Stakeholders and advocates in Indiana are committed to advancing strategies that improve ECE services, including workforce preparation and development, to ensure that early educators can meet the complex needs of young children. Critical to these efforts is the establishment of a well-coordinated, comprehensive professional preparation and…

This exploratory study examined the changing role of music education and the availability of musical experiences for students attending Montessori schools in the Midwestern United States. On a survey instrument designed by the researcher, Montessori school directors (N = 36) from eight states shared descriptions of the current role of music at…

Midway through the second decade of this century, the importance of early care and education (ECE) to children's lifelong learning and to our nation's economic well-being is recognized up to the highest levels of government, and in businesses, schools, and living rooms across the country. This understanding represents a dramatic shift from earlier…

Today, the importance of early care and education (ECE) to children's lifelong learning and to our nation's economic well being is recognized up to the highest levels of government, and in businesses, schools, and living rooms across the country. This understanding represents a dramatic shift from earlier decades, and carries with it heightened…

Teacher preparation in the field of early childhood education (ECE) has historically included a variety of higher education degree programs, in various child-related disciplines, all of which have generally been considered to produce equivalent results. In contrast, programs to prepare teachers and administrators to work with older children…

The purpose of this study was to determine the screening measures used to assess students entering kindergarten in he state of Indiana. In addition, this study sought to determine how the data from these measures are used to inform classroom reading instruction. Eighty-nine schools participated in the study and sixty-two of those schools completed…

The Grade 3 Informational Text Reading Inventory (ITRI) was developed to address the specific reading challenges that grade 3 students encounter as they move from reading largely narrative textbooks in grade 2 to being expected to read and comprehend more dense and content-driven text in grade 3. This booklet contains all of the information…