Many within early childhood and early childhood teacher education are concerned about the changed kindergarten. At the same time, students entering early childhood teacher education programs were educated in these changed schooling systems that emphasize standards and accountability, which can impact the ways in which they make sense of teaching…

Since the passage of "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) in 2001, public schools in the United States have witnessed an influx of reforms intended to elevate students' academic standing in a global economy. The unprecedented federal involvement in education resulting from the passage of NCLB has propelled a nationwide movement to standardize…

The author discusses bringing her perspective as an early childhood educator and developmentalist to her policy-making position as a Board member of the Pasadena Unified School District. Noting that the higher education standards adopted in many states as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 have impacted kindergarten programs and…

For a great portion of the history of the American education system, multiage education was the norm in one-room schoolhouses throughout the nation. The current graded, curriculum-centered approach in the U.S. appeared during the mid-nineteenth century with the rapid economic development and massive immigration into the country. Concurrently, some…

In the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field, the term Developmentally Appropriate Practice, otherwise known as DAP, has been defined many times and many ways. One aspect of DAP that has received recent attention is environment. Because of the accountability emphasis of the No Child Left Behind Act, environment is generally being approached in a…

This study explored the effects of high-stakes testing and accountability on the fundamental practices associated with middle school philosophy. Participants were middle school educators, including administrators and teachers, from Pennsylvania middle schools. An online survey was used to collect data for this study. The survey addressed the…

Over the last decade, high-stakes test preparation has crept into the inventory of developmentally responsive middle level instructional practices. Amid calls for increased accountability and more rigorous curriculum and academic standards, the middle school movement now finds itself in a spotlight of intense scrutiny. This article examines the…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

One way to help preservice teachers to articulate and advocate their teaching stance is by developing their knowledge, skills, and confidence in their ability to carefully, didactically, and strategically plan for instruction. The Integrative Research Project (IRP) is a planning process that enables the preservice teacher to incorporate not only…

The purposes of kindergarten have been changing rapidly in the United States. Kindergarten teachers are facing many new demands; in addition to meeting children's needs across all developmental domains, they must also move their young students toward mastery of a variety of mandated academic skills. This article presents findings from a recent…

Many teachers of students with mild disabilities experience difficulty writing IEPs, and they lack a foundation in the regular education curriculum of academic skills and sequences associated with each grade level. This book was designed to provide this foundation. Presented in the form of scope and sequence charts that can be used as objectives…

The purpose of this position statement is to promote excellence in early childhood education by providing a framework for best practice. Grounded both in the research on child development and learning and in the knowledge base regarding educational effectiveness, the framework outlines practice that promotes young children's optimal learning and…

The intent of this study was to investigate changes in the curriculum caused by high-stakes testing mandates within 3 Southwest Virginia school systems to find best practices for instructional application in classrooms. This qualitative study was comprised of in-depth interviews and observations with elementary school teachers and administrators.…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has ushered in an era of increased accountability and assumed universal proficiency at a time when there is significant variability in children's abilities as they enter kindergarten. Despite NCLB's emphasis on the use of evidence-based practices to improve students' achievement, it explicitly recommends grade…

In this article, the author proposes to offer a glimpse into the practical challenges of teaching literacy in a public school setting where students enter classrooms at various stages of reading readiness. The author begins with the case of Kahea, a kindergarten student reading at an emergent literacy level, as an illustration of some of the…