An educational issue today concerns the quality of teaching in preschools. Many additional preschool teachers will be required in the next few years to meet the increased enrollments in preschool programs. Not only must proper training programs for future teachers be designed, but it has been noted that most people now teaching preschool children…

More than 20 alternative curriculum models for early childhood education have been developed. One of the more recently developed is the Enabler Model, which is intended to provide regular on-site support, guidance and assistance to a local community for the implementation of preschool, day care and/or other early childhood programs. The Enabler…

A study by Rebecca Marcon, published in a preceding issue of Early Childhood Research and Practice, examined the effects of various preschool models on later academic achievement and found that an academically oriented preschool model had negative effects in later school years. This document combines a commentary by Christopher J. Lonigan and…

Points out that the recent increase in attention given to Head Start, child care, and preschool programs since the beginning of the new presidential administration should be utilized by the early childhood education community to remind decision makers of the need for increased funding for these programs. (MDM)

Presents four articles on the benefits of multi-age child care settings as being similar to a natural family setting. The workshop titles are: "The Benefits of the Mix" (Katz); "Dealing with Staff and Parent Concerns" (Allison); "Multi-Age at Riverfield Country Day School" (Clark); and "Making Multi-Age Groups Work" (Bergman and Gainer). (LBT)

Summarized are implications of recent research on children's development and learning for the curriculum in early childhood programs. Contents focus on the development of language, dispositions, social competence, and intellect. Taken together, the research suggests that children attending preschool and kindergarten classes should frequently be…

On looking back at Head Start and other early childhood program plans, it is felt that several false assumptions have been made, the most obvious being the idea that poor children are understimulated; another is that poor children can be stereotyped, although there are relationships between poverty and health problems and language development. The…

The aims of the International Education Association's Preprimary Project are to examine developmentally relevant characteristics of the socialization environments of 4-year-olds in participating countries, and to ascertain the relationships between those characteristics and selected developmental outcomes. Phase I of the project consists primarily…

This paper discusses several types of ethical problems encountered by day care and preschool workers, and suggests guidelines for developing a code of ethics for early childhood practitioners. Topics dicussed include the meaning of a code of ethics; the need for such a code for early childhood practitioners; examples of ethical problems involving…

This report explores background variables related to preschool teaching, and emphasizes that statistics fluctuate in early childhood education. The increase for preprimary enrollment of 3- and 4-year-olds was 26 percent from 1966 to 1967. Accurate figures on preschool teaching personnel are not available, but a large proportion of Head Start…

A 3-month study at Mission Neighborhood Family Center and at Telegraph Hill Social Center surveyed questions as related to the experience of these "family schools" with young immigrant families (Central and South American, Caribbean, Chinese, Filipino, French, Irish, Italian, Mexican, Scandinavian, Slavic, Spanish, and Samoan): How can…

Theoretical issues of concern to teachers in early childhood education are discussed in this collection of four papers titled: "Some Generic Principles of Teaching", "Psychological Development and Education in Early Childhood", "Teachers as Consumers of Educational Information", and "Notes on the Distinction between Education and Excitement". The…

This presentation examines the state of preschool education in developed and developing nations, and discusses how the art-oriented, child-centered approach of the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, may be used to help improve preschool education worldwide. Although the majority of parents in many nations are satisfied with the educational…

Early childhood education is defined as group settings which are deliberately intended to effect developmental changes in children in the age range from birth up to the age of entering first grade. The following parameters of early childhood education are proposed and explored: (a) characteristics of clients, (b) characteristics of teachers and…

Future expansion in the field of early childhood education is seen to lie in a reorientation of research and development. This reorientation is that of conducting more research "on" practice. Answers to be sought by research "on" practice in Head Start curriculum models relate to what factors (variables) exist that either…