Clark, Margaret M. & Waller, Tim. (2007). Early Childhood Education & Care: Policy and Practice. Reviewed by Amir Al Nizami, University of Colorado, Denver

Clark, Margaret M. & Waller, Tim. (2007). Early Childhood Education & Care: Policy and Practice. London: SAGE Publications Pp. 192     $40     ISBN 9781412935722 Reviewed by Amir Al Nizami University of Colorado, Denver August 14, 2008 The purpose of the book is to present readers with an overview of the similarities and differences between developments in early childhood education and care in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In the book, the United Kingdom consists of (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland, (d) and Wales. The authors’ motivation for writing the book was (a) policymakers may not consider the broader picture when it comes to policy initiation and implementation and (b) explain the differences in educational development across the UK and other countries. These differences, especially among the UK countries, were not explained in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports: (a) starting strong I (2001) and (b) starting strong II (2006). “The recent OECD publications reinforced our conviction that a book such as the present one is timely in which the differences between policy and practice in the various countries that make up the United Kingdom are clearly identified. This is not possible from either of the two OECD reports” (p. 5). In 1996, the OECD initiated a review of early childhood education and care based on a study conducted in 20 different countries in which England, Northern Ireland, the Republic Of Ireland, Scotland and Wales were all referred to as the United Kingdom. According to the authors, the conception that educational settings, development and care are the same in all five countries is misleading “While in places it is possible for someone knowledgeable about differences in the constituent parts of the UK to appreciate what does and does not apply as a whole, this would not be clear to the general reader” (p. 5). The book consists of seven chapters containing the same headings to assist the reader in understanding the differences and similarities in early childhood education and care in the constituent parts of the UK. Chapters one and seven are an introduction and a closing of the book in which Margaret Clark and Tim Waller describe general issues related to developments in policy and practice from birth until eight years of age. Chapters two through six address early childhood education and care in terms of developments in policy and practice in each of the four UK countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and the Republic of Ireland. In these chapters, the authors provided an overall policy and practice comparison and gave a brief history of policy making in each country. The authors bring together policy and practice in early childhood education and care in both England and the Republic of Ireland very uniquely. They explained the context of early years’ provisions through telling real life stories of children from birth through schooling age. Through these stories only, I was able to realize the struggle of the less privileged children and lone parents in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and live their pain and suffering. They also explain the similarities and differences in support of the theory that geographic location where the child is raised matters. How different might the early experiences of the children studied in this book have been had they moved to another country, and how might that have influenced their early education and care, are questions the authors asked. In all four countries of the United Kingdom, problems of lone parents, short parental and maternity leaves, socioeconomic factors, children overweight problems, unqualified teachers and child care professionals, multiple school transitions, the lack of a standard curriculum, disability accommodation, lack of funding, lack of healthy school meals, lack of sufficient school, child care and nursery playgrounds, cultural diversity issues, centralized decision making, sectarianism, mental health, lack of comprehensive inclusion policies, and inward and upward immigration issues, all adversely affected the lives of millions of children under the age of six. However, during the 1990s revolutionary changes began to take place in most of the UK countries. This came as a response to the OECD reports, media coverage, public demands, and the governments’ understanding of the challenges on hand and their collaborative efforts working directly with practitioners, parents, and students. New departments for child care at the ministry of education were created, protective child laws and education and child-care policies were adopted (e.g. SureStart, Birth to Three Matters, National Childcare Strategy, Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, Early Years Foundation Stage, Green Paper Every Child Matters, Children and Young People’s Workforce Development Council, Early Years Education and Care, and Children First, to name a few). Additionally, many initiatives such as extended schools, raising the number of childcare places, nursery voucher system and childcare tax credit programs, were initiated in an effort for children and parents to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make positive contributions and achieve economic mobility. All of these initiatives improved the well-being of parents and children. The authors explain, however, that despite these many positive moves, tension still may exist between the aims of education and care: “the first focuses on the individual child and his or her development, a feature of many of the curricula, and the second on having in the curriculum common goals to provide a direction for children’s learning” (p. 172). The authors conclude by explaining that much of these efforts’ success depends on the qualification of the staff (this is where professional development comes in to play) and their willingness to guide the children in a meaningful way. The authors also raise the role of play in young children’s live and whether or not it is considered part of learning. It is worth noting that all four UK countries, with little variation, start formal schooling between the age of four and five and a half. Many critics internally and externally accuse this early schooling policy of steeling the child away from living her or his early years in the comfort and love of their families away from any formal schooling. The authors explain that an overview of the early childhood provision show that relatively comparable types of provisions exist across the UK countries for children three years of age and under with exception to the Republic of Ireland. On the other hand, nursery and teacher-development education are becoming increasingly available all across the UK countries. However, a noticeable variation still exists when it comes to policy on curriculum for children under three, even though, when it comes to formal schooling curriculum England stands tall in terms of emphasizing teaching to the legal requirements. Two questions arose for me as I read the book: Considering the challenges early childhood education and care are facing, what are the school dropout rates in the UK and the Republic of Ireland? I’m not questioning whether a real and large impact occurs. However, I would like to find out the effects of past and current policies and practices on these children in higher-grade levels. This is something the authors did not talk about as they limited their study to children from birth to eight years of age. What types of efforts, if any, are extant to ensure that policymakers are working collaboratively with scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts to improve development in policy and practice? I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in studying early childhood education and care in the UK and the Republic of Ireland or anyone else interested in policy making and practice in general. Not only are the book’s 192 pages easy to read but they are very exciting. The real-life stories at the beginning of every chapter and the genius continuity between the different chapters are very motivating. The construction of the book meshes well with its organization and lends itself to the study of early childhood education and care in the UK. Each chapter is broken down into easy to read and understand sections, which typically fit logically into the topic of the chapter. All chapters are composed of several defining parts that maintain a sense of continuity throughout the volume. Within the text of the chapter, challenging questions are roused by the authors along with useful websites and addresses and assortments of tables that present either a conceptual framework or provide a system or a structure break down matrix. One of the major strengths of the book is that it makes clear the case that childhood education and care are separate issues. Also, the book unquestionably demonstrates the reason why the OECD report cannot generalize statements or conclusions about childhood education and care in the UK countries and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, it paints a perfect picture of the history of childhood education and care in these countries, the challenges they face and the potential awaiting children born this year and in the coming years. I was impressed with each country’s ten-year improvement plan that the authors listed at the end of chapters two through six. Last, being a person of color, I was impressed with the governments’ focus on cultural diversity and their efforts to develop inclusion policies. About the Reviewer Amir Al Nizami is currently a Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership and Innovation doctoral program at the University of Colorado, Denver. His area of interest and research is in Leadership Innovation and Human Development.