Informed by an interdisciplinary body of scholarship yet focusing on developmental challenges and competencies of the young adult years, this chapter argues that public scholarship is the best form of education for young adults in democracies.

This reference guide describes the implementation and use of mixed-age classrooms in Oregon. Those schools that wished to be included provided information on a prepared form. Responses from 94 elementary schools from 23 counties are presented. Each school's profile includes information on school statistics, a description of the program, how the…

This interpretative study explored the view of how children construct knowledge as proposed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in its position paper "Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8, Expanded Edition" (DAP-DOC) (Bredekamp,…

Despite the strong association between women educators and young children, a chasm exists between "education feminism" and early childhood education. This paper explores why this chasm exists, and offers ways in which the two fields can be brought together. The relationship of feminism and early childhood education is explored, using…

Early childhood education faces theoretical dilemmas as it reexamines the role of culture in the development of children and struggles to define what "developmentally appropriate" means and for whom. Teachers and other caregivers are working to integrate an anti-bias, multicultural approach into the overall curriculum and everyday…

This science activity book contains age-appropriate activities that will enable children ages 3-6 to explore one of the first environments they encounter, their own body. The knowledge gained in these activities can be interspersed with pre-science skills, health information, literature, self-concept development, and body awareness. Each chapter…

This paper examines the connection between early childhood education and feminist thinking. It presents a brief overview of feminist theory, feminist epistemology, and theories and models of early childhood education. The overview lays the groundwork for the essay's main philosophical argument: feminism's emphasis on care, concern, and connection…

This summary report describes Maine's early childhood demonstration sites--three model programs within the schools which serve as demonstration and training sites for public school and preschool educators and which increase access to quality programs for four-year-old children and their families. Demonstration sites were designed to provide an…

This practicum report describes an intervention during the 1990-1991 school year that involved restructuring a kindergarten classroom to include more developmentally appropriate activities. Expected outcomes were stated in the following terms: (1) the arrangement of the classroom will allow free, orderly movement; (2) the county's kindergarten…

This study examined parental beliefs regarding developmentally appropriate preschool programming. A survey instrument based on National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) was designed to assess beliefs concerning: (1) curricular goals; (2) teaching strategies; (3)…

Much has been learned about the possibilities of early childhood education from nations that have long invested in high-quality early care and educational programs. These new understandings are now being used by U.S. early childhood advocates to help parents, policy makers, and others better understand children's vast learning potentials, to…

A survey of beliefs of teachers and administrators regarding developmentally appropriate preschool programming was conducted. An instrument based on National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines (1987) for developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) was developed and distributed. Items were designed to assess beliefs…

This preliminary study aimed to develop measures that could be used to differentiate kindergartens employing developmentally appropriate and inappropriate instructional practices, and explore the relationship between appropriate and inappropriate practices and stress behaviors of 37 kindergarten children. Four instruments were used to gather data:…

Five position statements of the Southern Association on Children Under Six are presented in this document. The statement on developmentally appropriate assessment includes such topics as testing practices that harm young children; limitations of standardized testing; misuses of test data; and assessment criteria. The statement on continuity of…

This digest discusses issues related to the implementation of high quality early childhood education by public school districts. Contents focus on: (1) the development of a written statement of philosophy; (2) the analysis of screening and assessment practices; (3) organization of the learning environment; (4) teacher preparation; (5) parent…