Intended for students and teachers, The Education of the Young Child approaches the subject in a straightforward and readable way, emphasizing the implications of the topics covered for the actual business of teaching three- to seven-year-olds. These topics include the major curricular activities carried out in nursery and infant schools, such as play, music, art and craft, movement, reading and writing, and number skills. There are also chapters on all the major aspects of psychological and social development in young children, for example the development of language, of physical growth, of thinking, of intelligence and creativity, and of social behavior and personality.

Throughout the book the accent is upon clarity and informality. The authors are all experts in their particular fields, and all have had professional experience of the three- to seven-year-old age group.