This paper considers the pupil intakes to Academies in England, and their attainment, based on a re-analysis of figures from the Annual Schools Census 1989-2012, the Department for Education School Performance Tables 2004-2012 and the National Pupil Database. It looks at the national picture, and the situation for Local Education Authorities, and…

Using Head Start as an example of a compensatory social program based on a liberal egalitarian view of justice, this paper shows how all such programs are fundamentally flawed. In spite of any good intentions, by creating a discourse of deficiency and attempting amelioration through segregation this approach contains the seeds of its own failure.…

Although the importance of physical development as an integrated part of early childhood education is well understood, many early childhood teachers lack the specific background and training in this area. To fill this gap, this article presents a framework of recommended practices and a corresponding assessment tool. The Head Start Body Start…

"An overview of contemporary curriculum discourse shows a worrying drift to the technical; in current curriculum debates, technique is winning out over substance, procedure over principles" (Looney 2001, p.149). As a project worker in the School Completion Programme in Ireland I ask what and who education is for and look at to whom and…

Identifying and understanding the predictors of preliteracy skills can set the stage for success in a child's academic career. Recent literature has implicated social-emotional competence as a potential component in helping children learn preliteracy skills. To further understand the role of social-emotional competence in preliteracy, the…

This document represents the technical appendix intended to accompany "Do Disadvantaged Students Get Less Effective Teaching? Key Findings from Recent Institute of Education Sciences Studies. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2014-4010." Contents include: (1) Summary of Related, Non-Peer-Reviewed Studies; (2) Methods for Comparing Findings…

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include: 1) What factors affect linguistically diverse families' access to early care and education programs?; 2) What do we know…

The state of California has recently emerged from deep recession and associated reductions in early childhood programs and has moved into a period of reinvestment in child care, preschool, and transitional kindergarten (TK). In fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, the Budget Act included over $273 million for early learning and child development and restored…

This paper argues that after-school programmes need to be considered an essential part of lifelong learning infrastructure, particularly in light of the dominance of the economic discourse in both lifelong learning literature and the initial schooling literature. The paper, which is based upon existing literature, begins by providing an overview…

This article describes the social and economic "segregation" of students between schools in England, and the likely causes of its levels and changes over time. It involves a re-analysis of the intakes to all schools in England 1989-2011, and shows how strongly clustered the students are in particular schools. The pattern for primary-age…

A range of changes, in politics and economics internationally as well as in thought about learning and society, now make the time right for a re-think of inclusive education, a re-think that ceases to employ the constructs and cliches of the past in explaining students' difficulties at school. There exists new discourse on difference, which throws…

Teacher shortages have been worsening in California since 2015. Growth in teacher demand as the economy has improved has collided with steep declines in the supply of new teachers, leading to significant increases in the hiring of underprepared teachers, especially in districts serving high-need students. Shortages are most severe in special…

Children under 18 years represent 23 percent of the population, but they comprise 33 percent of all people in poverty. Among all children, 44 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and…

What are acute poverty challenges for culturally disadvantaged school communities across the United States? How do practicing teacher-researchers, pursuing advanced degrees, view this issue and the 21st century skills and dispositions classroom teachers need to foster change? Curious about this topic from the viewpoints of teachers who are…

This case study was produced in conjunction with the Center for American Progress's accompanying report on these issues, "Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Existing Public Investments in Early Childhood Education." This report establishes a set of policies and administrative changes on the federal level that will begin to…