Intended to help teachers of young children prepare for diversity among their students, this early childhood education textbook focuses on the integration of assessment and learning as an interactive process; and the integration of curriculum and instruction to be age-, group-, and individually-appropriate. The introductory chapter discusses current trends in early childhood programs and the relationship between screening and assessment. Chapter 2, "Screening in Early Childhood Programs," covers selecting a screening approach and instrument, and organizing a screening program. Chapter 3, "Assessment in Early Childhood Programs," concerns the role of assessment in curriculum planning and using appropriate assessment strategies. Chapter 4, "Initiating the Instructional Program," focuses on environment preparation, program planning, transition procedures, and initial assessments. Chapter 5, "Linking Assessment and Curriculum Planning," deals with planning age-appropriate curriculum, instructional methods, planning evaluation, and continuing the assessment-instruction link. Chapter 6, "Screening and Assessment in Early Intervention Programs for Young Children with Special Needs," concerns screening in early intervention programs, planning individual interventions, and integrating special needs and at risk children. Chapter 7, "Linking Curriculum and Instruction for Young Children with Special Needs," discusses planning instruction, different instructional approaches, and evaluating curriculum and instruction. Chapters 8 through 11 present information on cognitive, language, social, and physical development; and discuss planning instruction, assessment, and evaluating curriculum and instruction for each area. Chapter 12, "Bringing It All Together," focuses on the integrated curriculum, models for planning integrated curriculum, and evaluating integrated curriculum and instruction. (Contains a glossary of important terms and about 300 references.) (KB)