Research in Early Childhood Education

Reviews the book, Handbook of Research in Early Childhood Education edited by Bernard Spodek (1982). This handbook is intended for use by researchers, practitioners, students, administrators, and policymakers. Unfortunately, in this handbook there is too much selection of particularized topics. Too many chapters lack the vitality that springs from a critical appraisal of a broad range of views on early education issues and of the most pertinent research in this area during the past decade. The limitations of a single-volume handbook make a comprehensive review of research a difficult task, but it would have been beneficial for the reader to have had major topics covered more evenly. This volume is a welcome source of information on particular topics even though it does not provide a cohesive account of research in early childhood education and its implications for practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)