Early childhood education highlights partnership between teacher and parents as positively influencing children's learning. This article describes how teachers became aware of a lack of shared understanding between them and parents about the "parent help" role in their kindergarten, and their efforts to redress this situation. Changes…

Early childhood education is first and foremost about establishing a base on which to build life-long learning. Early childhood educators dream about well-rounded adults in the distant future who will be productive citizens as well as happy, healthy family members. To enhance their ability to develop well-rounded children, some educators draw upon…

This article describes how a new "report card" on state-financed preschool programs concludes that states still have a long way to go to provide young children with high-quality educational experiences before they start kindergarten. While the report, which was issued by the National Institute for Early Education Research, in New Brunswick, New…

This article reviews and discusses certain ideas and initiatives found in the scholarship on faculty motivation, roles, and service and outreach involvement. It is intended as a resource for formulating practical applications for use in encouraging broad faculty participation in the Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM), a…

Helping young children see themselves as learners and movers requires mutual cooperation and support among teachers, families, and children. Physical educators at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, in collaboration with pre-K teachers at two local schools, created the Tots in Action program for that purpose. The authors tell how the…

Over the last decade, research related to personal epistemological beliefs has offered insight into how to promote effective teaching and learning across educational settings. Personal epistemological beliefs reflect an individual's views about what knowledge is, how knowledge is gained, and the degree of certainty with which knowledge can be…

This paper describes the theoretical underpinnings of a nationwide collaborative research project to develop an early childhood teacher preparation model for developmentally and culturally appropriate practice (DCAP). It notes that this model allows prospective teachers to identify their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds and to understand…

This document describes several outreach projects in Hull, England, developed by a head teacher of a state nursery school who believed that parents would feel more comfortable with preschool staff and activities if facilities were provided for very young children. The first section describes the innovation of a mother-toddler club in North Hull.…

This practicum addressed the need to provide training in basic early childhood education subject areas to Head Start teachers and teacher assistants. A trainer of trainers approach was implemented because of the large number of teachers involved (approximately 1,300 in the Los Angeles County Schools Head Start grantee programs). Goals for…

This is the second in a series of four booklets describing the Child Development Associate (CDA) Project at the California State College in Pennsylvania, one of the 13 original CDA pilot programs. The focus of this booklet is on the problem solving approach used in the project. Topics discussed include: (1) the necessity for change in behavior…

This manual describes Bilingual-Bicultural Child Development Associate (CDA) Training and Trainer pilot programs. Chapter I introduces both CDA Bilingual-Bicultural programs and the Head Start strategy for Spanish-speaking children. Chapter II contains a brief description of CDA training. Differences between bilingual-bicultural CDA training and…

Describes some of the training opportunities available to adults working or wanting to work with preschool children in Hong Kong. Describes courses which prepare staff for two main forms of existing preprimary child care: day-care centers and kindergartens. Government proposals in the White Paper "Primary Education and Pre-Primary…

Discusses a demonstration program which uses a puppet show followed by a coloring page activity as an aid in teaching children about the prevention and early detection of child sexual abuse. The program was well received by preschoolers in nursery schools and day care centers and by their parents and teachers. (Author/BB)

The "Research in Practice Series" is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an…

The recent years in our country we are facing an increasingly great number of immigrant students, mainly from East European countries and the Balkans, particularly in many Greek elementary schools and kindergartens. Aim of the presented study is to sketch the problems that came out from the co-existence of students with different cultural…