Fifteen original research accounts are described by the experienced early childhood professionals who carried them out. The research focuses on early childhood services and settings; gender and disability issues in provision and play and on how adults influence children s learning. Each account also identifies methodological issues and suggests further reading. The contributors work in a variety of settings and services in and outside the UK. The issues researched include: playgroups in the 21st Century; practitioners responses to legislative change; the involvement of qualified teachers in voluntary pre-school; transferring from a Montessori nursery to a state reception class; men in the early childhood workforce; gender discourses in children s homes;gender through the eyes of girls;including young children with disabilities;working with under threes;children s drawings;children s reading choices;adults perceptions of play;children s acquisition of thinking skills;reflective practice in early years work.The book is written for students researching in the ever expanding field of early childhood education and care and for the wide range of practitioners seeking to underpin their practice with current research.