Proposes three principles for a new progressivism. These establish the nature of individualism in education, the need to empower individuals through education, and the economy of means by which this can be achieved through progressivist methodology. Assumes a constructivist rather than a social-constructivist model of human development. (MJP)

Discusses a select group of children's fiction books that tell the tales of some Hispanic people in the United States. The books reveal various aspects of Hispanic culture including family, community, friends, and neighbors. Suggested learning activities support the reading material. (MJP)

Reviews research on three issues related to the first edition of the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children: (1) the prevalence of DAP; (2) teachers and parents beliefs about DAP and influence of beliefs on practice; and (3) how appropriate and inappropriate practice…

Recent developments in infant mental health are outlined, with implications for work with at-risk populations. Discussed are: the biobehavioral-developmental perspective, the infant as a social being, the infant-caregiver relationship, the transactional model of the infant-parent relationship, assessing developmental disabilities, conceptualizing…

Tested the effectiveness of a framework that linked developmental and multicultural counseling theories for use among elementary-school-age students (n=117). Designed to help students develop a variety of social and interpersonal skills that would increase their ability to resolve conflicts resulting from negative prejudices, the intervention was…

Assessed effects of maternal employment on infants with mothers working 20 or more hours per week or fewer than 20 hours per week. Found that neither differences in maternal employment during child's first year, nor child's entry into nonmaternal care before age one, predicted differences in cognitive and socioemotional development at ages two and…

This article comments on two studies (EC 629 875) that investigated the validity of a set of 15 general growth outcomes (GGOs) for identifying young children with disabilities. It argues that without additional efforts focusing on the nature of GGOs, the ultimate utility of the outcome measures will be limited. (Contains references.) (CR)

It is widely accepted that high quality child care enhances children's cognitive and social development, but some question whether what constitutes quality care depends on the child's ethnic and cultural background. To address this question, secondary analysis of data from the two largest studies of child care experiences in the United States,…

Heckman et al. discuss how cost-benefit analysis of prekindergarten education programs demonstrates that the highest per child benefits stem from programs that focus on economically disadvantaged children. Indeed, studies have shown that these children make significant gains in cognition, social-emotional development, and educational performance…

Austin Independent School District provided full-day prekindergarten to 5,196 4-year-olds in 2008-2009 at 66 schools. Seventy percent or more of students made measureable gains on a test of receptive vocabulary, and average gains showed growth about two times greater than that expected for 4-year-olds after a 7-month period.

This practicum paper describes the design and implementation of a workshop series which acquainted parents with the growth and development of preschool children. The program was developed because the children of these parents attended a day care center which had no systematic means of providing parents with information about children's…

This book reports some of the results of an extensive study of the physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional development of Malaysian children. Chapter 1 of the book describes the demographics of the sample. Subjects were 3,099 preschool children in the state of Selangor and the federal district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data is…

This guide for teenage mothers discusses the needs of the mother and her child during the first year of the child's life. Information on the child's and the mother's behavior and emotions just after the child's birth is presented. Also presented is information on the following: procuring items needed for tending the baby; playing; crying; breast…

This publication focuses on the challenges faced by modern societies as they seek to plan for competing in the global economy, educating the population for new competencies, maintaining the social fabric for nurturing and socializing the next generation, and providing opportunities for the health and well-being of all citizens. Emphasis is placed…

The Observational Study of Early Childhood Programs, which examined 119 preschool programs in 5 states, was designed to describe the classroom experiences of economically or educationally disadvantaged 4-year-olds and to examine linkages between characteristics of early childhood programs and activities of children and teachers in the classroom.…