Collections

ECE textbook collection (English and Spanish)  by Curriculum Alignment Project (CC BY).

Open educational resources in Early Childhood Education [Google doc] by various (various licenses).

Courses

Child Development and Early Childhood Education by various from the ASCCC OER Initiative (Academic Senate for California Community Colleges) (CC BY-NC).

Course collection on early childhood education and child development.

Textbooks

Child, Family, and Community – Spring 2021 version by Rebecca Laff, Cindy Stephens, and Wendy Ruiz (CC BY).

This textbook is a presentation of how and why children grow, develop, and learn including how we change physically over time from conception through adolescence.

Child Family Community: The Socialization of Diverse Children by various (CC BY-NC-SA).

This text is a guide and resource in building awareness, knowledge, and skills for current or future educators. The chapters are organized with learning objectives, embedded terms and definitions, critical reflection, and practical application of the content and topics. Topics include introduction to socialization and theories; why culture is important; what is a family; community; school; building collaborative relationships with families; welcoming and supporting families; and contemporary issues for children and families. [Published by Libretext.]

 Complexities, Capacities, Communities: Changing Development Narratives in Early Childhood Education, Care and Development by Alan Pence and Allison Benner(CC BY-NC)

This volume problematizes the activities of capacity building and presents an alternative approach to promoting capacity in development contexts. The volume starts with an exploration of the concept of capacity building and goes on to focus on two examples of capacity promotion for early childhood education, care and development (ECD). The First Nations Partnerships Program (FNPP), an innovative and successful post-secondary education program initiated in 1989 at the request of a large tribal council in northern Canada, led to 10 educational deliveries with diverse Indigenous communities over the subsequent two decades. While the program encompasses a range of capacity-promoting activities, the central vehicle for this ECD development work is the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU), a program created in 2001 and now in transition to African universities. This book describes approaches to capacity promotion that respond to the complexities and possibilities of communities—at local and country levels. These initiatives challenge established developmental narratives in ECD and international development, and in so doing provide alternative ways for scholars and practitioners in ECD, education, and the broad international development field to enhance capacities. [Published by the University of Victoria in 2016.]

Early childhood Literacy: Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers from Birth – Age 5  by Christine Pegorraro Schull; Leslie La Croix; Sara E. Miller; Kimberly Sanders Austin; and Julie K. Kidd (CC BY).

This book outlines the connection between different areas of language and literacy and describes strategies for supporting development and promoting instruction. Early literacy includes reading, writing, and language development. Writing includes any early writing attempts and pre-writing behaviors just as reading includes any early reading attempts and recognition of symbols and sounds. Language also includes listening and speaking (oral language) and the use of gestures and signs to communicate. This text assumes oral language is a component of language and embraces the broader term to underscore the communication practices outside of listening and speaking. [Published in 2021 by The Virtual Library of Virginia.}

ECE 142: Health, Safety and Nutrition by Carrie Flegel,  Jennifer Paris; and Jennifer L. Lapum (CC BY-NC-SA).

This second edition of the open textbook  has been adapted from  for use by Sask Polytechnic, based on  Health, Safety, and Nutrition by Jennifer Paris, published by  College of the Canyons under a CC BY 4.0 license. It provides a foundational understanding of Early Childhood Education. Additional Canadian content has been added as well as significant Indigenous content related to First Nations’ experience and history on the Canadian Prairies. [Published in 2025 by Sask Polytechnic.]

EDU 109 – Music for the Young Child adapted by Denise Cummings-Clay from a book by by Natalie Sarrazin (CC BY-NC-SA).

From Hostos Community College, this book takes a holistic approach to the study of music, drawing from diverse fields such as music education, ethnomusicology, sociology, and cognitive sciences. The book takes into account many different perspectives on a child’s development rather than approaching it by focusing on only one subject. [Published by Hostos Community College.]

The ELC – An Early Childhood Learning Community at Work by Heather Bridge, Lorraine Melita and Patricia Roiger  (CC BY-NC).

A professional development model was designed to improve the quality of teacher candidates’ Practicum field placements and align teaching in field placements with Learning Standards used in the teacher education program. This text compiles six case studies from this model to illustrate how teaching challenges were improved. Appropriate for practiced educators as well as educators in training, this text provides a real world look into applying Learning Standards in early childhood classrooms. [Published in July 2020 by Milne Open Textbooks].

Health, Safety, and Nutrition in Early Childhood Education by Erin Vasishtah and Isabella Sebastiani  (CC BY).

