DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Introduction to the First Edition About This Book Theories of Childhood is a practitioner’s manual as well as a college textbook. It is designed for the person working with young children who wants to better understand how chil- dren think and act and how to be more effective with them. It begins with a discussion of the interactive nature of theory and practice that is necessary to make either meaningful. It includes information about and reflection on the work of five of the major contributors to the body of knowledge upon which our best practices in early childhood education are based. It is a basic introduction and is not intended to be aca- demic or scholarly. I’m hoping to whet the appetite of those interested in the relationship of theory to practice and its impact on real children, teachers, and classrooms. For this reason, each chapter concludes with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading. The stories shared here are from real classrooms where I have either worked or observed others at work. Each chapter provides the reader with background information on the theo- rist’s life and work. Classroom stories are used to illustrate the point of the original writings. This is not a comprehensive introduction to the field or even to the individual theorists included. I hope that this brief introduction to early child- hood’s theoretical foundations will give readers a foundation for understanding how child development affects how we work with children in early childhood programs and will encourage them to go on to the more in-depth readings. 11 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL