Toddlers--from about 16 to 36 months--can learn a variety of skills as they prepare food and follow recipes in developmentally appropriate ways. Early childhood teachers are encouraged to support young children's healthy eating habits by offering simple food preparation experiences. When toddlers--and preschoolers--safely prepare healthy snacks,…

The prevalence of overweight children and adults has been increasing steadily over the past three decades. Behaviors related to diet and nutrition are often established in early childhood. Toddlers most often develop healthy eating habits through parent modeling. Due to the steady increase in obesity in children, there is a clear need for…

Despite well-articulated social inclusionist and anti-bias agendas in early childhood, the needs of young gifted children in prior-to-school settings appear to have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to examine the tensions and contradictions that seem to exist between educators working in the fields of early childhood education and…

This article describes a model of literacy development as reflected in students' spelling. The model, based on research that identified five stages of word knowledge, explains the development of this knowledge in readers and writers, and provides a framework for elementary-grade instruction that is intended to: (1) address grade-level expectations…

This dissertation is the result of research which examined the implementation of professional learning communities in a primary school. Professional learning communities or PLCs are groups of educators coming together collaboratively in a process of inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. While there were…

(Purpose) The purpose of this research model is to determine if a gifted preschool child will be less likely to experience severe emotional disturbance (SED) if he, or she, has been exposed to a curriculum that is appropriate for his, or her, mental age and an environment with true peers that is appropriate for his, or her, chronological age. …

Over 21% of children in the United States today are poor, and the income gap between our nation's richest and poorest children has widened dramatically over time. This article considers children's self-regulation as a key mediating mechanism through which poverty has deleterious consequences for their later life outcomes. Evidence from field…

As many educators and parents have observed, today's children are exposed to advanced technology at an early age, with tablets, e-readers, and smartphones being some prevalent choices. Experiences with technology can pave the way for unprecedented learning opportunities. However, without an education component, technology cannot reach its full…

College readiness is a social construct requiring both student and adult preparedness. This paper used a case study methodology to explore how teaching in an early college program might promote adult college readiness in the instructors. A community of practice, enhanced by a co-teaching model, in two separate high school settings under one early…

California's Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 established transitional kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for students affected by the change in the birthdate cutoff for entry into kindergarten from December 2 to September 1. This final report from the program's evaluation focuses on results from a five-year…

This study explored whether or not, and how, an on-site and research-teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed the challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. Data sources included interviews with teachers, videos of planning and teaching sessions, and the researchers' fieldwork log and reflective…

This research examined the effectiveness of an emergent literacy intervention for prekindergarten children at risk for reading failure, to replicate and improve on significant findings from Year 1 of the study. Data are reported for 266 children in 72 child care and preschool sites in Year 2 of the study and for 374 children at 102 sites in Year…

Since the inception of the National Center for Engineering and Technology Education in 2004, educators and researchers have struggled to identify the necessary components of a "good" engineering design challenge for high school students. In reading and analyzing the position papers on engineering design many themes emerged that may begin to form a…

Discouraged youth need caring adults who employ both traditional and creative strategies to help them develop character and positive life goals. Caring adults can help youth realize that they are worthy of love and possess great potential. There is great promise and hope for troubled youth if they connect with adults who are convinced that every…

Research Findings: With a substantial number of young children receiving care in family child care settings, an examination of the characteristics, both structural and attitudinal, that predict program quality is warranted. The current study examines gaps in the research by examining both structural characteristics and provider beliefs that…