A healthy volunteer program can be a great asset to any school library. Volunteers do much of the routine work that then frees the librarian to work with students individually or in groups, providing instruction and reading guidance. In addition to the physical work volunteers provide, they become strong advocates for a school library program…

In this article, three educators share case studies describing racial biases and segregationist practices in early schooling. The authors draw upon critical race theory as a lens and employ critical discourse analysis to uncover classed and raced biases within and across three early childhood contexts. While the cases are situated in specific…

Despite recent progress, college attendance rates of Latino students continue to lag behind those of White students in the United States. Research suggests that outreach programs designed to increase the college knowledge of Latino students and families hold promise for reducing the observed discrepancy. Based on participant observer methods, this…

U.S. education policy acknowledges the troubling differential rates of special education identification and placement for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse by requiring states to review annually student identification data from all local education agencies to identify and address disproportionate representation. Yet, little is…

This study reports the results of a five-year follow-up survey of private-pay outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs operating in the United States and Canada. A total of 65 of 102 programs identified as meeting certain characteristics responded to the survey and identified themselves as an OBH program that utilizes a clinical treatment…

In this edited volume by experts in the field of teacher education, Current Issues in Teacher Education combines forces from the United States and Canada to present and discuss positions on current topics and concerns in the field of teacher education. It provides an overview and multiple perspectives of issues rather than one authority's position…

Home-school partnership is one of the important contributors to every child's learning. The changing demographics of the United States present an urgent need for home-school partnership with culturally diverse families. Traditional family involvement practices are challenged when working with multicultural families. The authors propose an…

It is no secret that strong parental involvement is essential for school success. Yet, it is still a challenge to get parents more involved in their children's education. According to the most recent MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, teachers and principals agree on the importance of parental involvement--71% of principals and 59% of…

In children's mental health, collaborative, team-based individualized service planning is most commonly known as wraparound, and has become one of the primary strategies for improving services and outcomes for children with the highest levels of need. We report on analyses of data gathered at 72 wraparound team meetings from communities around the…

This study explores how teacher quality matters in improving early childhood performance in US kindergartens. We find that it is what teachers do rather than the credentials they hold that matters. Different from previous research on the effect of teacher quality on student achievement, this paper first rejected the common practice of using…

This book presents a review and synthesis of the early care and education system in the United States -- a system that now faces increasing enrollment, an underpaid workforce, and limited budgets. A substantial number of trained early care and education professionals are projected to leave the field over the next 10 years due to noncompetitive…

A traditional part of American education has been to include the families in the educational process of their children. The needs and complexities of today's families and classrooms have never been greater. Programs and activities used with families, and school interactions 10 to 15 years ago are not effective for today's complex families and…

Compared regular and special early childhood education in the United States and Japan through videotaped observation and interviews. Found differences in the standardization of programs offered, adequacy of equipment and materials, class size and schedule, background of teachers, discipline, development of special needs programs, and emphasis on…

An interview with Christopher Schenk, Britain's Inspector of Schools, reveals his impressions of the differences and similarities of early childhood education in Britain and the United States. Topics included teaching methods, at-risk children, standardized tests, early intervention, family involvement in the schools, funding, and health care.…

Are you curious about the Reggio Emilia approach but not quite sure where to begin? "Working in the Reggio Way" helps early childhood teachers bring the reflective, high-quality practices of Reggio Emilia to American programs. Based on an American teacher's experience observing and working in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, this…