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Observing Young Children, 7th Edition |

Kristine Fenning

  • Copyright 2026
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2025-01-15T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $77.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Observing Young Children 7th Edition by Kristine Fenning
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Overview

The seventh edition of Observing Young Children is a transformative resource for instructors in Early Childhood Education observation courses. This edition emphasizes pedagogically sound observation and documentation practices, fostering a collaborative and reflective learning experience. The text promotes the cycle of observation, rooted in appreciative inquiry, critical reflection, and a listening pedagogy. It encourages students to continually reposition themselves within the learning process, viewing the child as a competent, equal, and capable co-learner. Enriched by over 100 self-filmed videos by Kristine Fenning, this edition provides practical examples for students to practice observational skills. By merging theory with video examples, the text effectively bridges traditional and digital learning, making it an invaluable tool in the evolving educational landscape.

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Meet the Authors

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Kristine Fenning

Kristine Fenning is an Early Childhood Professor with the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Kristine holds an extensive background in Adult Education, Community College, Resource Consultation, and Early Childhood Education. Prior to her current position, she has fulfilled a number of roles in her 20 years in the field, including Early Childhood Educator, Resource Teacher, Resource Consultant, and Training Coordinator. Kristine has presented various topics at conferences in Canada and the U.S.A., and has authored and published other articles and documents pertaining to Cohort Based Learning, Inclusion, and Supervisory Leadership. In collaboration with Toronto Children's Services and Humber College Child Care Centres / Humber College ITAL, Kristine was a co-developer and co-originator of the professional development system now in place for Early Childhood Educators, Resource Consultants, Supervisors and Directors in Toronto. Kristine's passions are teamwork, educational advocacy, inclusion, observation, assessment, and individual program planning. Kristine continues to be a member of a number of projects involving community partnerships, collaborative learning and inclusion. She is a proud wife and mother of two beautiful daughters who continue to teach her and empower her to make a difference in the lives of others.

What's New

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  • ​​Indigenous perspective and worldview are woven throughout, including a discussion of the responsibilities of educators to decolonize their work and develop competencies in anti-racism and anti-oppression​
  • ​​New reflective exercises in each chapter promote critical reflection, questioning, dialogue, collaboration, and the solidification of concepts​
  • ​​Expanded sections on children’s rights and Shier’s model of children’s participation, and privacy, confidentiality, assent and consent​
  • ​​Focus Questions at the beginning of each chapter prompt inquiry and discussion of key topics. These questions are tied to the Chapter Reflections at the end​
  • ​​Cycle of Observation explore facets of the cycle in each chapter​
  • ​​Teaching resources are available, including Instructor Guide, PowerPoints, and a MindTap Educator’s Guide​
  • ​​MindTap is an online learning platform that gives professors complete control to craft a personalized, engaging learning experience that challenges students. MindTap delivers access to an eTextbook, study tools, a variety of activities and auto-graded assessment options, and student performance reporting​

Features

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  • ​​Expanded discussions on emerging and key topics throughout the text, including appreciative inquiry and its applications; ethics as behaviour, professional expectations, policy and pedagogy; bias, race, racism and anti-racism, oppression, anti-oppression and power; pronoun usage; and traditional Westernized methods known for positioning the child and their behaviours as objects of study​
  • ​​Key terms for each chapter are defined in the margins​
  • ​​Exhibits feature in each chapter highlight key concepts or provide specific examples of the material covered​

Table of Contents

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Foreword

Preface

About the Authors

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 What Is Observation? Navigating Its Complex Identities
Chapter 2 Engaging in the Cycle of Observation: Ethics and Rights
Chapter 3 Learning to Co-Observe and Co-Document the Thinking, Learning, and Activity of Children Within the Cycle of Observation
Chapter 4 The Cycle of Observation, Documentation, and Pedagogical Documentation/Narration
Chapter 5 Observation and Documentation Methods That Target Behaviours, Skills, and Context
Chapter 6 Informing Pedagogical Practices through the Lens of Critical Reflection
Chapter 7 Informing Practice through the Lens of Early Identification
Chapter 8 Pedagogical Leadership, Environment as Co-Educator, and the Cycle of Observation

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MindTap Options

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MindTap
Each MindTap product offers the full, mobile-ready textbook combined with superior and proven learning tools at one affordable price. Students who purchase digital access can add a print option at any time when a print option is available for their course.

This Cengage solution can be seamlessly integrated into most Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, Moodle, and more) but does require a different ISBN for access codes. Please work with your Cengage Learning Consultant to ensure the proper course set up and ordering information. For additional information, please visit the LMS Integration site.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

Recommended and most popular

  • ISBN-10: 1778417043
  • ISBN-13: 9781778417047
  • RETAIL $99.95
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Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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  • ISBN-10: 1778417124
  • ISBN-13: 9781778417122
  • RETAIL $77.95

  • ISBN-10: 1778417027
  • ISBN-13: 9781778417023
  • RETAIL $114.95

  • ISBN-10: 1778417396
  • ISBN-13: 9781778417399
  • RETAIL $129.95
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Supplements

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR STUDENTS

MindTap Instant Access (Multi-Term) for Wylie's Observing Young Children 7E

ISBN: 9781778417047