"Inclusion" has long been a term used to describe the practice of including a child with special needs in age-appropriate general education classes in their home schools. Increasingly, the term is being used to describe the process of including very young children--infants and toddlers--with special needs in a setting comprised mostly of children…

Communities of practice (COPs) are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better through interacting with one another (Wenger 1998). Communities of practice have enormous potential to support and sustain quality care and education within a community and, in fact, are doing so. Businesses and…

Discusses how unit building blocks can be used to enhance five major interrelated aspects of child learning, namely, physical, emotional, social, intellectual (cognitive), and intuitive development. Also presents six ways to encourage good block playing among children. (BB)

Television for children can help them broaden their experiences, develop values and understand more about human feelings. An example of this type of educational television is Ripples," a series of 15-minute color programs for in-school viewing by children in kindergarten and early primary grades. (AJ)

Reviews research on three issues related to the first edition of the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children: (1) the prevalence of DAP; (2) teachers and parents beliefs about DAP and influence of beliefs on practice; and (3) how appropriate and inappropriate practice…

Overviews characteristics of preoperational thought, summarizes Piaget's theory of the peroperational child's view of reality, explores implications of the preoperational stage of development for early childhood science education, and provides general guidelines for an early childhood science curriculum. (Author/RH)

Highlights Piaget's stages of development and discusses their implications for better parenting. (MP)

Summarizes major points of NAEYC's revised position, describing how the revision builds on and expands the previous document through the growing knowledge base and the input of practitioners who used the original publication. Discusses the historical context within which the position statement was written, and summarizes the revisions. Discusses…

Argues that multicultural education can be incorporated into every aspect of early childhood education and discusses the teacher's role and some misconceptions about the nature of multicultural education. Guidelines suggested for integrating a multicultural perspective into the curriculum include enhancing self-concept and cultural identity,…

Describes an assessment process and its use in planning early childhood programs. Information from parents and from observations of children was used to develop a comprehensive assessment of each child. The assessment was used to note the needs and interests of the children and extend their learning experiences. (SH)

Author describes practical guidelines for teachers in handling the subject of death with young children. (Editor)

Discusses four basic objectives of a quality program for 2-year-old children. Argues that the real world of teaching toddlers centers on the socialization of the children in a safe environment stimulating to cognitive development. Teachers should prepare the physical environment and provide social learning, physical development, and cognitive…

Describes the components of a professional manuscript and discusses how successful papers are written and published. (KS)

Examines reasons children find superhero play so attractive and discusses how it relates to children's development. Also makes a case for allowing superhero play and suggests strategies to make such play a constructive experience for children. (KS)

Discusses the causes, symptoms and treatment of allergies that affect children's development, learning, peer relationships and behavior in the classroom. (CM)