Examines how provocation and willingness to become engaged can contribute to collaboration and enhance the learning process among young children. Discusses the role of collaboration in the emergent curriculum, factors to consider before expecting learners to collaborate, ways of sustaining conflict, and use of doubt to practice critical thinking…

Reviews research about the stepfamily, stepfathers, stepmothers, and stepchildren; discusses complexities of blended families; and points out how teachers can effectively support stepchildren experiencing family-related stress, work with parents from blended families, and coordinate intervention with counselors. (RH)

Discusses the importance and applications of problem-solving skills, especially at the preschool and early childhood levels of education. (BB)

Describes three- and four-year-old children's reactions to the death of a class guinea pig. The teacher recorded children's comments about the death and included them in a note to parents. The guinea pig was buried by the children in the school playyard. (RJC)

Reviews recent research offering guidance on how early childhood programs might strengthen ties with parents. Examines dimensions of parent and staff confidence in each other, and offers responsive strategies for engaging parents. Recommends provisions that would enable programs to work closely with parents. (KB)

Discusses how prop boxes enhance learning and are resources in multicultural and nonsexist primary education, focusing on play, experimentation, and cooperation. Examines integration of prop boxes into the curricula and activities, and presents examples of generic and specific multicultural prop boxes that incorporate art, music, foods,…

Discusses the importance of partnerships among professionals in early childhood education and in other fields for the effective and efficient functioning of organizations working with young children and their families. Considers how the diversity of members of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the unique…

Discusses how H. Heath's (1994) method for planning can be used by parents and teachers before disruptive classroom behavior occurs. Describes planning components, including describing the situation, brainstorming, deciding on options to implement, implementing options, and reflecting upon the result. Indicates that important contributors are…

Reports results of the Parent/Teacher Study, which examined: (1) predictors associated with a positive or negative relationship between parents and teachers in child care settings; (2) the impact of parents' jobs on children; and (3) predictors associated with mothers' satisfaction with child care. (BB)

Provides a rationale for use of the term "developmentalist" to refer to practitioners, teachers, and scholars. Defines being a "developmentalist" and suggests that this concept, which integrates educators' knowledge bases about preschool, child care, and early childhood education, contributes to a comprehensive view of child…

Offers an example of the Family Strengths Model, a new approach to providing family-focused child development programs. A classroom teacher, a program director, and a family services coordinator provide a summary of the skills and knowledge that are necessary for effective intervention on the part of each early childhood professional. (TJQ)

Discusses three major characteristics that are important for child care professionals: experience, knowledge, and special personal qualities. Among the special personal qualities discussed are those of anticipating and planning, protecting, listening, comforting, and caring for the whole family. (BB)

Highlights collaborative practices from fields of family therapy and educational psychology to facilitate conferences on children's behavior problems between parents and child caregivers and teachers. Illustrates stages of collaborative conversations: establishing trust; inviting parents to collaborate; discovering and stating mutual goals;…

In this article, the authors discuss the importance of collaboration as a foundation for effective implementation of the project approach in family child care. Here, they discuss collaboration among children and adults in relation to theory and practice. They present strategies to support collaboration among children which include: (1) Invite two…

This article describes one example of how teachers can create or modify family involvement strategies for parents from linguistically and culturally diverse groups, especially those who are English-language learners. Although such approaches may not work for every classroom or family, they provide a point of departure from traditional forms of…