Evidence-based practice is a decision-making process that integrates the best available scientific research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values. The editors argue that it has the potential to transform the services provided to children and families because it incorporates the "different ways of knowing" that characterize early…

Longitudinal analysis of early childhood education, such as that in Project Follow Through, shows the superiority of explicit skill instruction for the acquisition of basic reading skills. But these early gains do not eventuate in significant progress in reading achievement in later grades, especially among disadvantaged youth. This is not for…

Much has happened since the first edition of this book in the arenas of policy development, research and practice. Early childhood education is at the heart of policy-making agendas in England and many other developed and developing countries. Concerns with the quality of provision have sparked a massive international research endeavour, which is…

It is perhaps too easy to suggest that rurality in educational terms has been largely missing from the pages of educational research texts. A search of the past few AARE annual conference papers throws up few papers on this topic; although an issue of "Australian Journal of Education" includes a paper on long-staying rural teachers (Boylan &…

Thirty kindergarten children from two classrooms participated in a 3-week curricular unit on dinosaurs designed to teach taxonomic relations and distinguishing features aligned with 15 dinosaur species. Both domain-specific learning and strategic performance on a Twenty Questions game were assessed twice throughout the curriculum, as well as…

Based on a naturalistic study of an intergenerational art program at a colocated child and long-term care facility, the purpose of this article is to discuss the implications of the program's learning opportunities, primarily for young children, in light of current conceptualizations of childhood, aging and disability. Through a critical,…

This article can help teachers and directors become eloquent and effective advocates of play-based early learning environments. It defines play and play policy and discusses distinct research areas that support play policy and practice for physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development within diverse early childhood settings. Also…

In this book, the author covers the history, theory, and practices that influence early childhood education along with an emphasis on infant and toddler care and education. He also presents a comparison of the conflict between education planners who support early childhood studies and state school systems whose cost-saving measures are dismantling…

This article presents one portrayal of the role of photography as a language of teacher inquiry. To inform teachers' use of photography, the first part of the article presents a brief historical perspective of photography's role in the study of human behavior in the fields of visual anthropology, visual sociology, photojournalism, and media…

This article is a dialog between colleagues from different races who struggle with the complexities of doing qualitative research with participants who come from backgrounds that do not match their own. Based on transcriptions of extensive audiotaped conversations, the article explores issues related to studying across difference. The discussion…

Teaching young children to read is the most critical educational priority facing this country. Encouragingly, this is an area where some of the best and most rigorous scientifically based research is available. The Reading First program helps States and districts apply this research--and the proven instructional and assessment tools consistent…

The focus of this study will be on the intersection of the following domains: Second Language Acquisition research on cohesion and coherence, discourse acquisition of young children, the effect of text form-focused instruction on student non-fiction writing and the impact of schema theory on student decision-making during the writing process.

One hundred seventy-six teachers employed in prekindergarten programs in Nebraska's public schools were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the administrative supports and challenges associated with their programs. Both early childhood and early childhood special education teachers participated. Overall findings suggest that most…

This manuscript describes how two school administrators, now educational leadership professors, successfully reframed leadership to create change. Bolman and Deal's (1984; 2003) reframing of pedagogy provided the theory for understanding this complex change process and the school administrator's role. As a conceptual framework, reframing theory…

Documentation lets teachers visibly assess children's interests and abilities and serves as a tool for recording, reflecting, and supporting children. It also provides parents, children, and others a window into what is happening in the classroom. In The Children's School, the laboratory school at Mills College, teachers are always in search of…