The West Virginia Early Childhood Transition Initiative is an interagency systems change effort started in 1993 to develop a seamless system of service for children, ages birth to 5 years. The initiative's training and technical assistance component is known as Operation Tadpole. A state level steering committee coordinates the initiative on an…

Discusses various ideas being used to help children of European migrant workers adjust to frequent moves, often to new countries. Includes (1) reception teaching, (2) teaching language and culture of the native country, (3) educational reintegration, (4) development and distribution of teaching materials, and (5) teacher training. (CH)

A comprehensive curriculum-development program which covers grades K-12 can ensure a meaningful scope and sequence of experiences for gifted learners. The experience of the Gary Community School Corporation and other Indiana communities with such an approach is described. Eight steps from needs assessment to implementing the model are presented.…

Home/kindergarten transition activities comprise two distinct categories: those involving coordination or communication between school and preschool levels and those including parents as participants. Transition activities are more often found in schools with a prekindergarten program, a high poverty level among families served, and considerable…

Children of 8 and 11 years and college students were tested for reorientation of visual attention to a target following a cue. The first, but not the second, experiment showed an interaction between distance of target from fixation and stimulus onset asynchrony. The second experiment suggested children can orient attention through valid, neutral,…

The whole concept of articulation between elementary, middle level, and senior high foreign-language instructional programs is questioned, and a call is made for stronger examination and definition of such issues as instructional value, attrition rates, interdisciplinary instruction, and program continuity. (CB)

Summarizes the four planes of development and the role of Montessori education in each plane. Notes that there has been no full implementation of Montessori's ideas for adolescents. Maintains that adolescents will benefit from a Montessori adolescent program only if they have participated in previous Montessori programs. Describes how…

The curriculum continuity for students in isolated rural areas is affected due to the difficulty in getting teachers. Thus, there is a lack of cultural events such as musical performances that hinder students' horizons as a result of this geographical isolation.

This article examines the patterns and meanings of innovation in the activities of a group of retirees with an eye toward understanding the place and value of innovation in the aging process. Starting with a consideration of continuity theory, as a perspective that simply describes typical patterns of activity, and activity theory that prescribes…

Successful early childhood program transitions involve the coordination and continuation of developmental and comprehensive services from birth through age eight. This guide is designed to facilitate the successful transition of children and their families into and out of Early Head Start and Head Start programs and assists in planning for daily…

Gives an overview of the articles that are presented in this edition. Discusses the overall theme of nihilism in the postmodern world, new Deweyan scholarship, and functions of narratives. Gives a brief description and summary of each articles as well as background of the authors. Concludes that despite difficulties philosophers of education have…

Studied developmental changes in the experience of solitude between late childhood and early adolescence. Fifth through ninth graders (N=483) provided experience-sampling reports on their companionship and subjective states at random times over a week. Found that in early adolescence solitude comes to have a more constructive role in daily life as…

It is argued that foreign language study has failed to secure a central place in the American curriculum partly because of a lack of articulation from elementary through university studies, possibly because of a lack of universally accepted methods for assessing language development. Department chairs are encouraged to recreate an articulated…

Despite teacher layoffs and program eliminations across United States, extra-year programs before kindergarten or between kindergarten and first grade are booming. Such developmental retentions are costly and could lead to higher incidence of dropping out. Schools should be ready for each child. Early-grade teachers and principals must reject…

Over the years, little has changed about elementary education. As the "American common school," elementary education attained a universality of purpose and attendance far earlier than did secondary education. The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), with Head Start's inception and renewed interest in early childhood…