Three basic questions about early childhood evaluation are raised: (1) what is to be evaluated, including a discussion of product versus process evaluations; (2) who is to do the evaluating, including comments on external versus staff evaluations; and (3) for what purpose is the evaluation to be conducted, including a discussion of summative…

Discusses teacher burnout and stress management. Describes characteristics of individuals susceptible to burnout, such as charisma, idealism, perfectionism, and goal-orientation. Presents common negative coping strategies for stress. Discusses effective stress management strategies such as changing the situation, taking a proactive role to gain…

Discusses Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, federal prekindergarten legislation. Describes task of state legislatures to operationalize concepts in this legislation. Identifies subtypes of children with special needs and considers issues in service delivery to prekindergartners. Concludes that elementary school counselors have much to…

Discusses young children's conceptions of war, reviewing literature on children's attitudes and feelings about war and studies of parents' responses to children's feelings. Concludes that between ages four and seven, children develop a sense of war and peace. Considers implications for parents and teachers. (GLR)

Educational research cited in this paper suggests that the involvement of low socioeconomic status (SES) parents in the educational process has a positive influence on their children's academic achievement. At the preschool level, programs in which parents were instructed in ways to promote their children's intellectual development were found to…

Discusses the benefits of nontraditional school practices in facilitating the "educational match" between black children's learning styles and the instructional environment. Focuses on the advantages of providing black children with "active learning" through computer programming, and recommends ways to improve the preparation of educators for…

Details marketing strategies which, through effort rather than expense, increased enrollment in a rural child care program 1470% in nine years. Market segments targeted included general public, clients, grandparents, staff members, funding sources, legislators, children, and doctors and other professionals. Included so many segments to disperse…

Concerns about the use of evaluation in early childhood education are clustered around some basic issues: the use of standardized tests with young children, the diversity of dimensions of early childhood education that should be evaluated, the relationship of early childhood evaluation to social policy, and the very nature of early childhood…

The reasons for using tests in early childhood programs are (1) to increase teachers' confidence in their role performance; (2) to explain and defend early childhood programs; (3) to promote consistency across programs; (4) to provide curriculum and instruction guidance to teachers; and (5) to focus teachers and parents on the more measurable…

The author describes the work done by preschool teachers. Topics covered include (1) nature of the work, (2) working conditions and earnings, (3) qualifications and advancement, (4) employment and outlook, and (5) related occupations. Sources of additional information are listed. (CH)

Describes the work of Friends of the Children of Mississippi, a Head Start program which began in the late 1960s and for which the author was hired to develop Black history materials for teacher training. Presents excerpts from the autobiographies of several Black women trainees in the program. (GC)

This pamphlet discusses new curriculum guidelines, as approved under Ruling number 5220/97, for preschool education in Portugal. The law defines preschool as a first step in basic education that complements the education provided by the family, and recommends that schools work in collaboration with parents to foster the training and balanced…

Uses the case of a boy named Franklin, making the transition between free play and a group activity, to illustrate conflict between teachers' respect for individual play and scheduled group activities. Discusses various issues, including differing perceptions of time, closure, and independence; using learning-environment organization for…

Notes that increased emphasis on early intervention has created opportunities for greater involvement by counselors at prekindergarten level. Sees preparation for this role as requiring strong background in early childhood development and family systems orientation to intervention. Contends that professional perspective that counselor brings to…

Reviews trends from 1971 to 1982 primarily as revealed by Department of Education statistics. Enrollment, number and size of schools and districts, student-teacher ratios, programs for exceptional children, basic courses, computer applications, revenues, expenditures, cost-cutting, student performance assessment, state provisions to improve…