Research, Policy and Advocacy in the Early Years

This book brings together work by national and international scholars committed  to honouring and building on the work of a passionate educator and lifelong advocate for children: Professor Anne Smith.

Anne Smith was at the forefront of the children's rights movement for several decades. She was a leader in childhood studies, the foundational director of the Children's Issues Centre and a pioneer in evidence-based policy and practice. For more than four decades she wrote,  researched and spoke about the rights of children as people and citizens, the right to quality childcare and the right to quality experiences in early childhood. She was an advocate for children's voices to be heard and respected, and for children to be free of all forms of physical violence.

The authors take inspiration from her research, policy and advocacy work, including its international reach and its lasting influence to address the politics of care and education; sociocultural approaches to advocacy, and the role of early childhood leaders as advocates for children. One chapter examines Anne Smith's lifelong contribution to children's rights from a legal perspective, another acknowledges her contribution to thinking about assessment for learning of young children.

Weaving their own research and scholarship with reflections on Anne Smith's work, the authors address ongoing issues in early years research, policy and advocacy in a fitting tribute to her formidable legacy.