Based on the view that every adopted child will have been exposed to psychological pain as a result of separation or other hurtful experiences, this book examines issues relating to adoption, attachment, and child development. The book offers guidance to adoptive and foster parents on helping their children through separation, loss, and trauma in…

Creating a physical environment that is organized, welcoming, and well-suited to the needs of students and teachers can present a challenge to both beginning and experienced teachers. Based on the responsive classroom approach, this guide for educators of kindergarten through grade 6 is designed to help teachers set up physical spaces that are…

This book provides guidance in addressing the special needs of Latino children and adolescents, offering a comprehensive examination of four contextual levels: the microsystem level of family; the mesosystem and exosystem level of school and community; and the macrosystem level of cultural practices. Culturally responsive treatment strategies are…

Noting an increasing consensus that meeting care and education goals for infants and toddlers is a societal as well as a family responsibility, this book provides an "educare" curriculum for infants and toddlers, emphasizing both education and care perspectives. Part 1 of the book provides basic principles of good infant and toddler…

This issue brief discusses the most recent and reliable research on early care and education and its implications for policy making. The brief summarizes recent discoveries about early brain development and then reviews research evaluating: (1) child care; (2) small-scale model early education programs providing enriched services to disadvantaged…

In this issue of the "CEIC Review," commissioned papers for a national invitational conference on student resilience developed across contexts of family, work, culture, and community are summarized. The concept of resilience-promoting interventions has emerged from research and indicates that some children survive adversity without lasting damage.…

Many caregivers doubt their ability to provide appropriate play experiences for children with special needs included in their program because some children with disabilities may not have the ability to interact and manipulate toys in a meaningful way. This paper provides guidance in appropriately adapting toys and the play situation to allow many…

Based on the view that almost every interaction a parent has with an infant is an opportunity to help the baby learn more about the world, this book provides parents with simple and effective ways to enrich their infant's environment and to boost their childs language, motor, and social skills. Introductory remarks describe the learning areas…

This book describes New York City's Central Park East (CPE) Elementary School, which provides inner city children with the highest quality educators and pedagogy and is considered one of the most academically enriching U.S. schools. The book gives voice to young adults who emerged from poverty as a result of powerful experiences within CPE.…

This paper summarizes the proceedings of a 1999 symposium on mental health in infants and toddlers, particularly the role of attachment, held at the University of Minnesota. Presentations by Kathryn Barnard of the University of Washington and Anne Gearity of the University of Minnesota are included. Following an introduction and conference…

This Digest addresses the question of what young children should be learning that will best serve their development and learning in the long term. Two major dimensions of development--normative and dynamic--are explored, and four categories of learning goals are discussed: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; (3) dispositions; and (4) feelings. The view…

One of the most important skills of professionals who work with young children is the ability to assess developmental functioning through informal observation. This skill serves as the foundation for screening or identifying children in need of developmental services, conducting play-based developmental assessments, and helping parents to…

This document details Canada's mission to safeguard and improve the health and well-being of all Canadian children and youth and presents eight national goals through which Canada plans to fulfill that mission. The document is presented in three parts. Part 1 describes the development of national goals, including their origin in the underlying…

This paper discusses a practicum designed to address young teen mothers' lack of knowledge, experience, and skills needed to appropriately care for their infants. It documents that increased knowledge, enhanced interpersonal relationships, and augmented parenting skills made a difference in the teen mothers' approach to parenting. Parenting…

Noting that specialized educational programs for teen parents should address the teen parents' needs for knowledge about self-development, pregnancy, parenting, and economic independence as well as problem solving and interpersonal skills, this series of guides for school-age parents and the parent educators working with such teens provides a…