As part of Louisiana's efforts to expand and improve the quality of its early childhood programs, a committee of educators from across the state collaborated to develop standards for programs serving 4-year-olds. This guide presents program standards to assist the ongoing development, evaluation, and improvement of early childhood center-based…

This document is comprised of three publications of the early childhood section of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: (1) prekindergarten mathematics standards; (2) a teacher's guide for early mathematics; and (3) a parent's handbook for early mathematics. The standards, developed by a broad-based group of individuals…

Asks theoretical questions about child development and how to define quality contexts for it in light of New Zealand's requirement that early childhood education meet quality criteria. Discusses principles that should underlie good programs, including a sociocultural theory of development and children's interactions with both teachers and peers.…

Based in the belief that many preschool programs have an orientation toward a developmental philosophy yet are not developmentally appropriate in program practices, this discussion contrasts developmentally and psychometrically oriented approaches, reviews literature on program design and children's needs, and provides guidelines in the areas of…

Lectures often emphasize rote learning rather than critical thinking. Topics are discussed sequentially, not critically. The teacher does the talking and most of the thinking. The student memorizes material and is placed in a passive role. But many teachers who use the lecture should also be concerned that their students learn to think critically.…

There is a growing consensus among educators that a major reason why traditional curriculum approaches have failed is that they are not based on knowledge of what is age-appropriate or individually appropriate for young children. This book provides practitioners with a practical framework for making curriculum effective and responsive for children…

This document is comprised of five publications of the early childhood section of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: (1) prekindergarten literacy standards; (2) a teacher's guide to prekindergarten literacy standards; (3) a parent handbook regarding early literacy; (4) a Spanish-language version of the parent handbook;…