This book provides a critical examination of the sources, aims, and features of early childhood curricula. Providing a theoretical and philosophical foundation for examining teaching and learning, this book will provoke discussion and analysis among all readers. How has theory been used to understand, develop, and critique curriculum? Whose perspectives are dominant and whose are ignored? How is diversity addressed? What values are explicit and implicit? The book first contextualizes the historical and research base of early childhood curriculum, and then turns to discussions of various schools of theory and philosophy that have served to support curriculum development in early childhood education. An examination of current curriculum frameworks is offered, both from the US and abroad, including discussion of the Project Approach, Creative Curriculum, Te Whariki, and Reggio Emilia. Finally, the book closes with chapters that enlarge the topic to curriculum-being-enacted through play and that summarize key issues while pointing out future directions for the field. Offering a broad foundation for examining curriculum in early childhood, readers will emerge with a stronger understanding of how theories and philosophies intersect with curriculum development. This book is divided into four sections. Section I, Introduction, contains the following: (1) "Silent Voices of Knowing" in the History of Early Childhood Education and Curriculum (Debora Basler Wisneski); and (2) Curriculum and Research: What Are the Gaps We Ought to Mind? (Nancy File). Section II, Influences on Curriculum, contains the following: (3) The Relationship between Child Development and Early Childhood Curriculum (Nancy File); (4) From Theory to Curriculum: Developmental Theory and Its Relationship to Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education (J. Amos Hatch); (5) The Curriculum Theory Lens on Early Childhood: Moving Thought into Action (Jennifer J. Mueller); (6) From Theory to Curriculum: The Project Approach (Judy Harris Helm); (7) Using Critical Theory to Trouble the Early Childhood Curriculum: Is It Enough? (Mindy Blaise and Sharon Ryan); and (8) Using Critical Theories in the Curriculum (Betsy J. Cahill and Tammy L. Gibson). Section III, Examining Curriculum Approaches and Their Applications, contains the following: (9) Infant Toddler Curriculum: Review, Reflection, and Revolution (Diane M. Horm, Carla B. Goble, and Kathryn R. Branscomb); (10) Creative Curriculum and High Scope Curriculum: Constructing Possibilities in Early Education (Sara Michael-Luna and Lucinda G. Heimer); (11) Te Whariki--The Early Childhood Curriculum of Aotearoa New Zealand (Jenny R. Ritchie and Cary A. Buzzelli); (12) A Situated Framework: The Reggio Experience (Andrew J. Stremmel); and (13) Publishers in the Mix: Examining Literacy Curricula (Mariana Souto-Manning). Section IV, Conclusion, contains the following: (14) The Place of Play in Early Childhood Curriculum (Debora Basler Wisneski and Stuart Reifel); (15) Early Childhood Curriculum as Palimpsest (Katherine Delaney and Elizabeth Graue); and (16) Strengthening Curriculum in Early Childhood (Nancy File, Debora Basler Wisneski, and Jennifer J. Mueller). A preface is included.