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Development in Early Childhood

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Child Development and Education in the Twenty-First Century

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Abstract

‘Development in Early Childhood’ describes an extraordinary period of growth, development and learning spanning the first eight years of life. Understanding children’s development in their varied contexts and from different viewpoints, including literature, helps us conceptualize childhood and its ‘stages’, providing us with rich insights. The plasticity and receptivity of this stage leads to immense advances in children’s physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional development. The foundations laid at this time continue to affect children as they develop and learn throughout their lives. The various adversities and vulnerabilities that children face, especially due to poverty, affect them deeply. Similarly, the close relationships that children experience during this time underpin their later development. An inseparable part of early childhood is play and we explore its role in learning along with that of toys. The complex issues of diversity and inequities have furthered the understanding of Child Development and Education, especially ‘appropriate practices’. Though it is well recognized that children’s varying contexts and diversities are resources, this understanding is hard to put into practice. The voices of families and children themselves have enriched the discourse; what they value must inform the education offered to them. Nurturing children’s curiosity, expressiveness and abilities is central to their development. Children do not merely live in a world but construct it in their minds as they engage with it.

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  1. Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Priti Joshi

  2. Group Ignus, New Delhi, India

    Subir Shukla

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  1. Priti Joshi
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Joshi, P., Shukla, S. (2019). Development in Early Childhood. In: Child Development and Education in the Twenty-First Century. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9258-0_3

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