The purpose of Even Start, as outlined in federal legislation, is to help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy by providing a unified family literacy program for low-income families. Even Start has three related goals: (1) to help parents improve their literacy or basic education skills; (2) to help parents become full…

The UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities (CHCFC) has developed the School Readiness Critical Pathways (SRCPs) as an evidence-based conceptual model that links related outcomes and strategies. This helps to organize an array of broad and diffuse evidence regarding the strategies that produce school readiness outcomes for…

This guide provides kindergarten teachers and administrators with practical advice on implementing the Alberta Learning "Kindergarten Program Statement" in their classrooms and schools in the Canadian province of Alberta. Chapter 1 of the guide includes information about kindergarten in Alberta, the developmental characteristics of most…

In part, this focus is a result of substantial research demonstrating strong links between early social competence and later life adjustment and healthy development. The close connection between prosocial skills and a wide variety of future developmental outcomes provides a compelling rationale to examine what factors are associated with…

Helping children do well in school prepares them for a successful future, both in school and in life. This is one of a series of handbooks that Alberta Education developed, in the Curriculum Handbook for Parents series, to help parents understand what children will learn in the classroom, as well as the education goals set for the school year.…

Recognizing that all parents encounter challenges in raising their children, this book presents practical strategies for solving common behavior problems. Chapter 1, "Bonding," concerns the development of parent-child attachment. Chapter 2, "Encouraging Development," discusses "hot-housing," language development, and…

This book overviews the process by which Mexican American children are socialized to the dominant Anglo American society and analyzes a 1973-76 study and 1983-86 follow-up of Mexican American college students regarding their knowledge of their own race and ethnicity and their attitudes toward the White race and culture. The chapters are: chapter…

With this Career and Technology Studies (CTS) curriculum guide, secondary students in Alberta can do the following: develop skills that can be applied in their daily lives; refine career-planning skills; develop technology-related skills in community health; enhance employability skills, especially in community health; and apply and reinforce…

Some early childhood educators have proposed that the knowledge base used to inform the early education field actually serves to support the status quo, reinforces prejudices and stereotypes, and ignores the real lives of children. The purpose of this book is to deconstruct early childhood education, identifying and evaluating the themes and forms…

Those who advocate for developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) do so based on the conviction that these classroom practices enhance children's development and facilitate learning. This ERIC Digest examines recent research on DAP and social-emotional and cognitive development, and describes what we have learned about DAP in early childhood…

This guide provides a review of the characteristics of children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or possible prenatal alcohol-related effects (PPAE) and describes specific intervention strategies. Section 1 offers a general review of the diagnostic procedures, the prevalence of FAS and the physical, educational, and behavioral characteristics of…

This teaching guide provides teachers of young children with a philosophy and guidelines for teaching that address childrens social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. The guide describes a curriculum that offers teachers guidance, support, and freedom to be creative and responsive with children, and provides children, including those…

Although families are children's primary teachers about sexuality development, early childhood teachers and administrators also support children's healthy sexuality development as they interact with children, work with families, and plan programs. This book provides key information to educators and families about what is typical in young children…

Based on the view that the young child offers an entry point for broader social development, this programming guide engages parents and decision makers in constructive social planning and participation as they develop early childhood care for development (ECCD) programs to improve the care and conditions for children in developing countries. The…

Although our society has made substantial investments in research and programs based on the idea that communities affect families and children, significant questions have emerged about the validity of the link between communities, children, and families. This book, presented in four sections, focuses on how communities undergird or undermine human…