The authors of this thought-provoking text explore and document a variety of small-scale practitioner research projects in home and early years settings, show how this level and depth of research has encouraged reflective practice, and provide depth to the arguments for a research-orientated stance towards study in the early years field.
The stories here are centred around real life for children, families and workers in the 21^st century and offer practical ideas and support for early years students around the world. They engage in some of the most current debates in early childhood education today, such as:

• How to support children as individuals
• How young children learn and how parents support their learning
• How to lead and facilitate change in a way that does not take power from children, parents or workers
• How to support children taking risks

Throughout this book, the ‘Pen Green’ attitude to practitioner research is actively encouraged. This involves fostering curiousity, being open to the views of others, questionning the ‘taken for granted’, making the implict explicit and reflecting on one’s daily work. Any practitioner research in early years education and care will draw inspiration from this accessible and supportive text.