Purpose and Methods: This report is the second benchmark study to assess the system of supports for school readiness. The data for this study was collected in the fall of 2006 on 537 entering kindergarten children and their families in eight representative schools across the County. The ecological model and methods from the first study, which was…

This book presents the Contextual Systems Model (CSM), a theoretical framework for the study and education of young children at risk for failing at formal schooling. Chapter 1, "Contemporary Children and Risk," provides a demographic snapshot of the realities of children's lives and introduces formal concepts regarding risk and risk…

This longitudinal study examined the effects on children of three kindergarten schedules: half day, alternate day, and full day. A secondary purpose was to examine the relationship between preschool attendance and subsequent school performance. Two additional variables thought to be related to school success were also explored: children's gender,…

Written for parents and for professionals working with children and their parents, this book demonstrates that children's social development must be given paramount importance in order for them to achieve long-term school success. The book shows parents how to be effective caregivers by knowing what to realistically expect from a child based on a…

This report examines educational statistics in each of the 15 states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), comparing them to past SREB figures and to national averages in order to establish benchmarks and goals for educational performance. Major areas covered include: (1) Head Start enrollment; (2) eighth-grade math…

In structure and in function, the Japanese high school entrance examination--as exemplified by data from Chiba prefecture in 1986--survives as a prewar hierarchical cultural pattern. Postwar American occupation reforms offered "democratic education" in the form of a single-track system with 9 years of compulsory schooling; such a system,…

Existing enrollment and financial assistance data for Frontier School Division and provincial school students were examined to identify trends and factors in secondary and postsecondary school participation and to suggest strategies for increasing postsecondary accessibility and participation. Figures for 1977-1982 indicated that 25-30% of…

Steven Barnett and Clive Belfield examine the effects of preschool education on social mobility in the United States. They note that under current policy three- and four-year-old children from economically and educationally disadvantaged families have higher preschool attendance rates than other children. But current programs fail to enroll even…

This first annual report on the "Condition of Education in Ohio 2004" provides in-depth data about the students who are served by Ohio's elementary and secondary educational system and how well they are performing. This report provides educators, policymakers and researchers with a comprehensive picture of Ohio's kindergarten through…

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…

Young people are facing greater risks to their current and future health and social development, as shown by involvement of younger and younger children in risk-taking behaviors. This volume emphasizes developmentally and contextually appropriate prevention service delivery models and identifies state-of-the-art, empirically based strategies to…

As states respond to major welfare legislation in providing assistance and other interventions to help adults on welfare become ready to work, the challenge of helping these adults in their parenting skills and in promoting resilience in their children has often been ignored. This issue brief addresses the challenge of promoting resilience in…

Noting that kindergarten is a time of dramatic change for parents as well as for the kindergarten child, this book presents information on a variety of topics related to kindergarten education. The book is based on interviews with kindergarten teachers, principals, parents, and several experts from higher education involved in kindergarten…

Many young children in immigrant families do not have good access to health and education services. To the extent that their life prospects are compromised as a result, these children--and the entire society--suffer. This article discusses the needs of children from birth to age eight, with a particular focus on the education needs of young…

In 1999, the Board of Commissioners of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, joined with 21 philanthropic foundations and private funders, as well as nearly 80 community service agencies, to form a public-private partnership that would launch an early childhood initiative, Invest in Children, as a comprehensive system of care focused on improving the…