This report summarizes findings from a national survey of 1,902 teachers of preschoolers regarding the extent to which they are able to engage in the educational practices they endorse. Teachers were given a list of 21 practices and asked to rate the extent to which each practice happened in their classroom and the extent to which they would want…

Describes the Project to Reinvent NAEYC Accreditation, the first comprehensive revision of the accreditation system of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since its inception in 1985. Presents questions guiding the thinking of the NAEYC National Commission on Accreditation Reinvention. Invites NAEYC member input…

Twenty-six Head Start preschool classrooms participated in a yearlong intervention designed to link the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework with authentic assessment practices. Teachers in intervention and pilot classrooms implemented an assessment approach that incorporated the use of a curriculum-based assessment tool, the development of…

To date, few studies of state-funded pre-kindergarten have fully addressed questions about the association between teachers' education, major, and credentials with classroom quality or children's academic gains. The current paper uses data from the National Center for Early Development and Learning's (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten,…

Research suggests that children benefit from preschool programs only when the programs are of high quality. This study sought to ascertain if Texas public prekindergarten teachers and administrators recognized standards for high quality preschool consistent with nationally recognized standards, and to determine if their level of acceptance was…

Discusses the need to recognize the importance of preschool teachers and preschool education. Parents and preschool staff can educate the public about the need for high quality child care and the effects of high quality child care on society. (SH)

Explores an anecdote about a parent withdrawing her child from a child care program as a metaphor for the current status of early childhood to illustrate the pedagogical, practice, and policy dilemmas challenging the field. Maintains that pedagogy, practice, and policy are inseparable and that early childhood professionals must be cognizant of…

Discusses the urgent need to develop leadership in early childhood education in order to improve the quality of programming for infants, toddlers, young children, and their families. Describes five areas of leadership skills: advocacy, administrative, community, conceptual, and career development. (KB)

This paper addresses two questions relevant to practices and policies in early childhood education (ECE). The first question addressed is, Given the worldwide focus on ECE, what are the priorities in practice-oriented research in school life? Educators struggle with the issue of whether research makes much difference to practice. It is suggested…

The Preschool Teacher Survey was designed to gather information on the experience of preschool teachers in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and their perceptions of program effectiveness regarding student cognitive development, school readiness, parent involvement, and stability of classroom enrollment. The 12-item survey was distributed,…

Reviews research published in North America concerning how years of education, amount of specialized education, and years of experience relate to early childhood teaching practices. Finds that amount of formal schooling correlated with overall classroom quality and, less often, with effective teacher behavior. Specialized education may be causally…

Alabama Child Care Resources provides an early-childhood-educator course. A mentoring component was added to transfer learning from course to practical work situations and to provide professional and personal growth for educators. The Specialized Training Achievement Recognition System (STARS) is used as an organized path for professional…

Examined differences in teacher qualifications, inservice training, program quality, and children's development in Head Start, public school, and private nonprofit early childhood classrooms. More formal education for public school teachers was offset by better inservice training for Head Start teachers, as programs achieved equal levels of…

The present article examined 2 questions about the relation between kindergarten classroom processes (setting and quality) and children's engagement in activities, compliance with teachers' requests, and interactions with peers. First, how do children's engagement, compliance, and cooperation vary as a function of teachers' use of classroom…

Since 1975, the Head Start Program Performance Standards have defined the services that local programs are required to provide to enrolled children and families. With revisions effective in 1998, the Program Performance Standards translate the Head Start vision into quality practices implemented at the local level. This document is comprised of a…