Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1 Conceptualizing and Setting the Stage -- 2 The Sociocultural Context of Education: Core Concepts of the Philosophy Underlying the Worldview of Indians -- 3 Educational Systems in India: Past and Present -- 4 Aims of Education Contextualized within Urban Indian Society -- 5 Image, Role, and Responsibilities of the Early Childhood Teacher in India -- 6 Image of the Child: What Is Developmentally and Socially Appropriate for Children Growing Up in Indian Society? -- 7 Learning to Teach: A Sociocultural-Historical Constructivist Theory of Teaching -- 8 Contextualizing and Demystifying the Challenges of Large Class-Size in India -- 9 A Socioculturally Constructed Early Childhood Postcolonial Curriculum: The Interfacing of Three Culturally Different Educational Discourses -- 10 Aligning Teacher Education and Early Childhood Practice in Urban India: Balancing Vygotsky and the Veda -- 11 Reflections on the Process of Postcolonial Research in Early Education -- References -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.