If schools are to prepare students to participate more productively in civic life, schools will need to ensure that they have opportunities to practice the skills of civic reasoning, argues Carol Lee. Yet schools are challenged by the limits in the curriculum and the difficulty of addressing the different types of prior knowledge that students…

This article is written in response to widespread concerns about the inadequacy of the school curriculum in England, and the urgent need to rethink what public education should involve. It builds on earlier contributions in FORUM and elsewhere by discussing curricular opportunities arising from Labour's proposal for a National Education Service.…

The purpose of the PreK Annual Report is to comply with statute and inform stakeholders regarding the Children, Youth and Families Department's (CYFD) and the Public Education Department's (PED) efforts and how these are connected to the State's current PreK initiatives. This funding was continued for the 2015-16 school year. In addition, CYFD…

Many early childhood practitioners in the U.S. are experiencing tension between their desire to offer students developmentally appropriate learning experiences and their obligation to teach the academic knowledge and skills mandated by their states. However, careful examination of the DAP guidelines' definition of culturally appropriate practice…

Demographic change in industrial countries will influence educational spending in potentially two ways. On the one hand, the decline in the number of school-age children should alleviate the financial pressure. On the other hand, the theoretical/empirical literature has established that the concomitantly increasing proportion of elderly in the…

Maintains that graduation exercises are developmentally inappropriate for young children. Discusses developmentally appropriate alternative end-of-the-year activities. (BB)

Developmentally appropriate map activities incorporate such concepts as topology, projective space, spatial information, point of reference, direction, cardinal direction and orienting. Such activities offer children excitement, challenge, and a sense of discovery. (BB)

Presents the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) annual report, which covers a number of the Association's accomplishments and challenges. Issues covered include teacher preparation and compensation, accreditation of high-quality early childhood programs, developmentally appropriate early childhood education, and early…

Maintains that economic education can help children understand their complex economic society and the individual economic events in which they participate. Also discusses some important concepts in economic decision making that are developmentally appropriate for young children. Information on instructional resources for teachers is also provided.…

Presents a developmental approach to young children's woodworking. Discusses seven developmental stages of children's woodworking and woodworking activities appropriate to each developmental stage. (BB)

Discusses topics that are especially appropriate for investigation by young learners and describes activities that stimulate children's curiosity. Suggestions about ways to focus children's attention on mathematical aspects of the activities are offered. (BB)

Maintains that the meaningful use of projects necessitates knowledgeable and reflective teachers with the autonomy to make intellectually honest curricular decisions in the best interest of each child. (BB)

Discusses two contrasting philosophies of education for three-, four-, and five-year-old children: the developmentally appropriate approach to learning and the academic or behavior modification approach. Discusses the manner in which preschool children learn self-esteem and self-discipline in both educational settings. (BB)

Reflects on Head Start's beginnings, its goal of enhancing children's social competence, and errors associated with the incorporation of evaluation measures and curricula that are cognitive in orientation into its programs. Concludes that such errors must not recur. Evaluation measures and curricula must reflect concern for the child's whole…

The introduction and implementation of new educational programs has occurred in public education throughout its history, and staff development has been the primary means by which new programs have been introduced to teachers and administrators. The focus of staff development programs has been on the acquisition of theory and of skills, with the…