Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services

Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781446252048
Category : Child care services
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Get Book Here

Book Description
Q̀uality' has become a priority issue for all concerned with early childhood care & education services. Starting from the premise that q̀uality' is a relative & dynamic concept based on values & beliefs, this text examines how the definitions of quality are established & who is involved in their establishment.

Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services

Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781446252048
Category : Child care services
Languages : en
Pages : 183

Get Book Here

Book Description
Q̀uality' has become a priority issue for all concerned with early childhood care & education services. Starting from the premise that q̀uality' is a relative & dynamic concept based on values & beliefs, this text examines how the definitions of quality are established & who is involved in their establishment.

Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services

Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services PDF Author: Peter Moss
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1446266257
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Get Book Here

Book Description
`Not only does this book offer a great deal of insight into evaluating early childhood services, it also provides a focal point for those interested in establishing goals, objectives and evaluation criteria for their own early childhood programmes′ - Early Years `Quality′ has become a priority issue for all concerned with early childhood care and education services. Starting from the premise that `quality′ is a relative and dynamic concept based on values and beliefs, Valuing Quality in Early Childhood Services examines how the definitions of quality are established and who is involved in their establishment. The book advocates that the process should involve a range of stakeholder groups, including children, parents, staff, care providers, researchers, employers and the community. A key issue that emerges is the need for new and creative approaches to the development of an inclusionary process in the definitions and attainment of quality care.

Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care

Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care PDF Author: Gunilla Dahlberg
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113411351X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book challenges received wisdom and the tendency to reduce philosophical issues of value to purely technical issues of measurement and management.

Eager to Learn

Eager to Learn PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309068363
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Get Book Here

Book Description
Clearly babies come into the world remarkably receptive to its wonders. Their alertness to sights, sounds, and even abstract concepts makes them inquisitive explorersâ€"and learnersâ€"every waking minute. Well before formal schooling begins, children's early experiences lay the foundations for their later social behavior, emotional regulation, and literacy. Yet, for a variety of reasons, far too little attention is given to the quality of these crucial years. Outmoded theories, outdated facts, and undersized budgets all play a part in the uneven quality of early childhood programs throughout our country. What will it take to provide better early education and care for our children between the ages of two and five? Eager to Learn explores this crucial question, synthesizing the newest research findings on how young children learn and the impact of early learning. Key discoveries in how young children learn are reviewed in language accessible to parents as well as educators: findings about the interplay of biology and environment, variations in learning among individuals and children from different social and economic groups, and the importance of health, safety, nutrition and interpersonal warmth to early learning. Perhaps most significant, the book documents how very early in life learning really begins. Valuable conclusions and recommendations are presented in the areas of the teacher-child relationship, the organization and content of curriculum, meeting the needs of those children most at risk of school failure, teacher preparation, assessment of teaching and learning, and more. The book discusses: Evidence for competing theories, models, and approaches in the field and a hard look at some day-to-day practices and activities generally used in preschool. The role of the teacher, the importance of peer interactions, and other relationships in the child's life. Learning needs of minority children, children with disabilities, and other special groups. Approaches to assessing young children's learning for the purposes of policy decisions, diagnosis of educational difficulties, and instructional planning. Preparation and continuing development of teachers. Eager to Learn presents a comprehensive, coherent picture of early childhood learning, along with a clear path toward improving this important stage of life for all children.

Starting Strong II Early Childhood Education and Care

Starting Strong II Early Childhood Education and Care PDF Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 926403546X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 445

Get Book Here

Book Description
This review of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in twenty OECD countries describes the social, economic, conceptual and research factors that influence early childhood policy.

The Early Years Matter

The Early Years Matter PDF Author: Marilou Hyson
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 0807755583
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Get Book Here

Book Description
This accessible and enaging work introduces current and future teachers, child care providers, and others interested in early childhood education to the importance for the early years in children's well-being and success. It summarizes their research on the value of high-quality services for young children, families, and society, showing why early education matters both today and into the future. Emphasizing the need to understand and respect young children's strengths and unique characteristics, the authors offer inspiration for working in the field, as well as addressing the realistic challenges of implementing developmentally appropriate care and education.

