Based on positive results from a previous evaluation of a summer learning intervention, the current report describes the specific elements of the successful program so it can be replicated, and investigates potential barriers to implementation and replication. The study estimated impacts of the program overall; the authors could not identify which…

Background: In 2000 the so-called "Reception" class was re-conceived (in curricular terms, at least) as the second and final year of the Foundation Stage, a distinctive educational phase for children aged 3 until entry to key stage 1 at 5 or 6 years old. The "Curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage" endorses a play-based,…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

"Te Whaariki," the "draft guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in [New Zealand] early childhood services," constitutes a set of principles which can guide practice, rather than a structure for curriculum planning. The guidelines have the potential to provide a theoretical rationale for the application of the…

This report identifies the components of a seamless child care system for low income families, with attention to consolidating funding streams, simplifying administration, and improving direct services to families. The result of a 1995 study directed by the Minnesota legislature involving meetings of parents, advocates, child care providers,…

Most children do not come home from school empty-handed, but laden with one or more assignments to be completed at home and returned to school the next day. Research suggests that parental involvement with homework can enable and enhance its positive effect. This study investigated middle-grades students' perceptions about parental involvement…

Today, the majority of countries are characterized by multicultural diversity, a factor which has enormous implications for early childhood educators. As we begin to understand the long-term benefits of participation in high quality early childhood care and education, educators must also recognize that their own cultural heritage can and does…

Nongraded education is the practice of teaching children of different ages and ability levels together, without dividing them into groups labeled by grade designations. As the year 2000 approaches and schools are being re-evaluated in light of changing social and economic conditions, nongradedness is the focus of renewed interest. This publication…

Combining developmentally appropriate early childhood practice with current views of emergent literacy and whole language instruction, this book is designed to help pre-service and in-service teachers incorporate new views of literacy into their classrooms. The book includes extensive examples from actual classrooms to assist readers in…

In the course of an ethnographic case study of a rural, Appalachian Head Start program, the researcher became increasingly aware of the bias she brought to the project in favor of the universal applicability of developmentally appropriate practice. The study was an extension of Sally Lubeck's "Sandbox Society" (1985), and focused on…

This guide provides information and strategies for Kentucky parents to become better partners in the education of their primary school children. Chapter 1 of the guide outlines a typical school day for a primary school student in Kentucky. Chapter 2 explains how children learn and how instruction will change as Kentucky schools move toward greater…

This practicum paper reports on a project undertaken to enhance the knowledge of age-appropriate learning for parents of 3-year-old preschoolers. The project implemented a variety of techniques and strategies to improve parent knowledge, including parent education classes, a monthly newsletter for parents that addressed current research on…

This booklet is a printed edition of a talk given to parents of children at The Aquinas Montessori School (Alexandria, Virginia) in 1966, when the school was newly opened. Later, at the request of parents, the booklet was prepared and used for parent education and information by many other Montessori schools and organizations. The booklet…

The program "Teen STAR (Sexuality Teaching in the context of Adult Responsibility)" begins by helping young people understand the woman's cyclic and the man's constant fertility in order to encourage pre-marital abstinence in adolescents. Students then discover the values of fertility and begin to derive the norms that govern possessing it.…

This study compared end-of-year standardized test scores (CAT) of 204 children in 6 developmentally appropriate and 6 developmentally inappropriate kindergarten classes. Particular attention was given to the effects on test scores of the interaction of classroom type with sex, socioeconomic status, and race. Relationships between children's CAT…