Discusses coaching programs designed to give direct supervision and feedback to teachers through on-site support and technical assistance. Three coaching models cited are peer, mentor, and technical. States that research demonstrates benefits to teachers being coached, to teachers acting as coaches, and to schools. (NH)

Recognizes problems of resettlement for Australian migrant families, including the following: unemployment, inability to speak English, loss of the extended family, problems of maintaining an ethnic identity, role conflict, conflicting child rearing patterns with the host society, and locating resources and services. Ideas for helping families…

The "Caring for Preschool Children" program was designed as a personalized training program to help adults working with preschool children acquire the skills and knowledge needed to provide a high quality preschool program. This two-volume training manual is comprised of 13 modules corresponding to the areas of the Child Development…

Although early childhood services are in high demand, there is a persistent undervaluing of the work of professionals in this field. This undervaluing results in inadequate compensation, high staff turnover, and the impairment of services. In response to these problems, the National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends the…

Low compensation, in both earnings and benefits, and the resulting high turnover of staff and low quality of programs in early childhood care and education are a national problem. Noting that how we define and view the problem, and the strategies we adopt to solve it, may differ depending on perspectives and disciplines, this paper expands the…

Reviews findings of studies investigating the perceptions of child care coordinators in Victoria (Australia) about leadership attributes and skills related to effective leadership of early childhood centers. Finds a general and common understanding of leadership characteristics, roles, and responsibilities, with few differences in perception…

Reports on a survey of early childhood staff of 85 child care centers and 85 kindergartens in Australia regarding professional ethics. Discusses survey results in relation to Katz's work on ethics and teachers' developmental stages. Compares results with data from an earlier study of American educators (Feeney and Sysko, 1986). (NH)

Discusses preschool staff training, focusing on Europe generally and Sweden in particular. Examines roles of staff members and relative importance of care and education. Argues that training can have both positive and negative effects. Explores whether training programs should be broad or specific, concluding that they should have a wide…

Provides information to prekindergarten educators to enable them to better meet the needs of parents whose children are making a transition to kindergarten. Emphasizes the need to understand assessment and screening procedures and to share that information with parents. Suggests how caregivers can provide emotional support to parents with children…

Explains the definition and criteria of high quality in early childhood practitioners as the most important element in determining the quality of an early childhood program. Defines professionalism in the early childhood field and describes differentiated levels of professionalism, early childhood teacher certification from a national perspective,…

Surveyed kindergarten and child care workers in Hong Kong on various aspects of training, such as its duration, nature, content, and problems. Found that respondents were dissatisfied with the current training situation and that they felt a need for government intervention. (BAC)

Explored the relationship between causal explanations or attributions that caregivers form regarding children's aggressive and rebellious behaviors in their classrooms and the caregivers' behavioral responses to the misbehaviors. Findings suggest that encouraging caregivers to reflect on why children misbehave could influence their responses to…

Presents a checklist that early childhood program directors can use to evaluate staff performance. The checklist enumerates positive behaviors in the areas of general work habits; attitudes and skills with children, parents, classes, and co-workers; and professional development. (AC)

Lists a total of 32 references and resources on techniques for conflict resolution in the preschool classroom, most dated in the 1980s and 1990s. (LB)

Notes that the majority of brain development occurs in the first three years of life. States that infant and toddler interactions are beneficial to both ages, provided contact occurs in a safe environment. Discusses how infants and toddlers learn from each other through play, even if they are nonverbal, and further benefit from insights and…