Challenging the normative paradigm that school readiness is a positive and necessary objective for all young children, this book asserts that the concept is a deficit-based practice that fosters the continuation of discriminatory classifications. Tager draws on findings of a qualitative study to reveal how the neoliberal agenda of school reform based on high-stakes testing sorts and labels children as non-ready, affecting their overall schooling careers. Tager reflects critically on the relationship between race and school readiness, showing how the resulting exclusionary measures perpetuate the marginalization of low-income Black children from an early age. Disrupting expected notions of readiness is imperative to ending practices of structural classism and racism in early childhood education.

The concept of ‘readiness for school’ is attractive to policy-makers, but many academics, researchers and practitioners argue that an early start to formal learning may be misguided. This book introduces readers to an increasing body of evidence which demonstrates that young children need opportunities to learn and develop in environments that support their emotional and cognitive needs, offering opportunities to develop autonomy, competence and self-regulation skills. With advice on implementing research findings in practice, this book provides clear guidance on how to foster and develop these attributes, scaffold steps into new areas of learning and support children in facing new challenges. Chapters cover: Policy and discourses; Taking account of development; Approaches to Early Years Learning; The Diversity of Children’s Early Experiences; Transitions and starting school; Where to in the Future? Exploring the Contexts for Early Learning will be essential reading for students, practitioners, policy-makers and all those interested in the school readiness agenda.

Challenging the normative paradigm that school readiness is a positive and necessary objective for all young children, this book asserts that the concept is a deficit-based practice that fosters the continuation of discriminatory classifications. Tager draws on findings of a qualitative study to reveal how the neoliberal agenda of school reform based on high-stakes testing sorts and labels children as non-ready, affecting their overall schooling careers. Tager reflects critically on the relationship between race and school readiness, showing how the resulting exclusionary measures perpetuate the marginalization of low-income Black children from an early age. Disrupting expected notions of readiness is imperative to ending practices of structural classism and racism in early childhood education.

Discussed are recommendations of California's 1987 School Readiness Task Force for the education of children 4 through 6 years of age. Recommendations call for: (1) provision of an appropriate, integrated, experiential curriculum; (2) reduction of class size; (3) provision of programs that meet the special needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students and of exceptional children; (4) implementation of classroom organization and teaching methods that reflect the heterogeneous skills and abilities of early primary children; (5) provision of appropriate education, training, and remuneration to staff; (6) inclusion of an option for full-day programs; (7) provision of before- and after-school child care or links with child development programs; (8) drastic alteration of child assessment methods; (9) provision of funding and support; (10) the building or remodeling of facilities for the purpose of meeting the needs of early primary programs; (11) encouragement of parental involvement; and (12) implementation of a public awareness campaign that describes appropriate educational practices for children. Estimates of the fiscal impact of the recommendations are included at the end of the report. (RH)

Public education begins with kindergarten for most children, but an estimated 1 million prekindergarten children are also in public schools, and the number is increasing. In December 1997, the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement convened a group of national, state, and community early childhood and education leaders to discuss the interrelationship between preschool and public education. Meeting participants unanimously agreed on the need to move from the current state of fragmented programs to a coordinated preschool care and education system that is linked with the public school system. Based on discussions at that meeting and on recent related data and research, this publication is intended to provide schools, families, and communities with information and ideas about public school prekindergarten and other preschool care and education initiatives that are linked with public schools. The publication offers insights from meeting participants about public school involvement in early childhood, and provides examples of how states and communities are designing programs to expand and improve preschool care and education. Following an introduction and background information on the meeting, the publication explores the following questions pursued at the meeting: (1) "Why Should Schools Be Involved in Early Childhood?"; (2) "What Roles Should Schools Play in Early Childhood?"; (3) "What Facilitates School Involvement in Early Childhood?"; (4) "What Challenges Do Public Schools Face with Involvement in Early Childhood?"; (5) "What Are the Key Issues for Professional Development?"; and (6) "What Are the Key Research and Evaluation Questions?" The publication concludes with a 52-item bibliography and lists of meeting participants and state early childhood education contacts. (HTH)

In this guide, Baker combines her background in early childhood education with her experience as a youth services programming specialist to present a school readiness program that can be tailored for any public library.

This book challenges traditional conceptions of readiness in early childhood education by sharing concrete examples of practice, policy and histories that rethink readiness. This book seeks to reimagine possible new educational worlds for young children.

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings offer an opportunity to provide children with a solid beginning in all areas of their development. The quality and efficacy of these settings depend largely on the individuals within the ECCE workforce. Policy makers need a complete picture of ECCE teachers and caregivers in order to tackle the persistent challenges facing this workforce. The IOM and the National Research Council hosted a workshop to describe the ECCE workforce and outline its parameters. Speakers explored issues in defining and describing the workforce, the marketplace of ECCE, the effects of the workforce on children, the contextual factors that shape the workforce, and opportunities for strengthening ECCE as a profession.

After more than a century of evolution, early childhood care and education in the United States is in transition. In this frank discussion of the field’s purpose, identity, and responsibility, the authors examine the major issues that must be addressed if children are to be given more and better opportunities. They show how adaptive leadership work can unify the field, create openness to new change strategies, generate a shared vision, and build a viable strategy for its achievement. This provocative volume: Examines the leadership challenges of early childhood education, drawing lessons from extensive interviews and focus groups and from historical analyses.Suggests how the early care and education field can position itself to take charge of its future, rather than being driven by external influences. Outlines the need to focus internally, along with a challenging assessment of the field’s resistance to change.Focuses on the necessity for the early care and education field to engage in critical adaptive work or risk the consequences of not doing so. “This is a powerful book that has the potential to reinvent the field in ways that have yet to be determined. It should be required reading for all who work in early care and education.” —Josué Cruz, Jr., Dean, College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and past president of NAEYC “They get it! We need a true system of services for young children and their families in America. The authors explain to us why and present options for all of us to consider as we move forward.” —Dick Clifford, Associate Director, National Center For Early Development, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Goffin and Washington employ a variety of tactics to help us acknowledge imminent fork-in-the-road options in our field….If we fail to engage in this adaptive work, we will be no better than the elected officials whom we criticize for their partisan stubbornness and refusal to collaborate for the good of the whole.” —Marilyn M. Smith, Council for Professional Recognition, Washington, DC

Often referred to as a laboratory from which the general early childhood education community can learn, Head Start has benefited from more than 45 years of experience. Its unique blend of early childhood practices, assessments, and monitoring, along with a social service style approach, contribute to Head Start standing out as a premiere early childhood program. This book is designed to be a teaching tool for workshops and courses as well as an on-site resource for current and future Head Start teaching staff and others in early childhood education. By presenting background information, vignettes, research, and classroom activities, this book on school readiness combines best practices in early childhood education with relevant applications. Topics, written by experts in their fields, include: Approaches to learning and teaching strategies Assessments Behavior management Classroom set up Curriculum and lesson plans Early language, literacy, math, science, social studies, and creative arts Physical health and development (gross and fine motor skills) Social and emotional development Teaching young children with disabilities and dual language learners Tips for involving parents in their children’s education