The surest sign of whether our nation has a soul is whether it cherishes all of its children … Unless there is serious commitment to upholding every child'sbirthright to acquire the educational and personal foundations for a full and satisfying life, we fail the first test of any civilised community. That involves doing justice by the most vulnerable among us, our children. (Vinson, 2010, p. 73, our emphasis).
The central importance of quality early childhood education in a child's first eight years in shaping his or her future chances in life has not always been given the attention it deserves in western societies. This book aims to develop our understanding, knowledge and skills about the language and literacy development of young children. As Ruqaiya Hasan (1991) so eloquently reminded us almost three decades ago, our language and literacy is integral to who we are and how we make our way in the world. There is no question that all children have the right to be cherished and supported as they learn to make sense of their worlds and communicate with others. It is of great concern to us that it is often the children who are in the most vulnerable circumstances who are deprived of rich and educative language and literacy experiences and opportunities.
Grounded in current language and literacy research and practice, this book represents our serious commitment to the need for every child to have the best opportunities to develop rich language and literacy skills to equip them for the complexities of 21st-century living. The book begins with an exploration of how children learn how to make sense of their world, how to mean and, in doing so, how they learn to talk as a precursor to learning to be literate. The impact of diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, language and cultural backgrounds on young children's identity, language and literacy learning is also highlighted. As Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework (2009, p. 13) reminds us:
There are many ways of living, being and knowing. Children are born belonging to a culture, which is not only influenced by traditional practices, heritage and ancestral knowledge, but by the experiences, values and beliefs of individual families and communities. Respecting diversity means within the curriculum valuing and reflecting the practices, values and beliefs of families.
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