A study examined the incentives and barriers to participation in adult basic education programs for African-Americans in New York City. Data were collected in a series of focus group meetings. Participants were potential students who had contacted but not yet enrolled in a program. They saw strong personal motivation as the essential factor in…

Those who design and develop playgrounds are caught between the desire to provide developmentally appropriate, challenging opportunities for play and the desire to restrict play challenges in order to reduce danger to children or the likelihood of being held liable for injuries. While there can be no argument against accident and injury…

Several questions concerning early childhood education are addressed. These include: (1) How should the curriculum for young children be framed? (2) What are effective intervention strategies for at-risk children? (3) How does the public school need to change to accommodate new responsibilities caused by changes in its mission and clientele?…

This booklet for parents offers examples of key aspects of children's behavior and learning as they develop from birth through the fifth year of age. It provides characteristics of behavior that is likely to occur, of appropriate responses by parents, and of developmental irregularities that need professional attention. Supplemental material…

The three papers in this briefing provide guidance for planners and program designers responding to the child care challenges of the 1990s. Rebecca Maynard explores the child care market for low-income parents, finding that even though family day care is plentiful in low-income areas, child care centers operate at or near capacity, and neither…

The purpose of this paper is to summarize current trends in child abuse prevention and to provide program administrators and policymakers with guidelines for implementing successful new parent programs in their communities. Contents address: (1) the scope of the child abuse problem; (2) a theoretical framework or conceptual model for use in…

This book for state early childhood licensing administrators addresses the problem of obtaining systematic and reliable information about the operation of an early childhood or child care program. The book: (1) provides an introduction to early childhood program evaluation; (2) describes systematic observation techniques; (3) discusses summative…

Strategies for locating quality educational leaders and assessing candidates applying by an alternate route are presented in this pamphlet. Criteria for evaluating alternative credentials are identified, which include teaching and learning ability, leadership experience, education, personal attributes, and understanding of the social and…

This booklet features a checklist designed to help persons who are involved in providing direct services to culturally diverse, young special needs children to assess their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior toward these children. The booklet also contains suggestions and lists of print, film, and filmstrip resources for developing a school program…

Designed to guide church groups interested in opening and operating day care and preschool centers, this book offers a view of such centers as extensions of the church. Contents of the volume are divided into four parts devoted to (1) getting a church early childhood education program started, (2) administering the center, (3) operating the new…

Written for parents, this guide offers suggestions for using the newspaper at home to practice reading skills, to discover new information, and to teach critical reading. Activities in the guide are arranged according to grade level (kindergarten through grade two, grades one through three, grades four through six, and grades seven through twelve)…

This fourth revision of the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) of the National Education Association (NEA) outlines NEA policy and regulations and incorporates quantitative information on current NEA employment levels and hiring goals for women and minorities. A brief policy statement is followed by a review of objectives, including the general…

One approach to the implementation of community education is to solicit involvement and support for the idea from the informal power structure. The first step is to identify the informal power structure; one method is the reputational technique, in which selected members of a variety of organizations each nominate at least five people who have…

Sexual abuse of children in the United States is far more pervasive than most educators realize, with studies estimating up to 500,000 annual occurrences. This revised resource and planning guide for Wisconsin schools should help districts deal with sexual abuse on school premises and suspicion of this behavior off campus. While the guide cannot…

This document contains three papers on conservation which were presented at the 1986 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference. In "The IFLA Conservation Section and the Core Programme for Preservation (PAC)," David W. G. Clements of the United Kingdom outlines the background of the Core Programme on Preservation…