Much of the research into factors that affect children's school performance has focused on parental involvement rather than the nature of children's activities undertaken in school. More research is therefore needed to examine the kinds of activities that affect performance and, in particular, whether the degree of involvement children experience…

This study was conducted within the context of bilingual Arabic-Hebrew medium preschools in Israel which were established to incorporate instruction in the native languages of both majority and minority children in the classroom. Bilingual education in various settings produces a wide variety of outcomes in terms of language proficiency, cultural…

The study examines two years of an educational program for children aged three to four, based on the use of digital cameras. It assesses the program's effects on the children and adults involved in the project, and explores how they help the youngsters acquire visual literacy. Operating under the assumption that formal curricula usually…

This year's report examines the critical role community plays in education. Integrating learning that takes place inside and outside of school has always been a powerful strategy to support student success, but it gained special relevance this year, as school closures made family and community members integral parts of students' daily learning.…

The aim of this paper was to compare the recruitment strategies of two recent studies that focused on the parental influences on childhood obesity during the preschool years. The first study was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the Mind, Exercise, Nutrition?…?Do It! 2-4 obesity prevention programme and the second was a longitudinal cohort…

Federal policy changes for Head Start (HS) elevate the importance of measured academic performance over other traditional program aims, particularly those associated with the social-emotional development of children. Concerned about the possible effects of these changes on children, based on observations and interviews, detailed portraits of…

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include: 1) What factors affect linguistically diverse families' access to early care and education programs?; 2) What do we know…

Realising the clear dichotomy between schools and homes, the Malaysia government has now turned its attention to stakeholders and called for an increase involvement of parents, who are critical in transforming the education system. However, a clear line of demarcation continues to exist between the two prime educators of young children. Schools…

This paper presents an overview of the Head Start program. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), $1 billion will be provided to the Office of Head Start to promote the school readiness of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers, by enhancing…

In this article, the author presents a discussion regarding the sharing of decision making regarding curriculum in preschool. The preschool where she teaches is housed in a diverse, faith-based elementary school in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a midsize, midwestern city. It offers full-day, half-day, and two-and-a-half-hour preschool…

In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

A parent-child dialogic reading program was implemented across four preschools, involving 62 caregivers/parents in a low socioeconomic status, disadvantaged community where English was not the first language in 54 per cent of the homes. This socioculturally sensitive program aimed to enhance children's language and emergent literacy development,…

For children from low-resource backgrounds, a literacy-rich preschool experience with a skilled and engaged teacher can offset risk factors and lay the groundwork for lifelong academic success. Now schools can ensure effective early literacy instruction with this field-tested, research-based curriculum for children 3 to 5 years of age. These 41…

This paper describes a collaborative effort aimed at province-wide dissemination and implementation of pivotal response treatment (PRT) for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Nova Scotia, Canada. Three critical components of the associated training model are described: (1) direct training of treatment teams (parents, one-to-one…