This volume reflects some of the disciplinary and interdisciplinary diversity found in the study of programs for young children, and its chapters cover a number of matters central to early childhood development and practice, including preparation for practice. The book has 11 chapters divided into 4 parts that cover family and community, adults and the classroom, classroom interactions, and Vygotsky's influence. Following an introduction on the social contexts of early development and education (Stuart Reifel), the chapters in the book are: (1) "Parent Empathy: A Key Element in the Mother-Child Relationship" (Norma D. Feshbach); (2) "Children's Conceptions of Poverty" (Judith A. Chafel); (3) "The Child Development Associate Credential Program" (Nancy E. Barbour and others); (4)"University-Based Child Development Laboratory Schools: Multiple Challenges and Demands" (Brent A. McBride and Jaesook Lee); (5) "Reconceptualizing Theory through Practice: Insights from a First-Grade Teacher and Second-Language Theorists" (Celia Genishi and others); (6) "Infant Day Care Research: Limitations and Possibilities" (Robin L. Leavitt); (7) "Studying Children's Social Play through a Child Cultural Approach: Roles, Rules, and Shared Knowledge" (Alice M. Meckley); (8) "The Social Context and Young Children's Spatial Representations: Recreating the World with Blocks, Drawings, and Models" (Susan L. Golbeck); (9) "Images of Teaching: Prospective Early Childhood Teachers' Constructions of the Teaching-Learning Process of Young Children" (Andrew J. Stremmel and others); (10)"Teacher-Child Discourse in the Early Childhood Classroom: A Dialogic Model of Self-Regulation and Moral Development" (Cary A. Buzzelli); and (11) "Applications of Vygotskian Theory to Early Childhood Education: Moving toward a New Teaching-Learning Paradigm" (Nancy File). Each chapter contains references. (TJQ)