This book is an essential reference on research in early childhood education not only in the United States but throughout the world. It provides a comprehensive overview of important contemporary issues and the information necessary to make judgments about these issues. The field has changed significantly since the publication of the first edition…

We study the benefits of junior kindergarten for linguistic-minority 4-year-olds compared to their linguistic-majority classmates from the same low-income neighborhoods. At the end of the school year, linguistic-minority children made significantly greater improvements in language skills than their host society classmates. At the mid-year point,…

PACT: Helping Children with Special Needs, an affiliate of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, operates a therapeutic nursery that serves families who have at least one child from birth to 3 years of age, and who are living in a Baltimore City homeless shelter. In partnership with the Martin Luther King Early Head Start Program…

Child care in a provider's home is the most prevalent form of child care for young children with employed mothers in the United States today. The quality of family care and relative care is of concern partly because of growing public recognition that child care experiences are children's education before school. As the first in-depth,…

The 13 chapters of this text focus on the complex development issues and interdisciplinary service needs of infants and young children at risk and their families. The text is organized into four sections on: developmental and intervention principles, identification and assessment, developmental issues, and early intervention. Chapter titles and…

This paper describes the significant literary activities observed in the teaching of reading in an inner-London (England) primary school in a reception and year four class. Efforts at achieving a high level of literacy for all students are hampered by: (1) low parental literacy input and involvement in school; (2) continuous disruptive behavior…

In view of the importance of literacy learning, this paper defines emergent literacy and explores how researchers and teachers define it in the 1990s. The paper also attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What is the best way to teach literacy to young children? (2) Is there a correct way to teach it? (3) What does the research say…

A case study analyzed the echolalia behavior of an autistic 11-year-old boy, based on recordings made in his home and school. Focus was on the subset of immediate echolalia referred to as pure echoing. Using an approach informed by conversation analysis and descriptive phonetics, distinctions are drawn between different forms of pure echo. It is…

This essay focuses on teachers as peacemakers. Peace education is discussed as multifaceted and cross-disciplinary, emphasizing the teaching of peace, nonviolence, conflict resolution, social justice, economic well-being, political participation, and environmental concern. The report asserts that any curriculum for young children should stress a…

Most research on the subject of friendship has concentrated on peer acceptance, dyadic properties, and the contribution that friendship makes to development and adjustment. This book explores the role of friendships in a child's social and emotional growth. The articles, based on presentations made at an SRCD (Society for Research in Child…

Noting that observation forms the basis of all developmentally appropriate programming, this videotape helps new and experienced early childhood educators learn about children so they can individualize their program; evaluate programs so adjustments can be made to the environment, the curriculum, or both; and measure children's progress and their…

This Kids Count factbook reports findings of a 1993 state project conducted as part of a national program designed to promote accountability of children through a nationwide profile of their condition. The data are used to encourage the private and public sectors to target specific problems and groups of children for programming and fund raising…

This booklet was designed to assist elementary schools in developing and implementing strategies for program continuity. Chapter 1 provides an overview of theories of program continuity, discussing the concepts of continuity and integration. Chapter 2 considers ways in which teachers can promote program continuity in class. The chapter begins with…

Noting that there are many criteria by which to determine whether pedagogical practices are appropriate for young children, this paper outlines a developmental approach to pedagogy for young children. Twenty-three principles of practice are outlined. The main suggestions are that a developmental approach is one that takes into account those…

This study investigated the earliest manifestations of verb tense and agreement in English-speaking children, using longitudinal data on the language of four children aged 1:6 to 3:5 years, drawn from a child-language database. Analysis focused on one aspect of inflectional phrase (IP), the children's use of the verbs "be" and "do" forms to mark…