How do young children learn, and what do educators need to know and do to teach them? Covering the full birth-8 early childhood age range, this introductory text delivers up-to-date answers through a unique lens: a deep focus on the neurological foundations of developmentally appropriate practices. Preservice and inservice educators will explore…

This report explores the extent to which states (and several large cities) are positioned to provide high quality preschool education on a large scale. States and cities that are already doing so or that could do so with modest improvements offer opportunities for advocacy to advance access to high quality early education as well as for rigorous…

Many teachers of students with mild disabilities experience difficulty writing IEPs, and they lack a foundation in the regular education curriculum of academic skills and sequences associated with each grade level. This book was designed to provide this foundation. Presented in the form of scope and sequence charts that can be used as objectives…

The purpose of this position statement is to promote excellence in early childhood education by providing a framework for best practice. Grounded both in the research on child development and learning and in the knowledge base regarding educational effectiveness, the framework outlines practice that promotes young children's optimal learning and…

This report presents the main findings of the first phase of an ongoing study on improving the quality of children's early learning in England and Wales. The purpose of the project is to investigate the ways in which early learning in group settings can be improved by raising the quality of the practice of those professionals who work with young…

This document is a comprehensive guide to planning and implementing a multicultural kindergarten curriculum in New York City's (New York) public schools via planned, developmentally appropriate learning experiences. The guide contains the following 15 sections: (1) "Introduction," which outlines the program and its philosophy; (2)…

This ongoing study is designed to examine the quality of early childhood education in England and Wales, identifying key aspects of professional ability crucial to the quality of children's learning. It also seeks to generate criteria for promoting the development of these aspects of professional ability and to develop consequent criteria for…

Many young adolescents, possibly as many as half, feel boxed in and bored in their middle schools. Research suggests that schools, parents, and the rest of the community must do more to make middle schools places where young adolescents thrive. In spite of the emergence of the junior high school and later the middle school in the 20th century,…

This manual for first grade teachers provides suggestions and teaching materials that reflect the multicultural composition of New York City's (New York) public schools. An introduction describes the philosophy that supports a high-quality, developmentally appropriate program through a multicultural perspective. The manual is organized into the…

The purpose of this book is to operationalize--that is, make meaningful--the Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment, developed jointly by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAESC/SDE) in 1991. The…

This book is intended to help early childhood practitioners develop the essential understanding they require for appropriate use of assessment and evaluation information and to illuminate many of the issues involved in formal and informal assessment and evaluation. The chapters are: (1) "Assessment and Evaluation in the Early Childhood…

The early childhood education field is changing rapidly, and the theories and methods used in preschools and kindergartens--such as child-centered, hands-on learning--are now influencing the way primary school is taught. This book is designed to be a brief overview of the field of early childhood education. Chapter 1 describes the historical and…

"Make Early Learning Standards Come Alive" provides help, support, and explanations of how to make early learning standards come alive in classrooms and programs. Easy-to-read charts show how different states define standards in each of the major content areas and how these standards can be addressed in the classroom. The book discusses how to:…