This book presents five papers that address a variety of issues confronting those who work directly with young children and their teachers. The first three articles present ways of thinking about what constitutes professionalism in working with children and parents. Specifically, "Contemporary Perspectives on the Roles of Mothers and…

The ten chapters in this volume address issues of concern to those who work with or conduct research with young children and those who plan programs or prepare others for teaching or caregiving. Included are "The Development of Bilingual and Bicultural Competence in Young Children," by Muriel Saville-Troike; "Development of…

This annotated bibliography provides references of practical use to those concerned with infant/toddler caregiving. While many of the works cited concern quality group care for infants and toddlers, some works cited deal specifically with parenting, the parent/child relationship, and activities parents may share with their very young children. In…

Presented in this paper are a selective review and summary of recent research findings concerning the adult's role in infant development. After an introduction setting forth assumptions guiding the selection of issues and findings, the first section discusses research on parent/infant interaction. Some of the classic concepts of infant…

An overview is provided in this discussion of major developments in preschool education in the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1983. The first section offers general observations and covers major trends: rapid social change, the low priority accorded to preschooling, diversity as a key feature of early childhood education, children with special needs,…

The training of child caregivers is a key factor in the provision of quality day care for young children. However, little is known about what types of training for day care providers are most effective in promoting children's development. Several issues related to training and credentialing need to be addressed: (1) Do day care home providers need…

The purpose of this two-phase study, guided by the theory and method of interpretive interactionism, is to describe how family day care providers perceive and implement their caregiving intentions and practices. In phase 1 of the study, data were obtained from interviews with 31 providers and in phase 2, observations of 6 providers over a 10-month…

Based on the current drive toward professionalism in early childhood education and the low status and prestige afforded teachers in this field, this paper applies some of the main concepts of professionalism to the current state of the art of early childhood education. Two uses of the term "professional" are delineated: the…

The ERIC/EECE Digests in this compilation focus on different aspects of the education and care of children from birth through 12 years of age. The four digests produced in 1989 concern the escalating kindergarten curriculum, involvement of parents in the education of their children, mixed-age groups in early childhood education, and praise in the…

Considering developmental and prognostic implications of early peer relations, this review delineates some functions of children's relations with other children; summarizes current thinking about the interrelations between family socialization and peer socialization, especially in relation to the growth of social competence and the development of…