ABSTRACT
This chapter presents many case studies for early childhood development. Jean Piaget was fond of the word egocentrism to describe the inability to decentre. Egocentric means self-centred; to be able to decentre means to be able to adopt different perspectives or see something from the point of view of others. Yet we know that young children often show empathy when, for example, they comfort a friend who has fallen down or support a sibling who is in trouble. In doing this they demonstrate that they are able to work out what another person is feeling and so decentre. Documenting a child's development as a learner is one of the most crucial aspects of being an educator. Through observation the teacher or practitioner becomes able to say how each one learns and interacts, raises questions and develops theories, can share and support, and behave and relate to one another.
