Pre-school & Kindergarten books

University-based child development laboratory programs have a long and rich history. Since their inception in the mid-1920's they have played a vital role in adding to our expanding knowledge base on child development and early childhood education. In addition to their instrumental functions in the generation of new knowledge, these programs have played significant roles in the professional development of future early childhood educators. Through a variety of mechanisms these programs provide students with opportunities to begin applying the theory and knowledge being presented in college courses to actual practice in working with programs serving young children and their families. In recent years campuses have reconsidered, reconceptualized, and restructured the ways in which these laboratory programs fit within the agendas and missions of the universities where they are located, the local communities surrounding the universities, and the child development and early childhood education professions in general. The purpose of this volume is to present papers that identify emerging issues and challenges facing child development laboratory programs nationwide as they seek to solidify the roles they play within the child development and early childhood education fields. A goal of the volume is to present a collection of papers that can facilitate a dialogue among professionals on the ways in which child development laboratory programs can continue their important contributions toward the generation of new knowledge in child development and early childhood education, as well as support the professional development of students preparing for careers in these fields.

This is the ninth volume in an annual series designed to provide an academic forum for the publication of original research, critical reviews and conceptual analyses of theoretical and substantive issues related to the education, care and development of young children.

Education, according to John Dewey, should be viewed as dynamic and ongoing with direct teaching of integrated content knowledge. This volume offers readers an examination of the content areas in early childhood curriculum that honor Dewey's belief in active, integrated learning. When young children learn in a way that is most natural to them, they unconsciously integrate subject areas into a complex whole based on their current interests. The ability to apply and integrate academic skills such as language arts, numeracy, scientific investigation, social studies, technology, and health and physical education is key to building capacity for future learning. Teachers who follow this method of teaching view curriculum as a fully spun web that incorporates a number of subject matter components at one time, and ensure that the content areas are taught. Topics addressed in this volume include: The role of STEM, teacher preparation, communication and technology.

This annual series is designed to provide an academic forum for the publication of original research, critical reviews and conceptual analyses of theoretical and substantive issues related to the education, care and development of young children. The series is intended to stimulate research and to enhance communication among scholars in early childhood education, child development, social work, public administration and related fields. This volume reflects debates in the field about the relative weight given to disciplines in a field acknowledged to be interdisciplinary. It seeks to reflect the complexity of the early childhood education enterprise - classroom practice, teacher preparation, research and conceptualization in all its phases. It also reflects the deep scholarly roots that contribute to our thinking and that may link our thinking with practice. This book is intended for a broad audience of researchers, teacher educator and pre- and in-service teachers. Its purpose is to define prevailing orientations and to solidify significant issues distilled from a broad body of literature.