This report presents results from the Newark, New Jersey, site of the Foundations of Learning (FOL) Demonstration, an intervention and random assignment evaluation of a curriculum designed to target children's behavior and emotional adjustment through the training of preschool teachers. The demonstration adopted the model used by CSRP (formerly…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

This cross-cultural study examines early childhood professionals' perceptions of their social status, working conditions, and public appreciation in seven countries/territories: Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Mexico, Peru, and the United States of America. One hundred eighteen participants, consisting of preschool and elementary school…

In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

An education agency's early childhood resource developer implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to increase administrators' and teachers' awareness of questionable trends and practices in kindergarten education. Most of the kindergartens in the agency's area had a highly academic, lock-step curriculum; used standardized…

This issue of the Focus series published by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) provides an overview of how all state prekindergarten programs in the SREB region are performing on three measures of program quality: (1) class size; (2) ratio of students to instructional staff; and (3) instructional staff qualifications. Findings indicate…

Throughout the United States, kindergartens receive children with increasingly diverse levels of skills. In order to provide a learning atmosphere that is supportive of all children, prekindergarten teachers must be equipped to adapt to each child's needs. This paper reviews the research on pre-kindergarten teacher quality. The purpose of the…

Examines effects of policies concerning nursery education over a 20-year span in Scotland. Highlights publication of school inspection reports, increased demand for written curriculum plans, and the controversial policy in one region to integrate education and social work nurseries. Focuses on effects of education authorities in three regions on…

This report on the state's early education system offers a dark assessment, but not a fatalistic one, especially if leaders can seize and build on reform efforts that have already started in patches throughout the state. There's much more that policymakers, advocates and the state can--and should--be doing to work toward a day when all California…

High-quality care is essential to the optimal development of young children. While many children attend childcare away from the home for an average of six hours per day, the environment is not necessarily of the highest quality. An assessment of the indoor and outdoor space, curriculum and activities, teacher and child interactions, materials,…

Examined Head Start teacher beliefs and self-reported practices as they related to classroom quality. Found that teachers in the low classroom quality group tended to respond more favorably to statements about inappropriate beliefs and practices than those teachers in either the high or average quality classrooms. Findings support providing…

Potential benefits for learning that the outdoors may hold have been brought into increased focus in the UK by the recent introduction of a manifesto for learning outside the classroom (DfES, "Learning outside the classroom: manifesto"; Nottingham, Department for Education and Skills, 2006). This article draws on two recent studies of…

The Early ON School Readiness Project is an emerging community-based model aimed at promoting the school readiness of 3- to 5-year-old children in a metropolitan area with a predominantly Latino (Mexican-American) population. Using an ecological approach, the multi-component program seeks to enhance school readiness opportunities for children at…

Four dimensions of pedagogical quality focusing on children's opportunities for learning and development in preschool are suggested. This article explores how they are constituted and how they can be used for evaluation to discern pedagogical quality as a whole and part of a whole and to understand how quality is experienced and valued from…

In recent years, providsion of early learning experiences to children has found a place on political agendas nationwide. Increasingly, early childhood education is viewed as a point of leverage for addressing low levels of, and gaps in, K-12 achievement. This article discusses what people know about the quality of existing early-childhood…