Exploring the Contexts for Early Learning: Challenging the school readiness agenda

The concept of readiness for school is attractive to policy-makers, but many academics, researchers and practitioners argue that an early start to formal learning may be misguided. This book introduces readers to an increasing body of evidence which demonstrates that young children need opportunities to learn in environments that support their emotional and cognitive needs, offering opportunities to develop autonomy, competence and self-regulation skills. With practical guidance on implementing research findings into practice, it provides guidance on how to foster and develop these attributes, scaffold steps into new areas of learning and support children in facing new challenges.