High-quality early care and education (ECE) programs promote positive child outcomes, allow parents to work, and contribute to the local economy. Although extant research takes into account the ECE sector in its entirety, recent economic and policy interest has centered on part-day prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds only. Using an ecological…

In this article, we review the literature on siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from a lifespan developmental perspective, from infancy through adulthood, focusing on the sibling relationship and sibling well-being. We situate this review within the larger body of research on siblings of individuals with developmental…

This study is concerned with experiences of ethnic identity amongst a group of three-year-old and four-year-old children, four-fifths of whom are of Pakistani heritage and the remainder of white indigenous heritage. Focused on a nursery school in the United Kingdom, the study explores the relationship between the individual and the social and…

The Early ON School Readiness Project is an emerging community-based model aimed at promoting the school readiness of 3- to 5-year-old children in a metropolitan area with a predominantly Latino (Mexican-American) population. Using an ecological approach, the multi-component program seeks to enhance school readiness opportunities for children at…

Background: Early intervention programmes can minimize the negative impacts of poverty on children's development and learning. The success of these programmes relies on considering several interrelated components, including, but not limited to, working with parents as partners, using a holistic approach in educating children and supporting…

Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence…

Best practice is based on knowledge--not on beliefs or guesses--about how children learn and develop. This volume contains 20 overviews of research on aspects of young children's social, emotional, cognitive, or physical development, as well as how the findings can be applied in the classroom. Originally "Research in Review" articles in NAEYC's…

The report provides an annual report and financial review for 1994 of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, a private institution that was created for broad humanitarian purposes in 1949, and shows the varied aspects of the foundation's activities in the project field. In addition, it includes a number of feature articles which highlight specific…

This paper discusses the relationship between Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and cooperative learning. Vygotsky (1896-1934), a Russian psychologist, formulated a theory that children first develop lower mental functions such as simple perceptions, associative learning, and involuntary attention; then, through social interactions with…

Papers in this volume explore indicators of children's well-being in the following areas: cross-cutting issues; population, family, and neighborhood; and social development and problem behaviors. The first section includes: (1) "Potential and Problems in Developing Indicators on Child Well-Being from Administrative Data" (Robert M.…

For adults, fear of death is universal, but young children are exposed to realities of death only infrequently and are often shielded from it by parents. Because parents realize the extent of a child's fear of losing a parent, parents sometimes take precautionary steps, such as avoiding both parents' travelling on the same airplane or designating…

Resilience is the capacity of a person to do well facing difficult conditions in life. This implies capacities of resistance and of positive construction. Discovering the ways to contribute to resilience in children can begin with examination of resilient children. Research has suggested five interlinking bases for resilience: (1) social support…

Research from around the world confirms the strong relationship between home environments and children's school learning. This handbook describes the changes that have been occurring in society and the implications of these changes for the family's relationship with the school. It reviews studies that examined the relationships between the home…

Research on academic subject selection and socialization for girls and boys suggests that a gender imbalance exists in the education of children. This imbalance often results in problems of low self-esteem and a limited sense of career options as children age. Adults in early childhood classrooms need to implement a program in which the teacher is…

This paper examines the needs of adolescent mothers and their infants and describes innovative programs designed to meet those needs. It discusses characteristics of adolescent mothers, including their educational level, their obstetric performance, their parenting practices, and the socioeconomic consequences of early parenthood. The paper then…