Features a self-quiz on school readiness introducing the skills children need to succeed in school. Discusses the caregiver's and teacher's role in creating an environment where children can develop the necessary traits of independence, compassion, trust, creativity, self-control, and perseverance. Delineates how these readiness skills also…

Reviews educational software award winners based on criteria that include quality of presentation and design, classroom usability, and support documentation. Subject categories include preschool/readiness, language arts, math, science, social studies/history, ESL (English as a Second Language), and reference. A directory of software publishers is…

Reports on a study of the impact of nursery school/preschool education on primary school readiness and achievement of 1,800 English and Welsh children. Finds significant positive effects in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. Discusses the effects of nursery school versus playgroup experience and the role of socioeconomic status. (CFR)

Examines the impact of children's attendance at preschool on teaching and learning in 77 low-income Hawaiian families' homes. Data from the families (18 participating in a year-long series of interviews) illustrate the development of 2 parental scripts, 1 for skills used in the home, and 1 for preparation for school. (SLD)

Discusses ways for early childhood professionals to meet the objectives contained in the first of the National Education Goals for the Year 2000: the goal concerning readiness for school. (BB)

Goals 2000 is the offspring of "A Nation at Risk," a 1983 teacher- and school-bashing report. IBM CEO Louis Gerstner named the problem and defined the solution, claiming the need for choice, competition, and technology, recasting students as human capital, and marketizing the teacher/community relationship. Tables summarize critics'…

Even though children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be reliably identified by autism experts at 18 months, and the majority of parents report symptoms before age 2, the average age of diagnosis for children with autism in the United States is 3 to 4 years of age. Early identification is especially vital given the growing amount of…

This study seeks to discover whether beginning kindergarteners vary in early literacy readiness according to their county's metro/nonmetropolitan status, county-level economic and social characteristics, individual demographic characteristics, family social capital resources, and preschool childcare. Using student-level data from the Early…

This resource book, compiled by the Society for Developmental Education (SDE), focuses on the child-centered classroom, providing articles and suggestions for strengthening child-centered education. The seven sections of the book are as follows: (1) "For Discussion," including debates on class size and inclusion; (2) "Readiness/Kindergarten,"…

The five chapters in this handbook, intended for parents of children entering kindergarten for the first time, offer suggestions about how parents can help their child get ready for school and make starting kindergarten a successful and happy event. Chapter 1 describes when learning begins and offers tips for helping children who are starting…

The first section of this book of proceedings contains the text of the conference's opening keynote speech by Edward Zigler and six other special sessions. The second section presents the texts of 61 symposia, divided into nine topical areas. Topics are "Head Start Partnerships, Research, Practice, and Policy,""ACYF Research,…

Three sets of roles that libraries play in education are identified. Each of the roles is explained, accompanied by relevant statistics and examples. In the first place, libraries provide access to education by teaching information skills, by providing leadership and expertise in the use of information and information technologies, and by…

Intended for teachers working to improve social skills for young children K-3 who are moving from the self-centered period of early childhood into the other-centered world of the classroom, this book presents a curriculum of social skills, a teaching methodology, and specific lessons drawn from the experience of classroom teachers. The book is…

Using a subsample of data relating to 4,668 first- and second-graders and their families from the 1991 National Household Education Survey, a study examined different ways of measuring whether a child is behind in grade and compared these measures with data about children who are below modal grade levels. Several profiles emerged. Children delayed…

This paper critically examines evaluations of the effects of early childhood development programs in Third World countries. Introductory comments underscoring the importance of preschool interventions for the improvement of primary schools are followed by a section explaining the paper's analytical framework, which posits an interactive…