ABSTRACT
THIS BOOK EXPLORES the dilemmas and debates that are, or should be, present for everyone who studies childhood in depth. Its intention is not to tell practitioners how to execute their professional roles, rather to raise questions about the nature of what we are doing and why. It is structured in such a way that general changes in the nature of our society are explored at the beginning to set the whole publication in context. Following that, specific aspects will be highlighted and explored in individual chapters. Each of the chapters is written by someone who is not only a practitioner and a teacher in a university, but who is also passionate about the lives of children and their families. We hope that the issues raised, which form the background to a study of early childhood, can be used as starting points for a deeper exploration of the aspects and issues, and others which interest or perturb readers.
