Children in foster care face a challenging journey through childhood. In addition to the troubling family circumstances that bring them into state care, they face additional difficulties within the child welfare system that may further compromise their healthy development. This article discusses the importance of safety and stability to healthy…

Available evidence indicates that a substantial majority of young children with intellectual delays exhibit special problems in forming peer relationships and developing friendships. This increased social isolation from peers poses a considerable threat to their mental health in both the short and long term. This problem is related to but extends…

The manner in which we relate and behave towards one another can be analysed in political and social terms. Significantly, in the examination of children's spirituality, the concept of relational consciousness has revealed how early we become aware of people and phenomena beyond ourselves. But our desire to relate and behave reasonably towards…

"Every Child Matters" is a major change programme aimed at integrating all services for children and young people in England. It seeks to enable a new holistic approach to their care and so improve a number of outcomes for children, thus improving their overall well-being. "Every Child Matters" seeks to address the rights of…

Although substantial scholarship of a theoretical and empirical nature has accumulated on the young child's developing self-concept, scholars have not to any great extent examined the child's self-knowledge as a spontaneously occurring process-in-action. This paper highlights findings of empirical research as well as classroom vignettes, personal…

An asset-based approach is being championed by the field of child and youth care work, focusing on strengths as opposed to weaknesses, assets as opposed to deficits. This article highlights the Search Institute's theoretically-based and empirically-supported model of developmental assets (Benson, Leffert, Scales, & Blyth, 1998; Scales, Benson,…

Children and youth require safe and supportive schools and communities if they are to succeed in school and thrive. These needs are particularly great for children who struggle with the impacts of chronic poverty, lead poisoning and lead effect, community and media violence, drugs and alcohol, trauma and loss. There are many such students in…

Drawing on current research and best practices, this second part of the three-part resource, "Supporting Positive Behaviour in Alberta Schools," provides information and strategies for systematically teaching, supporting and reinforcing positive behaviour in the classroom. A proactive approach to classroom management is designed to…

Research Findings: Integrated services for young children and families are part of the new policy landscape in early childhood, but there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of these programs and how they develop on the ground. This study examined the use of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as both a summative program evaluation tool…

This descriptive, quantitative study examined the effects of participation in a 1-year Early Start Preschool Program for 4-year-olds in a state that requires annual testing at the end of select grades. This study focused primarily on achievement through grade 3. As no study has evaluated the effectiveness of the program, this research examined…

The present study investigated a schools partnership program that has achieved an unusually high level of reintegration of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) from a special school to neighbourhood mainstream schools. The study explores, through a qualitative methodology, the perspectives of mainstream and special school staff. Factors…

This article details the challenges that UC Merced faced in building up the critical areas of student and residence life. The new institution held great promise for achieving the ideal of a student-centered university, but certain bedrock problems proved difficult to overcome. One was that at the beginning, both administration and faculty saw…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

This book examines the developmental functions of social pretend play (SPP), asserting that SPP is salient in the formation of both social interaction skills and friendships from the toddler period into middle childhood. Part 1 discusses the mastery of the communication of meaning in SPP and presents three studies on the relationship between…

This paper discusses the importance of parent involvement in middle schools, focusing on the increasing need for such involvement in today's society. It examines the development of the parent-student and teacher-student relationship, and considers the importance of the parent-teacher relationship in relation to the student's development and…