This is a summary report on the development and implementation of the Child Development Associate Consortium's Credential Award System (CAS). The CAS has as its purpose the assessment of the performance of child care workers and the granting of Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials to those who demonstrate competence in caring for…

Based on the view that child development occurs within a relationship involving mutuality and that development and the teaching/learning process are intertwined with the social environment, this book examines the critical relationship between child care providers and the young children they care for and teach. Along with an extended discussion of…

Noting the connection between the systematic observation of children's behavior and effective teaching, this book details experiences of early childhood practitioners to illustrate how observation helps teachers and caregivers become more effective in the child care center, preschool, family child care home, or elementary school classroom. The…

Argues that conference attendees must approach their training with preplanning and flexibility in order to maximize the experience. Presents guidelines for successful conference attendance, including fitting the conference into a personal training plan, anticipating conference offerings, minimizing registration problems, planning attendance…

Discusses the concept of social capital, which enables teachers and caregivers to invest themselves affectively, through their behaviors, in the instruction and development of young children. Presents five dimensions of social capital which increase the chances of teaching effectiveness. (NH)

Examined the views of both Chinese parents and Chinese teachers in Hong Kong concerning the purposes of early childhood education. Found that early childhood education in Hong Kong refers to kindergartens and nursery centers, and that this administrative division leads to community views whereby nurseries are perceived as being only child-minding…

To translate the concept of a conflict resolution curriculum into everyday practice, teachers can identify their own filters and agendas in conflicts; examine the classroom environment; and refine their interaction skills. (LB)

Comments on where the early childhood profession stands, where it should go, and how organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) can move the field ahead. Discusses two strategies early childhood educators can pursue to improve compensation in the next 5 to 10 years: defining quality as an issue of…

Acknowledges that early-childhood education is a global practice and examines underlying images of the child. Questions the adequacy of current research to encompass global childhoods, how child development is conceptualized within early-childhood work, and children's status within early-education research and practice. Notes a current paradigm…

Observed engagement of children in 17 child care environments as a way to assess program quality. Found that children in centers that met only minimal licensing requirements had lower levels of engagement than other children, and that center quality was related to quality of experience. (LBT)

Examines management styles, dispositions, and skills that provide a positive work environment for child care staff. Categorizes suggestions as offering genuine respect and trust, working with a vision for the future, sharing the decision-making process, rejecting a scarcity mentality, tending to the physical environment, and "walking the…

Examined home-school relations in five Italian cities, focusing on the continuity and sub-cultural variations associated with two national guidelines: participatory social management and the initial entry of young children into out-of-home care. Found diverse sociopolitical and theoretical interpretations of effective home-school relationships,…

Presents four articles about professionalism in early childhood education: "Early Childhood Education as an Emerging Profession: Ongoing Conversations" (Stephanie Feeney and Nancy Freeman); "Voices in Search of Cultural Continuity in Communities" (Marion Cowee and others); "Early Childhood Professionals: Current Status and…

Explores role of early-childhood practitioners against background of shifts in social context and sociopolitical climate of early-childhood education and care in Germany. Maintains that practitioners are links in the process of repositioning early-childhood centers in quality debate. Discusses need for newly defined role combining family-centered…

Suggests that a better understanding of effective methods for teaching adults will contribute to a paradigm shift in training of child care center staff based on developmentally appropriate practices for adults. Details seven recommendations for improving staff training, and contrasts appropriate and inappropriate practice in the areas of…