This is a comprehensive and completely up to date text for all those required to understand early years' policy and practice. It provides a succinct insight into key elements of the national and international political, economic and social agendas that influence and affect young children's lives, and the impact of these on early years' professional practice and provision. It provides a critical examination of policy development and its application within an historical and international context. In addition the book takes an issues-based approach to six primary aspects of policy influencing early childhood. These include:

• family structures, status and public policy
• cultural and social aspects of the health and wellbeing of young children
• the status and rights of children as political and policy influencers
• education and care for early learning and development
• poverty as part of the early years' experience
• the landscape of rural and urban living for young children

Pat Tomlinson's working life has been spent developing, delivering or teaching aspects of children's policy. Her decades of experience and learning include school teaching in the 1970s, to play development work in the 1980s, as a university academic developing and delivering childhood studies graduate programmes through the 1990s to 2009 when she took up the position of head of the early years programme at the Children's Workforce Development Council. Her interest in early childhood policy continues through involvement as governor of a large college and membership of a number of early years fora.

Introduction to Critical Thinking

Introduction: Challenging misconceptions about policy and practice

1. The shaping of early years policy since 1900.
2. Family structures, status and public policy.
3. Cultural and social aspects of the health and wellbeing of young children.
4. The status and rights of young children as political and policy influencers.
5. Education and care for early learning and development.
6. Poverty as part of the early years' experience.
7. The landscape of rural and urban living for young children.
8. Early years politics and economics on the international stage.

• References
• Index