How does literacy develop in children's early years, and what programs or practices promote adequate literacy for all children? These are the questions Catherine Snow and Timothy Matthews tackle in this article. Fundamental literacy skills can be grouped into two categories, Snow and Matthews write. The first category is "constrained"…

Across the political spectrum, high-quality early care and education (ECE) is viewed as essential to educational reform. No ECE program can succeed without teachers who can establish warm and caring relationships with children, light the fires of children's curiosity and love of learning, and foster their development and readiness for school.…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…

This paper aims to broaden the discussion about effective teacher preparation by exploring three hypotheses designed to expand the early care and education (ECE) research agenda: (1) Both the content and the method of delivery of an educational degree influence teacher practices; (2) Teachers' ability to apply knowledge and skills effectively…

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data capable of monitoring the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 46 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S.…