Book Report

Georgetown University

New Book Explores Early Childhood Development

In The Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development (Blackwell Publishing, January 2006), co-edited by Georgetown University professor Deborah Phillips, established scholars and emerging leaders in the field address some of the most compelling questions about early childhood experience between the ages of two and seven. Phillips joins Harvard professor Kathleen McCartney in editing the collection of 30 academic essays to create a handbook for child development accessible to students, researchers and practitioners. McCartney is the Gerald S. Lesser Professor of Early Childhood Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

"The astute editors and leading scholars have produced the best single overview of the exploding field of early childhood development, covering both old and new pressing issues in this burgeoning field," said Dr. Edward Zigler of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy. "Must reading for both basic and applied workers, as well as scholars working at the interest of knowledge and policy instruction."

The text covers the full range of research on the topic of child development from the biological and physical to the cognitive in a series of short, yet comprehensive, reviews of existing literature. Creating a sense of consistency throughout the text, contributors consider four organizing themes in their reviews. They include the role of early experiences as they shape the course of development; contributions of the cultural contexts within which children grow up -- what the editors call the "social ecology of early development;" individual differences in developmental trajectories; and applications of development science to issues of practice and policy. Each chapter can be read independently of the volume, but authors frequently reference other chapters throughout to draw connections across the field.

"Kathleen McCartney and Deborah Phillips have recruited many of the top names in the field of early child development to provide timely and informative reviews of a very fast-moving field," said Paul L. Harris, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education at Harvard University. "This handbook will be obligatory reading for researchers and practitioners alike. Whether you are looking for a conceptual framework, the latest empirical findings in key domains such as the development of cognition, language and emotion, or the implications for policy, this book should serve as a first point of reference."