Debating Childhood and Preschool: A Field Guide to Raising Children, Navigating Pre-K, and Lifting Early Education

Debating Childhood and Preschool tackles these essential issues, clarifying the philosophical divides and examining popular beliefs about child-rearing and early education. Bringing five decades of experience--as parent, teacher, and policy activist--Bruce Fuller unpacks the contested ideological roots of child-rearing and how they surface in preschool. He confronts guiding mythologies, such as "learning through play" and "free pre-K will narrow disparities," inviting parents and teachers to question their own assumptions about how we nurture and shape young children. By sharpening philosophical stances and deftly reviewing decades of empirical evidence, Fuller details how families, educators, and policy advocates can fine-tune their essential work in raising the next generation.