This unique and engaging resource describes, critiques and analyses the significance of a wide range of contemporary and classic ideas about how young children learn. Organised in a handy A - Z format, best-selling author and early years expert Sandra Smidt:Traces back each idea to the roots of how it was first conceivedExplores its implications for the early years classroom in accessible termsMakes connections where relevant to other strands in the field of early childhood educationProvides examples from her extensive classroom experience and international literatureDraws on a range of ideas from both developing and developed countries giving the material a truly global focusUses a sociocultural view of learning to underpin the choice or analysis of each ideaStudents on early years education courses at a range of levels will find this an essential and enlightening companion text, for use throughout their studies.