Abstract

This fully-updated second edition of Learning Through Child Observation is a handbook for professionals working in, or students preparing to work in, children's services. This accessible text examines the value of observation, its use in assessment and the practical aspects and methods of observational study. The author focuses on the importance of fully recognising the child's developmental and emotional state when intervening, and the need to see children `holistically' and as unique individuals within the wider context of the family and community. New chapters include Views of Children and Childhood, which draws on European educational and sociological perspectives and highlights the contrasting views of children, and The 'Hundred Languages of Children', which considers the place of creative engagement and multiple forms of expression by children. With new material and updated chapters, this second edition of a popular text will appeal to students and professionals in all children's services, whether in pre-school, schools, social care, mental health or health settings.
Mary Fawcett is an early years consultant and also an evaluator for 5x5x5=creativity, an arts-based research organisation focusing on the creative values, environments and relationships that support the expression of children's feelings, thoughts and ideas. She was formerly a social work lecturer and Director of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Bristol.
Praise for the second edition: '(...) the book is easily accessible and will, I feel, succeed in its aim to help readers reach a deeper understanding of children and their lives as well as themselves as adults engaged with children.'
Early Years: International Journal of Research and Development
This slim and readable volume would serve as an eminently practical 'how-to' handbook for trainees of any discipline embarking upon child observation in any context.
Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Fawcett's enthusiasm for a more creative approach to children's education, drawing on actual examples and with visual illustrations, is inspiring and provides an uplifting and thought provoking conclusions.
British Psychological Society, Debate
Praise for the first edition: ' ...a wealth of excellent examples for developing and improving the necessary skills to observe children in context... Mary Fawcett's practical guidance on the collection of evidence and the use of that material is highly informative, irrespective of the area of child study in which the reader is engaged.'
Child Language Teaching and Therapy
Its strength lies in the fact that it is more than a 'how to' guide, unlike most material for child development professionals... the sections exploring biases in Western child observation are especially valuable. Fawcett's comments on the Reggio Emilia approach sparked new ideas for me, particularly in relation to group work.
Speech & Language Therapy in Practice