Through the 2002 Early Childhood Education Initiative, Shouguang City in the Shandong province of China expanded its early childhood education program to include children below the age of three. The strategies which were applied to ensure the successful implementation of the program included: (1) creating a three-tiered professional development…

This report identifies key issues for providing early childhood special education services to young children who are visually impaired and for working with families of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. First, it discusses the incidence of visual impairment and associated disabilities among young children, the process of early…

Noting that no single issue in programs for toddlers inflames parents and frustrates staff the way biting does, this book provides guidance on program policy and practice. The book is based upon discussions of a task force on biting comprised of caregivers and administrators from the child care centers and Early Head Start in Syracuse, New York,…

This final report describes a federally-funded project that was designed to provide a model for service delivery to severely physically involved infants and their families living in the highly rural area of West Alabama. The project developed and refined an eclectic treatment approach known as Developmental Physical Management Techniques (DPMT).…

This training module on transitioning young children with disabilities into preschool programs is from the Mississippi Early Education Program for Children with Multiple Disabilities, a program designed to train Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part H service coordinators and service providers to use family centered strategies.…

These four quarterly newsletter issues address various topics of interest to child caregivers. Each issue focuses on a theme and includes articles on that theme, along with regular news or vice president's columns. The Fall 1999 issue addresses family play and seeks to encourage families to regard play as a way of relaxing and finding contentment…

This article discusses the reflections of an early childhood special education professional on her visit to the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. After describing the activities observed, the schools' philosophy, and the schools' environments, the paper discusses how the schools work with children with "special rights" (i.e., special…

This book describes Italian experiences in providing early care and education, focusing on four cities--Milan, Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Pistoia--with outstanding city-run systems designed to serve children under 3 and their families. The book considers specific strategies or practices used, and interprets the significance of the Italian…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a 4-year federally funded project designed to meet the critical need in Alabama to provide effective practices in the delivery of educational services to children and youth with deaf-blindness from birth through 21 years of age and to their families and service providers. The project…

This article identifies challenges to incorporating occupational, physical, and speech-language therapy into early childhood programs under Parts B and H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Challenges include transforming traditional medical model services, meeting the need for qualified personnel, and adequately preparing…

Compared the relationship of temperament to adjustment in Israeli and American early childhood group care centers. Cross-cultural differences in the ideals held by caregivers and their judgment of actual children were found. The relationship between temperament and adjustment differed between the two groups. Suggested that the "fit"…

Young American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are four times as likely to live in rural communities as in nonrural communities. The challenge of providing developmentally and culturally appropriate early childhood education to Native children living in rural areas is exacerbated by poverty. The author reviews the historic evolution of…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…

This final report describes a pilot project, "Quality Service Provision for Infants and Young Children with Deaf-Blindness: A Mechanism for State Intervention Teams," developed and implemented at the University of Southern Mississippi. The project developed a model of an intervention team that provides intensive training and technical…

This study examined the "educare" experiences of infants and toddlers in New Zealand child care centers to evaluate whether those experiences provided opportunities for learning. Subjects were 200 under-2-year-old children (99 boys and 101 girls) from 100 childcare centers, 2 children from each center. Subjects were each observed for 80…