Despite reasonably high economic growth in recent years, many countries in the Central Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region struggle to achieve high national standards to guarantee basic rights for all their citizens. Families with young children are particularly vulnerable and are often unable to provide a stable and…

In this commentary, developments related to conducting randomized controlled trials in authentic preschool settings that include young children with disabilities are discussed in relation to the Strain and Bovey study.

The arts disciplines (visual arts, music, theatre, and dance) merit and require formal study. Policy makers should support studies in the arts as core disciplines, as specified in the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)," the federal legislation that sets policy and appropriations for public education. The arts merit and…

New Jersey's early learning system is poised for change. The momentum for providing an aligned and coordinated system of early education is building. Yet, in order for such a system to successfully come to fruition, advocates the author, more work is needed. Collaboration between the state's Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE),…

Preparing handicapped preschoolers for mainstreamed kindergarten should focus on developing kindergarten survival skills. Comparison of survival skills identified by teachers with skills measured by common preschool assessment instruments indicated only slight congruence. Programs should emphasize teaching such survival skills rather than…

Although social development is a commonly cited educational goal, little systematic programming occurs for the development of social skills among the preschool handicapped, especially for the development of interpersonal skills. Insight into the reasons for this neglect leads to suggestions for correcting it. (Author/CL)

The paper proposes a methodological expansion in evaluation research--an eco-behavioral approach. Implications of using the eco-behavioral approach in the evaluation of preschool programs for the disabled are discussed. This methodology is said to allow both determination of early intervention effectiveness and specification of factors responsible…

A mother expresses her feelings regarding volunteering her daughter as a model child in a program for preschool handicapped children. She points out that her daughter's experiences in the program may, in the future, make her more understanding of handicapped persons. (SW)

The author responds to a previous article (EC 122 795) explaining and critiquing various efficiency index formulas to quantify the effectiveness of intervention in preschool program for the handicapped. (DB)

Findings indicated that the importance of effective transition was recognized and that transition procedures were written into many programs, but were not followed in practice. Journal availability: see EC 133 846. (Author)

The article describes steps taken by the parents of a preschool cerebral palsied child to manufacture photo identification cards for handicapped young children. The cards contain such information as name, address, phone number, school, teacher's name, doctor's name, emergency contact, and diagnosis or allergies. (DB)

The article examines service provisions for preschool-aged handicapped students in terms of two legal issues: what constitutes an appropriate program in terms of the intensity/frequency of program length; and how the least restrictive environment provision should be applied to this population. (Author/DB)

In an effort to assist early childhood professionals to better understand special education practices and procedures in New York State that might affect classroom environment, this paper presents an account of one teacher's search for help with a special needs preschooler. Following a year in which only one-on-one instruction with the boy yielded…

Issues related to family assessment as part of early intervention programs with handicapped children are reviewed and the need for a family needs assessment as a first step in developing family focused interventions is stressed. Suggestions for the design, selection, and use of a needs assessment are made. (Author/DB)

The paper maintains that impact evaluation studies of programs serving handicapped infants and preschoolers should be restricted to scientifically defendable investigations. Specific types of impact studies and an evaluation process are suggested. It is suggested that program leaders should focus evaluation activities on the status of project…