Sustaining Early Childhood Learning Gains

Sustaining Early Childhood Learning Gains PDF Author: Arthur J. Reynolds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108425925
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 387

Get Book Here

Book Description
Leading scholars synthesize knowledge on how gains from early childhood programs and practices are initiated, increased, and sustained.

Abecedarian

Abecedarian PDF Author: Craig T. Ramey
Publisher: Sociometrics Corporation
ISBN: 9781478114888
Category : Child development
Languages : en
Pages : 364

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a history and practical guide about The Abecedarian Project, an early education experiment launched in 1971 and then replicated in multiple other studies. The Abecedarian Approach is evidence-informed and "total child" in the way it promotes learning and positive academic and social outcomes for children who begin life "at risk" due to social or biological factors. The Abecedarian Project is a landmark study conducted in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with 111 children born into extremely impoverished life circumstances. The intervention involved intensive learning and social-emotional supports, starting in infancy and continuing until at least kindergarten entry, for children and their families. For the first-time ever, this book brings together all of the key details of this scientific and educational project so that community leaders, educators, policymakers, and parents know exactly what the "Abecedarian Approach" means. This book provides a down-to-earth blueprint for how to use and adapt the Abecedarian Approach for different groups of children and families living in many diverse communities in today's rapidly changing world. The book emphasizes how to actively engage young children and their families so that children receive the full range of enriching, growth-promoting experiences they need to be well-prepared for school entry and later achievement in academic and personal-social areas. The Abecedarian Approach has been used successfully in center-based care, home visiting programs, family day homes, and public school pre-K settings. Today, the Abecedarian Approach is one of the few evidence-based, proven programs that integrates basic principles of human learning and development into a fun, affordable, and effective approach to early childhood education. Reviews for the book include:"For the first time, by the foremost scholars and originators of Abecedarian, we have a top-notch, thorough review of its efforts and accomplishments that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. Laden with the extraordinary insight and vision that characterizes Abecedarian itself, this volume retells the inside story of America's leading effort to implement and evaluate our nation's premier program for young children and families. Practitioners, policy makers, and scholars will find this an outstanding, eminently usable, and indispensable recapitulation of what we thought we knew....but didn't really!!! It's the inside "take" on a national effort in which we all should take great pride." -Sharon Lynn Kagan, EdD, Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy; Co-Director, National Center for Children & Families; Professor Adjunct, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University "Abecedarian: The Ideas, the Approach, and the Findings is a book of enormous historical and contemporary significance because it clearly provides the "why" and the "what" behind the findings of Abecedarian's remarkable success in helping children thrive. It is must reading for every early childhood educator and for all who care about children's futures." -Ellen Galinsky, President, Families and Work Institute; Author, Mind in the Making "Over the past few decades, the findings from the Abecedarian Project have been so useful in educating legislators and the business community about the importance of high quality programs and supports for young children and their families. Now, educators and researchers get to hear the whole story surrounding the approach and research. If policymakers, including legislators and school board members, would read and act upon what they learn from this book, our youngest, most venerable children would all have a chance to be successful in life. A MUST READ for all of us!" -Kathy R. Thornburg, PhD, Director, Center for Family Policy & Research, University of Missouri

Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood Education

Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood Education PDF Author: Gunilla Dahlberg
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415280426
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Get Book Here

Book Description
Drawing on a range of early childhood services, particularly the 'Reggio approach', this book presents essential ideas, theories and debates to an international audience and explores the ethical and political dimensions in this field.

Early Childhood Assessment

Early Childhood Assessment PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309124654
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 501

Get Book Here

Book Description
The assessment of young children's development and learning has recently taken on new importance. Private and government organizations are developing programs to enhance the school readiness of all young children, especially children from economically disadvantaged homes and communities and children with special needs. Well-planned and effective assessment can inform teaching and program improvement, and contribute to better outcomes for children. This book affirms that assessments can make crucial contributions to the improvement of children's well-being, but only if they are well designed, implemented effectively, developed in the context of systematic planning, and are interpreted and used appropriately. Otherwise, assessment of children and programs can have negative consequences for both. The value of assessments therefore requires fundamental attention to their purpose and the design of the larger systems in which they are used. Early Childhood Assessment addresses these issues by identifying the important outcomes for children from birth to age 5 and the quality and purposes of different techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.