Designed to improve Massachusetts' children's healthy development and success in school, this plan discusses high quality early care and education programs that are responsive to the needs and preferences of families, and that provide parenting education and family literacy and support. The goal of the plan is to create a coordinated system of…

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…

Noting that school is an influence stronger than any a 5-year-old child has yet known, this parent guide to preparing children to enter school brings together two understandings: first, an understanding of the child at the time school begins and during the first school year; second, an understanding of school, and what goes on inside the…

This document, one of four volumes comprising the 1995 Goals Report, is the fifth in a series of annual reports. This core report for 1995 focuses on approximately two dozen indicators that show the progress made by the United States toward the National Education Goals. National performance has improved in five areas, gotten worse in seven, and,…

This booklet, one of a set of four documents comprising the 1995 Goal Report, contains the executive summary for the fifth in a series of annual reports to measure progress toward the National Education Goals. The first part summarizes the nation's progress toward each of the goals. It provides baseline measures of progress, the most recent…

In order to provide data to help schools respond to the diversity in the backgrounds and educational needs of children entering school, a U.S. Department of Education study asked parents of 3- to 5-year-old children who had not yet started kindergarten about their children's accomplishments that indicated emerging literacy and numeracy skills and…

The workshops presented in this training manual identify methods and strategies that can be used by parents and professionals to improve the process of transition to public school for children with special needs and their families. Workshop participants develop the following competencies: (1) identify critical transitions for families with young…

A child's success in school is often determined by the level of involvement of the family in his or her education. This newsletter presents articles on helping parents collaborate in the schooling process. The title article describes the "universal controlled" public school choice allowed in several Massachusetts school districts, and a…

This manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the public release data file for the School Safety and Discipline component of the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES:93). Information about the purpose of the study, the data collection instruments, the sample design, and data collection and processing is presented. The…

This packet contains handouts for training school and community personnel to implement Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), an interagency program to facilitate transition of young children with disabilities. A sample agenda for a 3-day training session is provided. Handouts are organized into the eight modules…

This annual report details the effectiveness of the state's program in preparing at-risk children for kindergarten and the early grades in Illinois. Divided into six areas, the report presents statistical data to describe the following: (1) program participants; (2) change in program participation since its inception in 1986; (3) program's ability…

Parents in affluent communities have been following the suggestion of research and delaying kindergarten entry of their young age-eligible children in order to increase the likelihood of the child's academic success. This study examined the correlation between the chronological age of a child entering kindergarten and his or her performance on…

This paper examines the educational philosophy underlying Waldorf Education, focusing on Rudolf Steiner's concept of "vital" or etheric energy and comparing Piaget's and Steiner's stages of cognition. The paper begins with a discussion of school readiness and the trend toward lowering the school entry age, and maintains that this trend…

This document examines the role of the federal government in achieving the six National Education Goals. Six chapters identify and analyze federal programs aligned with the purposes of each goal. Following the preface and a list of the National Education Goals, Anne Crowley's introductory chapter presents a historical overview of the events…

In May 1990, the Ministry of National Education announced its Education Renewal Strategy (ERS) for education in South Africa to seek short- and medium-term managerial solutions for some of the nation's most pressing educational needs. This ERS advances five major policy recommendations for a future education model: (1) race should not be a factor…