This handbook is a compendium of current research findings in early childhood education (ECE) and contains 33 essays, divided into 4 parts, by leading scholars in the field. After a brief introduction, part 1 addresses child development and early education in five chapters: "Cognitive Development and ECE"; "Motor Development and Movement Skill Acquisition in ECE"; "There and Then, Intangible and Internal: Narratives in Early Childhood"; "Young Children's Peer Relationships"; and "The Emotional Basis of Learning." Part 2 covers the foundations of ECE curriculum and includes 11 chapters: "Curriculum Alternatives in ECE: A Historical Perspective"; "The Role of Play in Early Childhood Development and Education"; "Visions of Children as Language Users"; "Emerging Literacy in the Early Childhood Years"; "Fostering the Mathematical Learning of Young Children"; "Social Studies in ECE"; "The Arts and ECE"; "Music in ECE"; "Science in ECE"; "Multicultural Education for Young Children"; and "Electronic Media and ECE." Part 3 examines the foundations of ECE policy and includes 10 chapters: "Testing, Tracking, and Retaining Young Children"; "The Morass of School Readiness Screening: Research on Test Use and Test Validity"; "Play Environments for ECE"; "Child Care for Young Children"; "The Influence of Parents on Children's Development and Education"; "Portrait of a Changing Field: Policy and Practice in ECE"; "The Education of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children"; "Effective Preschool and Kindergarten Programs for Students At-Risk"; "Preparing Teachers for Early Childhood Programs"; and "Early Childhood Care and Development: Issues from the Developing Country Perspective." Part 4 addresses research strategies for ECE in six chapters: "Young Children and Measurement: Standardized and Nonstandardized Instruments in ECE"; "The Interpretive Voice: Qualitative Research in ECE"; "Studying Educational Settings"; "Trends in Demographic and Behavioral Research"; "The Research-Policy Connection: Moving Beyond Incrementalism"; and "Chinese and Japanese Kindergartens: Case Study in Comparative Research." Each chapter contains an extensive bibliography, and the volume itself has both name and subject indexes. (MDM)