. Miller, William Ayers, Nancy R. King, and Lourdes Diaz Soto.
Both students and professionals in the areas of early childhood education and curriculum theory should find this book provides alternative and important perspectives on the early childhood curriculum.