This article describes how an Early Childhood Teacher Education program in Hawaii builds upon a history of progressivism in the field of early education in the U.S. to encourage students to become critical thinkers and agents of change. Reflecting through the historical lenses of educators such as Jane Addams, Patty Smith Hill and Lucy Sprague…

More than one million children are homeless in the United States, and more than half of those are age 6 or younger. As the recession continues, even more families are finding themselves homeless. Studies have shown that children of all ages thrive when they have a safe space in which to explore the world around them, filled with spaces for play…

In this article, Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness describes disasters in relation to five phases that may serve as a helpful framework for planning disaster response: (1) before the disaster (pre-disaster); (2) during the disaster (intra-disaster); (3) immediately after the disaster (immediate…

Early childhood educators are likely to encounter youngsters who experience problems at home impeding their abilities to learn and benefit from the program. One such group is children who live or have lived with adult domestic violence. Children yet to begin elementary school are over-represented among groups of young people known to live with…

This article features StarBright Learning Exchange, a program that provides a cross-cultural exchange between Australian and South African early childhood educators. The program was originated when its president, Carol Allen, and her colleague, Karen Williams, decided that they could no longer sit by and watch the unfolding social catastrophe that…

Homeless children tend to experience a variety of academic problems, and little is currently known about this growing segment of the American population. This study was undertaken using administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and a program that serves many of Chicago's most vulnerable homeless families to examine children's…

After the hurricanes, faculty asked the students to help with the relief efforts in different ways. Most students volunteered to work in shelters directly with individual or groups of children, youths, and adults. After their experiences, they wrote brief reflections about what they had done. Their comments show that they developed a better…