Considers policy and practice issues concerning public school-based and school-operated prekindergarten programs. Issues discussed include developmentally appropriate programs, teacher qualifications, turnover and retention, parent involvement, ethnic and racial representation among staff, and comprehensive and competing services. (BB)

Considers effects of culture, health status, socioeconomic status, family structure, and biological factors on minority infants' development. (PCB)

Describes results of a statewide survey of child care needs of Kentucky parents. Findings provide insights into the different child care needs and resources of urban and rural families. Indicates that Kentucky parents are receptive to newly defined, publicly sponsored programs for children. (BB)

Presents several day care and preschool program directors' solutions to the problem of finding substitute teachers. (BB)

Students in a summer leadership training course responded to questions about aspects of leadership in the year 2000, including leader characteristics, leadership training, preparation for leadership, leadership roles, effects of technological advancement, environmental changes, lifestyles, parent roles, international relations and communications,…

Examines provisions made in Sweden for the education of handicapped and immigrant students and the services offered to their families. Stating that all handicapped persons have the right to receive government services, the article discusses preschool education, day nurseries, mother-tongue language activities, family services, and courses for…

A model of service learning that can serve as a vehicle for teaching, research, and community service is suggested to college faculty. Two such projects are described: a project providing parent education to young families while researching effectiveness of temperament education, and an intergenerational program to determine whether community…

This series of papers examines the role of play from various angles, discussing play as an essential human function and universal experience, the role of play in developing cultural values and awareness, a symbolic interactionist view of play, early therapeutic recreation specialists, and the direction of commercialized play. (SM)

Maintains that, among black and white men born between 1907 and 1946, family background accounts for at least half the variance in educational attainment. Reports on a study of 14,711 males to determine the educational attainments of men and their brothers among blacks and whites across time. (CFR)

Evaluation of a program that traveled to various sites in rural New Mexico to evaluate special education students for augmentative and alternative communication needs revealed that parents and teachers were positive about the quality of services provided. Additionally, graduate students involved in providing services were positive about their…

Describes a qualitative research study that analyzed the impact and effectiveness of a kindergarten through grade-three mathematics distance education course on Spanish- and English-speaking children, parents, and teachers. Implications for curriculum, implementation of innovation, costs, media, and school effectiveness are discussed. (LRW)

Reports on research with preschool caregivers, primary grade teachers, and home caregivers of 605 young children on the role the visual arts play in early childhood education. Finds that parents and personnel at day care centers and nursery schools were sensitive to, and positive about, the role and significance of visual arts. (CFR)

Maintains that, although teaching methods courses prepare prospective teachers for curriculum development, lesson planning, and instructional strategies, the first-year music teacher encounters many new and difficult situations. Presents eight guidelines for surviving and enjoying the first year of teaching. (CFR)

Cites data from 214 welfare families to support the argument that tougher child-support enforcement can reduce welfare dependency. Suggests that the best way to mend the child-support system for welfare-reliant children is to create a system that takes into account the real-life situations of mothers and fathers, as well as norms regarding…

Parent-reported problems and competencies for national samples of 2,600 children and youth assessed at intake into mental health services were compared with 2,600 demographically matched nonreferred children assessed in a home interview study. Age, gender, regional, ethnic, and socioeconomic comparisons drawn from a new questionnaire are…