Amos Hatch is Professor of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Introduction, J. Amos Hatch; Chapter 1 Back to Modernity?, J. Amos Hatch; Part I Qualitative Methodologies in Early Childhood Settings; Chapter 2 Hermeneutic Text Analysis of Play, Stuart Reifel; Chapter 3 Using Digital Video in Field-Based Research With Children, Daniel J. Walsh, Nesrin Bakir, Tony Byungho Lee, Ya-Hui Chung, Kayoun Chung, Colleagues; Chapter 4 The Potential of Focus Groups to Inform Early Childhood Policy and Practice, Sharon Ryan, Carrie Lobman; Chapter 5 Wanderings, Janice A. Jipson; Chapter 6 Action Research in Early Childhood Contexts, Frances O'Connell Rust; Chapter 7 Critical Pedagogy and Qualitative Inquiry, Elizabeth P. Quintero; Part II Issues in Early Childhood Qualitative Research; Chapter 8 Surviving a Methodological Crisis, Lisa S. Goldstein; Chapter 9 Never Certain, Susan Grieshaber; Chapter 10 Researching With Children, Glenda MacNaughton, Kylie Smith, Karina Davis; Chapter 11 Decolonizing Research in Cross-Cultural Contexts, Beth Blue Swadener, Kagendo Mutua; Chapter 12 Who Chooses What Research Methodology?, Jeanette Rhedding-Jones; Chapter 13 Assessing the Quality of Early Childhood Qualitative Research, J. Amos Hatch;

How can qualitative researchers make the case for the value of their work in a climate that emphasizes so-called "scientifically-based research?" What is the future of qualitative research when such approaches do not meet the narrow criteria being raised as the standard? In this timely collection, editor J. Amos Hatch and contributors argue that the best argument for the efficacy of qualitative studies in early childhood is the new generation of high quality qualitative work. This collection brings together studies and essays that represent the best work being done in early childhood qualitative studies, descriptions of a variety of research methods, and discussions of important issues related to doing early childhood qualitative research in the early 21st century. Taking a unique re-conceptualist point of view, the collection includes materials spanning the full range of early childhood settings and provides cutting edge views by leading educators of new methods and perspectives.