The authors show how teachers can use nature explorations as a personal guide in implementing early learning standards. They describe five outdoor experiences of children in age groups ranging from 20 months to 5 years. A chart specifies which of the Nebraska state learning guidelines and Creative Curriculum goals the experiences meet, across the…

Research Findings: This study, undertaken in Nicosia, Cyprus, sought to evaluate some of the hypothesized developmental benefits of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) by investigating how the pedagogical attitudes and practices of Greek/Cypriot parents (n = 142) and teachers (n = 16) relate to 4- to 7-year-olds' (n = 142) social-emotional…

This brief is a summary of "Increasing the Application of Developmental Sciences Knowledge in Educator Preparation: Policy Issues and Recommendations" by Robert C. Pianta, Randy Hitz and Blake West. It includes highlights and policy recommendations contained in that paper. This brief argues that teachers and education administrators need…

The present study aimed at investigating kindergarten teachers' views of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Data were collected by an open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and observations. Forty-four kindergarten teachers in the United Arab Emirates responded to the questionnaire; six teachers were later interviewed. Results revealed…

Integrating other content areas into physical education does not have to come at the expense of learning and practicing movement concepts, skill themes, or fitness concepts. Through the use of the content linkage approach, physical educators can reinforce classroom content in a physical education setting. This article discusses the content linkage…

Cynicism, disillusionment, loss of faith in our government! Author discussed these issues as they are related to your social studies program. (Editor/RK)

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

Although research has clearly supported the use of school-wide positive behavior support (PBS) in elementary school settings, data-based research has not been conducted to support program-wide PBS in early childhood settings. The purpose of this study was to specifically support teachers' use of universal features of program-wide PBS and to…

This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and…

This article provides an overview of each of seven programs evaluated as part of the Social and Character Development Research Program (SACD), a federally-funded multiprogram evaluation project. It further examines the theoretical underpinnings, the teaching strategies employed, the content delivered, modifications made to the implementation or…

It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them. Educators are very serious about education in CES schools. However, in their earnest attempts to engage students in meaningful and thought-provoking work or dialogue, is it possible…

The "elemental" refers to the essentials of the contents that make them accessible to a child. The effects on a child of contents that are mastered are the "fundamental". In a fruitful didactic unlocking (presentation) it is possible for a child to achieve considerably more insight than merely an understanding of the learning…

This paper explores young children's rhythmic, musical, humorous and playful communication in the context of empowering themselves to create meaningful curriculum during teacher-controlled routine morning-tea times in an early childhood education centre. The data, presented as "events", formed part of an interpretive qualitative study…

In this article the author discusses what he considers to be an ultrastructure of Michel Foucault's "pedagogisation" of sex, which is the expanding normative imagination of bodies and sexualities as and in curricula. Here the author proposes an inclusive reading of "curriculum" that departs from the specific scholastic…

How learning about learning trajectories has helped a teacher develop goals and objectives for her preschool children's mathematical knowledge, identify children's developmental levels in specific mathematical topics, and chart paths for instruction that will guide their learning of mathematics. Participating in research encouraged her to develop…