Working closely with others often gives rise to conflicts as each individual is driven by different and usually conflicting preoccupations and concerns. This article discusses the 3,000 year old 9-sided star-shaped paradigm known as Enneagram and how it is advantageous to early childhood professionals. This personality inventory purports that…

This is the ninth brief in a series of Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) analyses of Head Start Program Information Report data. This brief provides information on Early Head Start programs, staff, and participants; including young children, pregnant women, and their families. It updates a similar brief that CLASP published analyzing data…

This paper outlines the development of higher education programs for preschool teachers and the changing nature of preschool teacher education in Slovenia over the course of the early 1990s. Until 1991, the required qualification for preschool teachers was graduation from a secondary school for early years teachers. Since then, the required…

This paper reviews the history of the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, created in 1972 to meet the growing need for skilled child care workers to provide quality programs for young children in the United States. A pilot program was launched in 1974, leading to the granting of CDA credentials in 1975. Since 1976 over 60,000 CDA…

A kindergarten teacher sought to redirect violent and aggressive play in her classroom. Noticing that most of the aggressive acts came from a particular group of boys who played war-like games, she began daily discussions with the 24 kindergarten children about their free play in an effort to subdue aggressive and violent play. To counter images…

This practicum was designed to retrain preschool personnel on the importance of cultural diversity and the teacher's role in developing and implementing a multicultural curriculum. Faculty meetings and workshops were organized to present a cultural awareness curriculum to preschool staff and discuss the teacher's role in executing the curriculum.…

This paper discusses problems of course and curriculum construction for a course for students at the Phillip Institute of Technology, Victoria, Australia, who were also practicing teachers. Since 1985 the early childhood staff at the institute have worked with groups of teachers who were employed in early childhood centers but whose previous…

A program designed to improve behaviors characteristic of impulsivity and inhibition by enhancing children's real-life problem solving thinking skills is provided for use by parents and teachers of four- and five-year-old children. Twenty minutes of daily lessons are administered in small groups (or to a single child at home), in combination with…

Noting that 2002 was marked by substantial increases and then reductions in child care funding, this document updates the 2001 primer providing information on child care in New York City, including information on demographics and eligibility for subsidized child care, infant and toddler care, the universal pre-kindergarten initiative, and early…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics emphasizes that young children need play-based opportunities to develop and deepen their conceptual understanding of mathematics. From a social-constructivist perspective, learning is more likely to occur if adults or more-competent peers mediate children's learning experiences. Emphasizing both the…

As early childhood teachers apply principles of guidance rather than punishment in their classrooms, they face the challenge of avoiding a slippage into traditional discipline practices and transcending the punitive aspects of discipline. Guidance is designed to teach children democratic life skills and therefore goes beyond discipline. Teachers…

A curriculum was designed to give preschool caregivers basic nutrition background through a programed self-instructional unit; incorporate nutrition education into existing parts of a typical preschool day; and provide learning activities designed to help preschoolers relate food/nutrients to health. Development of materials, caregivers'…

The narratives of three teachers describe a university affiliated child care center staff's efforts to incorporate documentation into their practice. The stories suggest that documentation is an intellectually and emotionally challenging experience, promotes staff development, creates a climate of inquiry, communicates to children and families,…

This workshop presents information on mentoring relationships within child care settings. Articles are: (1) "Mentoring Teachers...A Partnership in Learning" (Patricia Scallan-Berl); (2) "The Potential Gains of Peer Mentoring among Children" (Leslie Moguil); (3) "Mentoring Advocates in the Context of Early Childhood…

Describes negative contributors to young children's pretend play development and how early childhood educators can support both play development and foundational skills. Identifies ways that play influences development and contributes to children's ability to profit from academic activities. Offers suggestions for helping children create an…