This brief report provides a demographic profile of the students who attended kindergarten in the United States in the 2010-11 school year using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). The ECLS-K:2011 cohort includes students in public and private schools across the United States, students who…

Evidence regarding the effect of early reading instruction on later reading achievement is unusually sparse, given the emphasis often placed on early and intensive reading instruction. Capitalising on international differences in school entry age (SEA), international reading studies may provide such evidence; however, only one quantitative…

In contrast to a common set of roles or definitions, it is a common sense of mission that unifies practitioners in the field of early childhood education. Successful missions in time become transformed into organizational sagas that capture the allegiance and commitment of a group. Early childhood educators can increase their commitment to the…

Most children enter kindergarten when they are 5 years of age and move into first grade when they are 6. This time period is marked by great developmental change (Sameroff and Haith 1996), and children differ in what they can and cannot do socially, physically, and cognitively. Therefore, parents and educators are concerned whether certain…

Explores recurring themes in early childhood education that strengthen professional identity and commitment. Historical issues of continuing relevance are discussed, including school entrance age, kindergarten and early reading, child care services as social change agents, increase of child care services due to the changing role of women, and…