Notes that caregivers, parents, and teachers struggle with discipline; suggests that examination of possible causes of unacceptable behaviors may lead to understanding. Contends that reflection rather than reaction can promote positive outcomes as five basic issues contribute to child behavior: (1) developmental stage; (2) individual difference;…

Notes that Brazilian street children are socially branded as criminals, limiting their opportunities to improve themselves and believe they can change their lives for the better. Draws on interviews with street children to provide a true picture of daily struggles and demonstrates ability and creativity in many situations. (LBT)

Addresses past, present, and future issues and trends in beginning reading instruction, tracing the development of a related issue in the context of early-childhood education: developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Addresses historical changes in reading education and in DAP guidelines, suggesting that reading education and early-childhood…

Author of the landmark work "Baby and Child Care," Benjamin Spock changed how parents and indirectly professional caregivers raise children. Spock believed all infants are inherently good and discipline is mistakenly identified with punishment. He felt quality child care was essential to successful development and play for infants and…

Readiness to learn is a constant state. Two critical aspects of early childhood provide parents sufficient understanding of their child's development: attachment and brain development. Children develop attachments to caregivers but need consistent parental care and love. Human brains continue to quickly grow during the first two years of life.…

A study compared the expressive language abilities of 22 preschool children whose stuttering persisted and 62 who recovered over a four-year period. Findings revealed similarity in the abilities of children whose stuttering persisted as opposed to abated at all ages. All stutterers displayed abilities near or above developmental expectations. (CR)

Explains the role of child care health consultants and suggests whom to contact for health consultant services. Notes that professional child care health consultants should be knowledgeable of pediatric care, child development, injury prevention screening, and state licensing guidelines. Suggests that consultants can provide on-site visits, assist…

Examines childrens gender behaviors through the use of videotaped observation of four children aged 3 to 5 years old at a university laboratory preschool. Reveals that gender behaviors in early childhood are integrated with student and peer behaviors and constructed by individuals interacting with the social world. Addresses the implications from…

A survey of 403 general and special education teachers found most had received no training in multicultural education even though most reported that cultural knowledge would help them understand the influence of their students' verbal and nonverbal learning/behavioral styles. Knowledge about the language of multicultural students and child…

Describes the work of the School Development Program in the Yale Child Student Center, which redresses imbalances in student performance and social and psychological development in urban schools. The program's use of the principles of child development in collaboration with schools is described, with examples from several school districts…

The pretend-play utterances of four students with hearing impairments and four normally hearing students in an integrated kindergarten were examined to investigate developmental differences between these two groups of children. Results indicate that the students with hearing impairments used significantly higher proportions of literal object…

North Carolina recently developed a licensure program requiring teacher training to include the three strands of child development, early childhood education, and early childhood special education. This article describes the new licensure, explains its effects on both preservice and inservice teacher education, examines efforts to help higher…

The six articles of this theme issue relate the history of empirical research in education to its sociohistorical background, examining the proposition that the rise of empirical research in education was linked to complex factors such as the rise of positivism in the 19th century or the institutional growth of an educational market. (SLD)

Describes the School Development Program of the Davis Street Magnet School, New Haven (Connecticut), a Comer school since the late 1980s. The program uses a number of strategies to develop literacy among students identified as problem readers. This Comerian approach enhances student development along six developmental pathways and strengthens…

Two authors weigh the evidence on starting to emphasize early literacy skills during preschool, discussing student-centered versus content-centered classrooms, looking at developmentally appropriate education, presenting their differing views on the subject, and responding to one another's opinions. Two sidebars discuss Project Headstart's…