Over the last several decades, a great deal has been learned about how people learn and develop from research in neuroscience; the developmental and learning sciences; and fields like anthropology, sociology, and social psychology. This report identifies design principles for teacher preparation built on recent syntheses of this emerging research…

With the growing understanding of the importance of early childhood, leaders in many communities are looking for concrete ideas about how to improve the lives of young children and their families in their communities. They are looking for information and guidance about where to put their resources and energy, how to implement effective programs…

Twenty-two individuals are drawing, painting, collaging, sculpting with cardboard, and building with wooden blocks. Some are working collaboratively, and others work alone. Dialogue with the teacher and social interaction between learners catalyze the learning experience. The core curriculum goal, expressing ideas through self-directed art…

It can hardly be denied that play is an important tool for the development and socialisation of children. In this article we argue that through dramaturgical play in combination with pedagogical tools such as the Community of Inquiry, in the tradition of Philosophy for Children (P4C), students can creatively think, reflect and be more aware of the…

Children's earliest years are times of significant development and learning, yet the professionals who provide care for young children often do not receive the economic or professional support they need and deserve. Given the unique situations of child care professionals, especially those running their own family child care businesses, we must…

Research shows that a child's healthy growth and development hinges on high-quality and consistent caregivers and teachers. This demands a stable, highly skilled, and qualified workforce. In response to the science, the federal Head Start program and a growing number of states now require early learning professionals, especially lead teachers, to…

This brief report outlines policy approaches that have the potential to strengthen the organizational conditions of early care and education (ECE) programs as a means to quality improvement. The ultimate goal is to enhance the ability of all ECE programs to support young children's learning and development by improving the quality of teaching and…

Homa Sabet Tavangar is the author of "Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World" (Random House, 2009) and "The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners" (Sage/Corwin, 2014). She works with diverse schools, corporations, non-profits, and children's media on optimizing learning, empathy, inclusion,…

Many students begin their college experience enrolled in large introductory classes. These classes are likely to enroll students who are at risk of leaving college without a degree. As such, these classes have the potential to reach at-risk students including first-year, first-generation, undeclared, and underrepresented minority (URM) students.…

The Robert Bowne Foundation for out-of-school time (OST) supports the development of quality programs that offer literacy education in the out-of-school hours to children and youth of New York City, especially young people from disadvantaged communities. The foundation's networking meetings, now in their 10th year, offer quarterly forums in which…

This article provides a subjective personal introspection of the attempt to develop and maintain an Early Childhood Research Laboratory (ECRL) at the University of Cyprus and a description of the first activities undertaken by the ECRL. I specifically illustrate the process of legitimising the need for an ECRL at the University of Cyprus and…

Educational psychologists in most parts of the world report that they take ecological approaches to their work. But what does working ecologically mean? How do we recognise ecological practice? This article discusses some salient aspects of the practice of psychologists who say they work ecologically. The first section of the paper presents a…