This third volume of Current Topics in Early Childhood Education brings together the work of contributers from five nations--Australia, England, Ireland, West Germany, and the United States--and discusses a variety of issues of interest to researchers and practitioners in early childhood education. The volume deals with the following issues: a…

This sourcebook contains ASSIST training materials designed to prepare paraprofessionals for their role as teacher aides in classes for handicapped preschool children. The preservice portion of the training program focuses on the special relationships the instructional associate has with the teacher, the preschool, and the child. Chapter I…

Part of a series on early childhood demonstration programs designed to improve early parent-child relationships, stimulate positive child development, and prevent later behavior difficulties, the pamphlet describes a Toy Library project for low-income families in Washington, D.C., which, in addition to loaning books and toys, offers a wide range…

The growth of preschool familial retarded children was recorded, and attempts were made to alter the course of their development. Of lower socioeconomic class, the 16 subjects aged from 3 to 6, had IQ scores from 50 to 84 and no neurological deficits. One or both of their parents and at least one sibling were mentally subnormal. The subjects and…

This booklet presents a brief overview of the components of a center-based Head Start child development program, including its general philosophy as well as guidelines for specific daily planning. Headings are: (1) What is a Child Development Program? (2) The Staff Designs Its Own Program; (3) The Children Themselves--What Are They Like? (4) Goals…

This booklet is based on a series of papers delivered at a conference of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), held in Paris in 1973. The conference was designed to assess current progress and future trends in international early childhood education. Chapters include: (1) a summary of the trends and issues which…

This selective abstract bibliography cites 123 recent ERIC documents about Project Head Start and Project Follow Through. Included are reports of research and, evaluation and program descriptions. Entries were taken from "Research in Education" (RIE) and from "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE), January 1972 through…

The initial plans for the National Institute of Education (NIE) program in early childhood education are described. The first part of the document contains a discussion of the relationship between planned NIE programs and existing early childhood federal programs. In both planned and existing programs, disadvantaged children are the primary…

In response to requests for information on a city day-care program, a demonstration project for infants and toddlers, the Demonstration Nursery Center at the University of North Carolina, is reported. Physical makeup of the facilities is described, along with daily procedures and staff activities. To study the effects of day care on babies, a…

This handbook is a detailed guide to more than 300 measures of child behavior and development not available from test publishers. The authors surveyed the literature over a ten-year period to find more than a thousand measures; those included here are not described in other sourcebooks and guides. Thus this book is the only guide to many of the…

A home-based orientation and mobility program was developed for blind/visually impaired infants and toddlers. Three stages in functional mobility were identified focusing on the development of gross motor skills, related conceptual activities, auditory awareness, orientation skills, and mobility skills. The program included parent education and a…

A longitudinal study was conducted of 139 Ontario preschool children with severe and profound hearing losses, to detect potential interactions among communication mode, program type, and degree of hearing loss. The relationship of several background and educational variables with the linguistic, academic, and social development of the children was…

Describes social behaviors of preschool children in relation to second-language development observed in a multicultural preschool program. The discussion includes examples of behaviors observed early in the year and of early stages of cooperative and sociodramatic play, and observations on the children's cultural adjustments and individual…

This document presents congressional testimony regarding effective early childhood education. Opening statements presented by Representatives Michael Castle and Dale Kildee focused on the need to examine the effectiveness of early childhood programs and address the "pre-achievement gap" between disadvantaged and advantaged preschoolers.…

In child-centered education programs, children construct their own knowledge from their experiences and interactions with the world around them, and teachers foster children's growth and development by building on children's interests, needs, and strengths within a safe and caring environment. The Step by Step educational program developed a…