This book reviews health, safety, and nutrition practices for early learning educators in licensed childcare centers, family home environments, ECEAP, and Head Start programs. These practices are informed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families and follows the laws of the Washington Administrative Code Chapter 110-300. [Published in 2024 by Lake Washington Institute of Technology.]

Infant and Toddler Care and Development by Taintor and LaMarr (CC BY-NC-SA).

This comprehensive textbook covers a wide range of topics related to infant and toddler care and development. Each section is intended to stand on its own, in order to encourage remixing. Topics covered include an introduction to infants and toddlers; physical, brain, motor, sensory and perceptual, cognitive, language, emotional, and social development; infant and toddler mental health; language acquisition; attachment and reciprocal relationships; temperament; licensing and regulations; caregiving practices; indoor and outdoor environment; an introduction to observation; and curriculum, assessment, and documentation. [Published by Libretext.]

Infant and Toddler Education and Care by Susan Eliason (CC BY-NC-SA).

This textbook covers several topics in infant and toddler education and care. Topics include toddler development; development influences, including culture, nutrition, health, socio-economic status, and engaging families; professional resources and organizations; scheduling and overall design considerations when creating environments; and information about creating environments to enhance social and emotional development, physical health and well-being, language and communication, and cognitive development. [Published by Libretext.]

Introduction to Careers in Child Development by Gloria San Jose Daims (CC BY-NC-SA).

This book contains academic and career information in the field of early childhood education and child development. It can be used as a textbook for child development and related courses. [Published in 2021.]

Introduction to Childhood Studies by Susan Eliason (CC BY-NC-SA).

Introduction to key concepts in the study of childhood from multidisciplinary perspectives. It examines the historical and socio-cultural constructions of “the child” and childhood, exploring topics such as child development, cultural notions of adolescence, children as social agents, children’s rights and challenges facing children in both local and global contexts. [Published by Libretext.]

Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education by Jennifer Paris, Kristin Beeve, & Clint Springer (CC BY).

Learn how to effectively plan curriculum for young children. [Published by Libretext.]

Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education by Jennifer Paris (CC BY).

A textbook that discusses observation and assessment in the context of early childhood education. [Published in 2020 by College of the Canyons.]

Parenting and Family Diversity Issues by Diana Lang (CC BY-NC-SA).

This book has been created for students and all individuals who work with children and families (e.g., educators, parents, caregivers, direct support workers, etc.) in diverse contexts.  It is imperative to understand how and what factors may influence child outcomes across the lifespan. Therefore, key concepts related to parenting, child-rearing, care-giving, and parenting education are outlined in this textbook to provide historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives across vast settings and developmental domains. [Published in 2020 by Iowa State University Digital Press.]

Pedagogical Leadership for Early Learning Educators by Claudia Sasse (CC BY).

Designed for a University of Alberta course in 2023. Covers leadership styles, theories, inclusive practices, etc. [Published in 2023.]

Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children – early release provided by Jennifer Paris (CC BY). [Published in 2020 by College of the Canyons.]

Reflective Practice in Early Years Education by by Sheryl Third (CC-BY-NC-SA).

This resource will provide a context that will allow the reader to consider their obligation to reflect from their own perspective and will explore how to create a practice that best suits their professional setting. This book will bring together in one place the history, the values, the skills and disposition required to be a reflective practitioner. It is a textbook with elements of a workbook, embedded are opportunities to watch, to think, to write, and to listen allowing the reader to become a purposeful and intentional reflective practitioner. [Published in 2022.]

The Role of Equity and Diversity on Early Childhood Education by Jennifer Paris (CC BY).

A textbook that discusses equity and diversity in the context of early childhood education. [Published in 2020 by College of the Canyons.]

The Whole Child: Development in the Early Years by Doris Buckley and Deirdre Budzyna (CC-BY-NC-SA).

The Whole Child: Development in the Early Years is an OER written specifically for the emerging child psychology student or early childhood educator in mind. Team members Doris Buckley, Deirdre Budzyna, Rick Lizotte, Marilyn Billings, and Sue Tashijan emphasized the field of early childhood education is constantly changing and it is important to include up to date research from a diverse variety of perspectives. This text gives an overview of development, providing students with a strong understanding of how young children develop in a way that is both comprehensive and concise. [Published in 2023.]

Media Attributions

• Canada Map Icon by Icons8 (CC BY-ND).
• BC Map by Adamwashere (CC BY-NC-SA)