EDUC 464: Early Childhood Education

 Contact info

If you need help, please contact Adena Brons, Education Librarian at 778 782 7419 or abrons@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian.

Background information

Early childhood education: an international encyclopedia [print] 4 vol.

Handbook of research on the education of young children [print]

Books

Books are excellent sources of background information. One good strategy is to identify main concepts in your research question, and then use these concepts as keywords for a keyword search in the SFU Library catalogue:

  • play and learning
  • emerg* and literacy
  • self-esteem and child*
  • pop* cultur* and early childhood
  • media and early childhood

Tip: Using the star (*) symbol tells the system to pick up all the words with that begin with the letters coming before the star. For example, emerg* = emergent, emerge, emerging (But be careful; emerg* also =emergency.)

Another way to find books on topics related to early childhood education is to search by subject in the SFU Library catalogue using the formal Library of Congress subject headings:

  • Early childhood education for books on activities and schooling that are intended to effect developmental changes in children from birth through elementary grade 3
  • Education, Preschool for books about structured education of children before entering kindergarten or grade 1 in elementary school
  • Education, Primary education for books about education of children in grades one through three or four
  • Kindergarten for books about the education of children at that school level.

After you identify a book that you would like to read, click on the Request button at the top of the screen, and follow the online instructions to have the book delivered to your home address by the SFU Library's Telebook service.

Journal articles

Searches using the keywords suggested for searches for books will work in searches for articles. Indexes also have lists of the formal subject headings specific to each index. Use the Thesaurus button to find the formal subject heading list for the index.

CBCA Complete
Articles in Canadian education journals. The full text of many articles is linked from the citation.

Education Source
Articles in education journals. The full text of many articles is linked from the citation.

ERIC
Articles in education journals. The full text of many articles is linked from the citation. Also indexes documents, which are not usually peer-reviewed, so it may be advisable to use the "Refine Search" tab which gives the option of including only journal articles in the search results.

PsycINFO
Indexes articles in psychology journals. The full text of many articles is linked from the citation.

Sociological Abstracts
Indexes articles in sociology journals.

Whenever the full text is not linked directly from the citation, use the Get@SFU link in the citation to initiate a search of the SFU Library catalogue and other library catalogues. When the search is complete, a holdings web page will open on your screen showing a link to full text whenever the full text is available through the SFU Library.

Electronic journals and texts

Here is a list of significant journal titles in the field of Early Childhood Education:

You cannot search these titles individually but must do so through ERIC or another Education database. You can, however, browse these journals online by searching the titles in the the library catalogue. For more help contact the Education librarian.

Associations and organizations

Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario
Professional organization for early childhood educators.

Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators
Professional organization for Montessori specialists.

Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development
Consortium of organizations involved in issues related to young children in the developing world.

Division for Early Childhood
A section of the Council for Exceptional Children. Promotes polices and practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities

Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia
Professional organization for early childhood educators.

National Association for the Education of Young Children
Professional organization for early childhood educators.

Government information

British Columbia

Ministry for Early Childhood Development
Coordinates information from the seven ministries with responsibility for services and programs for children under eight years of age.

Directories of web sites

Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (CEEP)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including links related to the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Montessori Foundation
Links to information on the programs founded by Maria Montesssori.

NECTAC Clearing House on Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education
Conferences, digests, journal articles collected by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.

Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families
Resources for use by parents