My top books for Early Years students

If, like me, you choose to study Early Childhood Studies, there's a range of books and sources that are available to use for each module. They're on a reading list you can refer to at any time on Canvas, ARU's online learning portal. Here are some of the books I personally found useful throughout my degree.

1. The Child in Society
This book was useful throughout an assignment in my final year because it highlights a range of perspectives, which were covered in lectures and was the main focus of the assignment. This book explains each perspective in more detail which influences the overall outcome of individual pieces of work in different ways.

2. Leadership In The Early Childhood: The Pathway To Professionalism
This is another beneficial book I found helpful when completing Practitioner 3 and is a very popular book used by most students. It covers a range of information which relates to different sections of the module and identifies leadership in a variety of ways within the early years sector. It also highlights different theorists’ opinions and styles of learning.

3. Understanding Early Years Policy (3rd edition)
Although this book is in the reading list for one module, it is very useful with other modules when relating to the early years setting. It was particularly interesting and useful when relating to policies within early years. It is a great book to begin to read to understand the EYFS, how policies are made and implemented and have a huge impact on individuals within the setting. This helped me to begin the purpose of policies and how they have developed over time and how various settings policies may differ.

4. Children's rights 0-8: Promoting Participation in Education and Care
This is a key text which is useful for Children’s rights module as it expresses the importance of children’s participation within the education field. Children have the right to participate in matters regarding their lives if they’re going to be affected. Within this module, you can choose which ‘P’ you are going to discuss. This book really supports the arguments of allowing children to participate in decision making and different theoretical views. It also encourages individuals to think about how they can reflect on their practice in a situation in an environment that ensures all children have access to the rights they are entitled to.

Most of the books which are recommended may not be useful to everybody, due to personal preference. However, there's a range of similar books related to individual modules, and many more which can be found in the university library. There is no need to buy every single book that is recommended on the reading list, because there's a high chance they will already be available in the library.