Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Society » (5th Edition)

Janet Gonzalez-Mena started her early childhood career in a cooperative preschool as a parent volunteer back in 1966. She then became a Head Start volunteer and ended up as a teacher in a preschool for Spanish-speaking children and their families in 1970’s. She has also helped open several pilot programs including a therapeutic child care program and a home-based bilingual preschool program. When Magda Gerber came into her life in the mid-1970’s, Janet signed up for an internship with her at the Children’s Health Council in Menlo Park, California. As a result of that experience, later, when she became a child care director, she was able to incorporate much of what she learned into her work and was influential in expanding that program to include an infant center. Training and teaching adults has always been sideline, even when she was working with children and families. She worked as a Head Start trainer and as adjunct faculty in 4 community colleges plus the University of California Santa Cruz credential extension program. She taught for 15 years as full time faculty at Napa Valley College in the Child and Family Studies Program. Since 1991, she has been part of the faculty for WestEd’s Program for Infant-Toddler Caregivers (PITC) Training of Trainer Institutes. Janet has been writing along with teaching for all these years and is author of numerous articles and 13 books related to early childhood, including Foundations of Early Childhood Education; Infants, Toddlers, and Caregivers (with co-author Dianne Eyer); and Diversity in Early Care and Education: Honoring Differences (Formerly Multicultural Issues in Child Care). She wrote Dragon Mom about herself as parent to help early childhood professionals alleviate guilt when their parenting doesn't live up to their high standards. Her latest passion is understanding more about the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hungary, where Magda Gerber came from. It took her 30 years to get there after she first heard of it, but her first trip to it in November of 2003 merely whetted her appetite. She has made two more since and is planning for another one. She is fascinated by the approach and is convinced that this residential nursery is a model for the world. She is continuing to learn more about how this approach can be used to improve infant-toddler care and education programs in the United States. She is also working with a group in Mexico to explore how the approach might fit into their models of residential care for infants and toddlers. Janet has a Master of Arts Degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks in Pasadena, California.

Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Society is a practical introduction to the field of early childhood education and can even be used as a hands-on guide. The text emphasizes observations skills and the need to understand child growth and development, special needs, developmentally appropriate practice, positive guidance, an overview of curriculum, and the importance of working with families. Based firmly on research, but with a focus on practice, the text gives students the information they need to function in early childhood settings of various types including classrooms, child care programs, and infant centers. The information is reinforced by a multitude of real-life examples—dialogues, case studies, stories, and anecdotes—that help students make the connection between theory and practice. The text also integrates and discusses cultural influences and stresses what students need to know about working with children from diverse backgrounds.

Preface
Part I. Foundations of the Teaching-Learning Process: The Early Childhood Educator

1. Early Childhood Education as a Profession

2. First Things First: Health and Safety through Observation and Supervision

3. Communicating with Young Children

4. Facilitating Young Children's Work and Play

5. Guiding Young Children's Behavior

6. The Teacher as Model

7. Modeling Adult Relationships in Early Childhood Settings
Part II. Foundations of Curriculum: Planning for Learning

8. Setting Up the Physical Environment

9. Creating a Social-Emotional Environment

10. Routines

11. Developmental Tasks as the Curriculum: How to Support Children at Each Stage

12. Observing, Recording, and Assessing
Part III. Foundations for Formal Education: Planning for Learning

13. Language and Emergent Literacy

14. Providing Developmentally Appropriate Experiences in Math and Science

15. Integrating Art, Music, and Social Studies into a Holistic Curriculum
Glossary
References
Credits
Index