Nursery World - Professional Books: For your shelf - Some food for thought in yourprofessional career

DIVERSITY AND DIFFERENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: ISSUES FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE

By Kerry H Robinson and Criss Jones-Diaz

(OUP, £18.99, 01628 502500)

Reviewed by Laura Williams, Foundation Stage teacher

This book, using case studies and interviewing educators, parents and children, follows areas of diversity such as gender, culture, race and sexuality and how they are approached in schools. The authors say that children are not 'clean slates', but recipients of adults' perceptions and values which can have an effect on how children perceive the world.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on bilingualism. It talks about the need to have high levels of support for EAL children and how a child's home language should be integrated across all areas of the curriculum. A reluctance to use other languages in English-speaking schools is seen as a threat to diversity.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included