This paper describes a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of Burmese refugee families with elementary schools in the U.S. and proposes a new perspective for serving the educational needs of refugee children. Data included in-depth interviews with 25 Burmese families in a midsize Midwestern city. Findings from the preliminary analysis…

Part of the responsibility of early childhood educators is to help the children in their care develop into thoughtful, kind, contributing members of society. This includes being accepting and welcoming of those who are "different." Staff should be prepared to answer questions from young children regarding differences in race, ethnicity,…

Children from very young ages internalize messages about power and privilege with regard to gender, race/ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and language, which they perpetuate through their play and talk. While families are a critical piece in shaping children's values on such matters, classroom practices communicate and reinforce strong,…

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the…

Education qualification requirements for early childhood teachers are increasing in many types of federal, state, and community-based early childhood programs. The 2007 reauthorization of Head Start requires all teachers to have associate degrees and 50 percent to have earned a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education by the year 2013. At…

Stories are important teaching tools. To ensure that young children are informed and experience more than a handful of African American women and girls' stories and authors, this article showcases notable and little-known accomplishments of exceptional women, real and imaginary. Brinson offers an annotated list of children's literature, fiction…

The contribution of family, friend, and neighbor caregivers to the overall supply of child care and the care and education of our nation's youngest children is substantial. This brief explores, for policy and other audiences, some of the issues around measuring quality in family, friend, and neighbor care. The purpose is not to provide a…

The authors discuss cultural influences on clinical interactions when treating late talkers, 2- to 3-year-old children with primary language delays. They use the literature to examine the cultural relevance of core components of early language treatment and propose alternative professional actions in the cases of cultural mismatches. Alternative…

Recent statistics suggest that the number of English-language learners has been growing at a rapid rate in the United States. The growth of this population will inevitably lead to a larger number of culturally and linguistically diverse students with significant cognitive disabilities. Currently, there is little research on effective literacy…

Purpose: The purpose of this clinical exchange is to provide information for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) so they will be able to provide culturally responsive intervention for young children of American Indian and Alaska Native heritage. The focus is on a particular strategy--the integration of culturally based stories into shared…

In 1986, the "Harvard Educational Review" published Vivian Gussin Paley's article "On Listening to What the Children Say," which detailed the beginnings of her career as a teacher and author. The article described Paley's methods of tape-recording and analyzing her students' daily engagement in "the three Fs: fantasy, fairness, and friendship."…

The use of childcare services for very young children (birth to three years) has increased dramatically in the past two decades (Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2004). This article investigates the expectations for cultural continuity of caregiving practices (with particular emphasis on sleep and feeding) between…

In discussions about developmentally appropriate practice, the term "social and cultural context" is typically used to refer to the culture of children, their families, and their community. Those discussions do not usually address the unique cultures children sometimes create among themselves. Those cultures have values, rules, and norms that…

Reading aloud is an accepted and effective practice in early childhood settings, often taking place several times a day. Research has shown that reading aloud children's literature facilitates literacy development in young children and promotes a love of books and reading. In fact, many children begin to learn to read through their responses to…

The quality of services for our increasingly diverse families with infants and toddlers depends upon the comfort, confidence, and competence of the personnel available to provide these services. Colleges and universities must be able to produce graduates who possess the necessary sensitivity, knowledge, and skills to serve children and families of…