An interview with Christopher Schenk, Britain's Inspector of Schools, reveals his impressions of the differences and similarities of early childhood education in Britain and the United States. Topics included teaching methods, at-risk children, standardized tests, early intervention, family involvement in the schools, funding, and health care.…

The effect of parental involvement in school-based exercise and nutrition education was investigated. Elementary students participated in school-home, school-only, or control groups. Pre- and posttesting on physical and knowledge measures indicated family involvement mainly helped improve flexibility and nutrition knowledge. School-based students…

Early intervention professionals (n=26) reported that they spend more time with families from cultural backgrounds other than their own in eliciting concerns, attempting to understand the family's needs and customs, and explaining the Individualized Family Service Plan process. Families from lower socioeconomic and educational backgrounds were…

This study of 142 early interventionists examined self-competence in working with families, value placed on family roles, and concern about family-centered practices, and explored their relationship with experience, discipline, and job category. Nurses and social workers scored higher than educators and other health care professionals in several…

Skills that families gain in coping with transitions at the early ages of their child with visual impairments provide skills necessary for all the life-stage transitions that follow and, thus, are termed marathon skills. The transition programing of the Lighthouse Child Development Center in New York City is designed to develop those skills. (JDD)

Experiences of parent-teacher action research teams established by eight schools that are members of the League of Schools Reaching Out illustrate that, given patience, hard work, supportive leadership, and informed facilitation, the two streams of parent and teacher empowerment can come together for academic achievement. (SLD)

At Mary Harrison Primary School (Toledo, Oregon), staff spent months crafting a shared vision statement and restructuring plan based on recommended developmentally appropriate practices for early childhood programs. The school's child-centered program now features multiage classrooms, individualized instruction, cooperative learning, a schoolwide…

Examines strategies for developing challenging but appropriate programs for children with disabilities. Discusses the importance of identifying and understanding the particular needs of individual children; developing appropriate routines; maintaining ongoing communication with, and the involvement of, family members; and playing an active support…

This article describes six service features honoring diversity in early childhood special education (ECSE) programs as identified and piloted in the 3-year federally funded demonstration program, CROSSROADS. CROSSROADS provided technical assistance to ECSE programs with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Examples…

This article explores how providing early intervention in natural environments reinforces family-centered care, discusses benefits for all parties when therapy is provided within daily routines and settings, describes a decision-making process for embedding natural environments within intervention, and concludes by identifying challenges and…

A survey of 51 university and agency-based interprofessional education training programs found that family member involvement in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of interprofessional collaboration and curricular attention to family-professional collaboration were present in a small number of programs. Recommendations for increasing…

Schedules, characteristics, and wellness needs of community college students are often very different from those of traditional college students, and wellness programs at these institutions have an important impact on students' lives, both during and after the college experience. Issues to be considered include assessment of the needs of a diverse…

Discusses ways in which cooking and food can be used to integrate school library media programs into the curriculum. Topics include gender consciousness; family literacy; alternative formats for special physical or learning challenges; history and social studies applications; world cultures; and cookbooks and literature. (LRW)

Presents an alternative to the competition fostered through traditional science fairs. The Science Expo is an all-day event meant to show students and the community that science is fascinating and fun. (PR)

This commentary on "The Effects of Family-Centered Service Coordination: A Social Validity Study" (Romer), discusses findings that the three service coordinators did not change their behavior to be more family-centered after one workshop and that it took follow-up work to get their behaviors to a minimal level of performance. (CR)