Professional Issues in Work with Babies and Toddlers

Pamela Oberhuemer is affiliated to the State Institute of Early Childhood Research in Munich, Germany. She was lead researcher of a government funded study on systems of early years education and professional training in Europe (SEEPRO), and of a six-country study on continuing professional learning systems commissioned by WiFF, a nation-wide early years workforce initiative in Germany. Pamela has acted as an early years consultant to the OECD (Starting Strong reviews) and UNESCO. Liz Brooker is a Reader in Early Childhood at the Institute of Education in London, UK. She spent many years as an early years teacher before returning to research and teach in the university, and her experience of working with young children and their families has informed her research and publications: on ethnic minority children's learning at home and school, on transitions, on infants and toddlers, and most recently on play. Rod Parker-Rees is coordinator of Early Childhood Studies at Plymouth University, UK, where he has developed and led programmes at undergraduate and masters' level. He has edited Meeting the Child in Steiner Kindergartens: An Exploration of Beliefs, Values and Practices and has co-edited Early Years Education (Major Themes in Education) and Early Childhood Studies: an introduction to the study of children's worlds and children's lives.