It’s Arts Play: Young Children Belonging, Being and Becoming through the Arts will introduce you to Arts education in early childhood, highlighting the range of ways the Arts can impact education and development. It incorporates the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), which offers a holistic concept of children’s learning and is framed around core themes of Belonging, Being and Becoming.

The second edition of this Australian textbook provides well-focused, comprehensive and sound practical guidance for authentic play-based practice across the five subjects identified as part of the Arts in the Australian Curriculum: dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts.

Part 1 Children’s learning through the Arts

• Chapter 1. Setting the context
• Chapter 2. The nature of learning in and through the Arts
• Chapter 3. How arts experiences contribute to children’s growth and development
• Chapter 4. Belonging: How children belong through the Arts
• Chapter 5. Being: How children experience being themselves through the Arts
• Chapter 6. Becoming: Ways in which children become their future selves through the Arts

Part 2 Educating through the Arts

• Chapter 7. Learning experiences in Dance
• Chapter 8. Learning experiences in Drama
• Chapter 9. Learning experiences in Media Arts
• Chapter 10. Learning experiences in Music
• Chapter 11. Learning experiences in Visual Arts
• Chapter 12. Learning experience across the age groups

Part 3 The Professional at Work

• Chapter 13. Arts Pedagogies
• Chapter 14. Monitoring, documenting and assessing arts learning
• Chapter 15. Planning for arts learning

Judith Dinham is an Associate Professor and Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Education, Curtin University.

Beryl Chalk is a retired academic, School of Education, Curtin University.