ABSTRACT
Thus far this book has talked generally about aspects of relevance to early childhood education and care drawing on current issues related to how early childhood stands as a unique level of education, contemporary understandings of how young children learn and factors that influence and support children’s early learning and development informed by what the research tells us about quality practice in early childhood settings. This chapter synthesises the factors that comprise quality early childhood practice, a practice that is both effective for babies and young children and also satisfying professionally for educators who, research tells us, are most effective when they are stress free. The chapter explores the value of considering play as the process through which children explore, discover and learn and reflects on the opportunities and challenges of play-based practice, recommended in most curriculum frameworks. The chapter also looks at the skill of responding to emergent content and discusses the science and art of early educational pedagogy and the role of pedagogical leadership.
