The Lerum Competence Development Project seeks to develop a model for educator inservice training to improve the quality of day care. Lerum is a small community outside Goteborg, Sweden, with approximately 35,000 inhabitants. The expansion of childcare provision within the community necessitates support of the teachers because of economic and…

Guest editors discuss the theme of this issue of Theory Into Practice: early childhood education (CB)

The Family Work Institute conducted a study in San Fernando Valley, California; Dallas, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina to examined the effects of Child Care Aware's Family-to-Family training program on 130 child care providers. These providers were compared to 112 regulated providers not participating in Family-to-Family training. Results…

Explores several European models of early childhood education that have influenced day care in North America, noting such influences as religion, educational philosophy, and concepts appropriate to a child's cognitive development. (HOD)

Norway and Sweden have similar histories within the field of early childhood education and similar traditions of state financial support for children. Recently, both countries adopted national preschool plans for children ages 1 to 5 years old. When comparing the two plans, the first noticeable difference is that the Norwegian approach gives…

Examines a group of accredited early childhood programs at the time of reaccreditation. Considers the percentage of programs that achieved reaccreditation; changes that took place over a three-year period; the simplification of the reaccreditation process for program staff; and the appropriate length of time for accreditation to be valid. (BB)

This publication outlines the Government of New Zealand's new plans and policies for the administration of early childhood care and education. Specific features are discussed in detail in sections concerning: (1) early childhood care and education at the local level, specifically management structures and responsibilities, the use of Crown land,…

Summarizes the developments in service delivery at employer child care facilities including: (1) organizational leadership changes; (2) recent trends updates; (3) list of largest employer child care management organizations; (4) new services for existing clients; (5) effects of companies expanding globally; and (6) future trends. (SD)

Considering that the field of American early childhood education and care is at the brink of a major shift in how it views its mission, this paper provides policymakers with ways to help understand the emergent situation, to define excellence in early education and care, and to plan a strategy to improve provision of services. A glance toward the…

This essay examines the provision of early childhood education and care (educare) for black preschool children in South Africa. After a brief introduction, the essay outlines the demographics of and government role in preschool education. The social and environmental context of black preschool children in South Africa, along with the educational…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the South Dakota Statewide Systems Change Project, a 5-year federally supported project to establish a system of educational services to support children with severe disabilities within general education settings. The project provided extensive training, information, and technical…

Describes the extent and nature of the child-care crisis in the country today. The 1990 Child Care and Development Act is a step toward a solution, but better approaches are needed. One such approach, the School of the 21st Century, in which child care is implemented within the existing school system, is described and its preliminary effectiveness…

Although early care and education have gained some momentum in recent years, shortfalls in quality are still pervasive. This book defines the elements of a high-quality system and suggests strategies for improvement. Frontmatter includes a preface, editors' and contributors' biographies, and an introduction entitled "The Changing Context of…

This booklet contains selected presentations from the 1975 Annual Conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The collection is addressed to people who are interested in improving the quality of growth-supporting services available to children and their families in the United States. Titles are: "Head…

In this paper (Part II of a presentation titled "Early Childhood Education in Urban America") four broad questions are discussed: (1) What are the goals of early childhood education? Continuing dilemmas in compensatory early education are articulated, and the questions of how should resources be allocated and who should benefit are raised. (2) Who…