Explores the ideas of teacher Vivian Paley about social justice in the kindergarten classroom. Reviews her book "You Can't Say You Can't Play." Once kindergartners begin to grapple with questions of rejection and exclusion, Paley extends the debate to older children to encourage schoolwide conversations about justice and democracy. (SLD)

Offers a report on Visions for Children--an early childhood demonstration program with the goal of facilitating intellectual development and academic achievement and enhancing self-concepts of African-American preschoolers. Base-line data from the first two phases of child testing comparing program participants and control group children is…

Investigated two approaches to all-day kindergarten to determine their differential effects on the students. One approach provided teacher training and support; the other did not. Found that children in the program with teacher training and support were rated by teachers as more developmentally competent, exhibiting more prosocial classroom…

Teachers and parents rated the developmental status of 225 preschool children with and without disabilities on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. The study found a significant correlation between teacher and parent ratings for children with severe disabilities but not for children with mild/moderate or no disabilities. (DB)

Examines role of teacher observation in children's free play at classroom computers. Considers Piaget's theory of interaction and Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development as groundwork for discussing the benefits of teacher observation to a developmentally appropriate classroom, including promoting confidence, selecting software, working…

Describes how engaging preservice and inservice teachers in the process of documenting children's learning in preschool and primary classrooms enhances learning, promotes reflective thinking, and encourages professional growth. Explains that documentation provides teachers opportunities to observe children more closely; focus on children's…

A practicum was conducted at a rural hospital-subsidized child development center to reduce the inappropriate responses of teachers in meeting the needs of children from 6 weeks to 6 years of age. Informal observations indicated that staff members of the center were not using child development knowledge in guiding and responding to children. The…

This foundation guide is addressed to Head Start staff, parents, and consultants to help them develop a broader view of their roles and to support the program's efforts to include children with disabilities in the various worlds around them. The guide includes the following sections: (1) "Module 1: There's Room for All of Us," which…

This training guide is designed to build the capacity of Head Start staff to make the program's renewed vision for parent involvement a reality for every parent and program. The guide contains three modules, each with two activities designed for workshop presentation, followed by two or more coaching activities. Module 1 defines parent involvement…

The New Canaan Public Schools reduced its extended-day (21 hours per week) kindergarten program to half-day sessions (15 hours per week) in an interim program during a 2-year school construction-expansion phase. During a 9-month planning process, an ad hoc committee representing equal membership of teachers and parents from three elementary…

This study examined how kindergarten teachers' views of readiness (maturational, learning, or school) are influenced by students from urban, suburban, and rural areas; by minority and non-minority students; and by students from lower and middle class backgrounds. The framework for the study was the social constructivist theory, the theory that all…

This monograph consists of seven papers that discuss issues related to the teaching approach used in the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. The papers are: (1) "Images from the World: Study Seminar on the Experience of the Municipal Infant-Toddler Centers and the Preprimary Schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy" (Lilian G. Katz), which…

Drawing from the personal visits of an early childhood specialist to centers for infants and toddlers in Britain and the United States, this paper focuses on issues of teacher education, deregistration, and professionalism. Introductory material describes the child care situation in Aotearoa, New Zealand, highlighting the increasing demand for…

Psychosexual development in young children is a topic that early childhood educators often ignore in the belief that children are not sexual beings. This paper discusses psychosexual development in young children, noting that preschoolers are often puzzled by sexual anatomical differences, that children need names for sexual body parts, and that…

This document is comprised of the two 1998 issues of a magazine for parents, teachers, and others involved in cooperative nursery schools. The magazine is designed to provide a forum for views on dealing with young children, express a variety of ideas, promote the cooperative philosophy, and to enhance the relationships of those involved in…