Self-Esteem and Early Learning

Self-Esteem and Early Learning is about the very early development and importance of self-concept and learning dispositions. It shows a rigorous theoretical underpinning (Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, Katz, Isaacs, Winnicott; and more recently Bruer, Carr, Gopnik, Karoly et al and Shore) but has been written and presented in a way which is practical and accessible for a wide readership including parents. The emphasis is on adult's observation of babies and young children; reflection about what babies and young children see, hear and experience in the course of their development; and strategies to support the development of self esteem and positive learning dispositions. This revision builds on the author's work of the last five years spent developing a programme to support parents and carers with children from birth to four years in disadvantaged areas, to give their children a good start at school and raise educational attainment, especially literacy, in the long term.