"Te Whaariki," the "draft guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in [New Zealand] early childhood services," constitutes a set of principles which can guide practice, rather than a structure for curriculum planning. The guidelines have the potential to provide a theoretical rationale for the application of the…

Describes the development and implementation of the Activating Children through Technology (ACTT) computer curriculum in Parents and Child Together (PACT) Head Start classrooms in Springfield, Illinois. (BB)

An early childhood resource teacher implemented a practicum intervention designed to improve the school attendance of at-risk kindergartners and first and second graders in a low-income, inner-city area in central Florida. The intervention involved the transformation of self-contained, graded classrooms into primary units comprised of multi-age…

Maintains that many early childhood educators are apt to practice nice thinking rather critical thinking when, in fact, the latter would clear their heads and inform practice. This position is supported by examples of teachers' uses of such terms as "home-school cooperation,""planning," and "curriculum." (BB)

In fall, 1988, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in Alexandria, Virginia selected 12 districts to comprise an Early Childhood Consortium. Consortium members attended two meetings a year for 3 years; received assistance in such areas as child-centered instruction and developmental curricula; planned an exemplary…

The purpose of this book is to illuminate issues and concerns about decisions that administrators and teachers must make regarding their preschool programs. To that end, the book provides insights on the theory, research, and practice of preschool education. Individual papers concern: (1) a comprehensive overview of preschool practices; (2) what…

Discusses the development of a webbed curriculum at the preschool level. The teacher develops the curriculum by observing children, documenting their recurring interests and the themes of their activities, and integrating and connecting class activities. (BB)

Education in South Africa has mirrored the inequality and socio-political upheaval that has marked that country's history since the official establishment of apartheid in 1948. This paper provides a brief summary of some of the main issues impacting education in South Africa, a description of Fish Hoek Middle School just south of Capetown, an…

This chapter is a part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District…