This ERIC Digest discusses public schooling for 4-year-old children and other preschoolers. Sections concern: (1) conditions presently creating a need for child care and early education; (2) the population to be served; (3) program types, including the traditional preschool, the academic preschool, and a hybrid form; (4) program sites; and (5)…

Briefly described are suggestions to help special educators keep their level of stress manageable. Suggestions are extracted from "Stress and Burnout--A Primer for Special Education and Special Services Personnel" by Stan Shaw et al. To better organize their time and activities, educators are advised to set realistic and flexible…

P-16 education is an integrated system of education stretching from early childhood through a 4-year college, emphasizing continuity of student learning and alignment across school levels. It seeks to address problems with the present educational system, considering, for example, that "A" students in high-poverty schools score at the…

The digest addresses issues related to preschool gifted and talented children. Such a child is defined as one who functions significantly above average age level in language development, thinking skills, creative thinking skills, physical adaptability, social skills, and/or leadership. Early identification is viewed as important, and the use of…

This information sheet briefly describes the history of the identification of Down Syndrome, its prenatal diagnosis, characteristics of individuals with Down Syndrome, its causes, its rate of occurrence and recurrence, its impact on child development, and recommended content of education programs for children with Down Syndrome. A list of seven…

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) promotes excellence and equity in education by conducting research and demonstration projects, collecting statistics, disseminating information, and providing technical assistance to those working to improve education. OERI supports two major research and…

Annotates recent international documents and journal articles from the ERIC database. Document topics include racial equality, and balancing early childhood education and work. Journal article topics include foster care in Iraqi Kurdistan; child care in Sweden; teacher-child interaction in Australian centers; teacher education in Brazil, Iceland,…

This brochure provides information about environmental education for parents of young children by discussing a rationale for early awareness of our relationship to the environment. Also included is a discussion of the importance of the development of positive attitudes and feelings toward the natural environment. In order to encourage parents to…

Research on the effectiveness of early intervention with handicapped children is reviewed in this information digest. Presented in question and answer format, the digest addresses the following questions: What is early intervention? Why intervene early? Is early intervention really effective? Is early intervention cost effective? Are there…

As teachers, researchers, and policy makers strive to ensure that all children enter school "ready to learn," no question is more pressing than: "What is the best approach for teaching young children?" This digest discusses the existing knowledge base on the differential effects of various approaches to early education. The…

As teachers, researchers, and policymakers strive to ensure that all children enter school "ready to learn," no question is more pressing than: "What is the best approach for teaching young children?" This digest discusses the existing knowledge base on the differential effects of various approaches to early education. The…

This information sheet defines physical disabilities and health impairments, describes characteristics of students with these conditions, outlines special considerations necessary in assessing these students, notes key educational considerations and points out some of the special problems in working with preschool children with physical…

Examples are provided in this discussion to indicate the nature of professional judgment in a teaching situation likely to be encountered by most child care workers or preschool teachers. Specifically, this predicament involves a problem in turn taking among 4-year-olds. As used here, the term "professional judgment" refers to cognitive…

This discussion focuses on elements of children's immediate experience that influence their food preferences. Some evidence suggests that there may be sensitive periods early in life that are critical for the formation of food preferences and aversions. Additionally, the familiarity and the sweetness of foods appear to be important determinants of…

Noting that growing evidence indicates that high-quality preschool child development programs contribute to the short and long-term development of children living in poverty, this digest summarizes recently reported experimental and quasi-experimental studies of Head Start and similar programs. Recently reported experimental studies include those…