Children's character or moral development, what the author refers to as ethical development, has been an important and controversial topic in schools for many years. Educators agree that it is vital to renew the emphasis on teaching for character development. Schools face an important challenge, doing their part in preparing children and youth to…

No Child Left Behind, Reading First, Early Reading First, Good Start, Grow Smart ... the current whirlwind of education initiatives in the United States commits millions of dollars of federal money to "scientifically based" reading and early literacy development. In 2003, President Bush directed Head Start programs across the country to function…

Because the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) ceased to exist on January 1, 2004, the responsibility for preparing the "ERIC/EECE Report" has been transferred to the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative. ECAP consists of a group of projects and programs in early childhood education within the…

Children make discoveries spontaneously while participating in hands-on science learning experiences. The students in this study were attending an after-school science program that was organized around authentic literacy activities and hands-on science learning experiences related to the theme of wetlands. Literacy connections formed natural…

Despite some characterization as being uninvolved in the education of their children, African American parents have always valued education and recognized it as the key to economic and political freedom. Despite laws in the United States prohibiting the education of slaves, African Americans were the first southerners to campaign for universal,…

Recent years have seen a global endeavor to prioritize early childhood care and education as a foundation for later learning and development, as evidenced by the Global Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care in the 21st Century (Association for Childhood Education International/World Organization for Early Childhood, 1999). Such efforts…

The overall goal of assessment is to collect information regarding a targeted program or performance. Specifically, assessment involves the identification, clarification, and application of defensible criteria to ascertain a target object's value, quality, utility, effectiveness, or significance in relation to those criteria. Through such…

Over the past few years, the Times of India has published many articles and editorials on the topic of childhood stress. According to Ramanathan (2002), a recent study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reveals that nearly 35 percent of children ages 8-14, especially in urban areas, are stressed enough to need clinical…

This article is based on the author's experiences observing a Korean family that immigrated to the United States. This two-income, middle-class family (a mother and father, a grandmother, and a son) lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago, where a large Korean community is located. As in many of the neighboring homes, Korean is spoken frequently,…

It is important to appreciate differences in perspectives in order to gain an understanding of others. Teachers can foster the disposition of perspective-taking among students by engaging them in learning opportunities that allow them to discover and reflect on the similarities as well as the differences among people of the world. Such activities…

It has been said that children are smarter than we sometimes acknowledge them to be. Knowledge can be, at times, hidden from view. It is a teacher's job to get to know his or her students very well and find ways to make sure they give them due credit for what they know. But can one know one's students solely upon the grades given on quizzes,…

What should parents of a child who stutters do if their child speaks more than one language? Research shows that a child's language skills can affect his or her fluency, according to the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation of America. However, it has not been proven that speaking two languages in the home since birth causes stuttering. If the child is…

Delaying school entry for a year is most often viewed as an opportunity for children to mature and develop critical academic, social and emotional skills prior to entering kindergarten. Many teachers view delayed school entry as a kindness to younger, less mature students who need more preparation for the rigors of formal academics in 1st grade.…

This article is part of a series of articles edited for this issue of "Childhood Education" relating to varying viewpoints and teaching strategies across the continuum of age groups, from early childhood to graduate education. Within this article the editors provide the text of an article written by a retired teacher educator whose interest and…

Virtual field trips offer a new way for teachers and students to visit historical sites and museums. Most notably, virtual field trips provide access to places that normally would be impossible for classrooms to visit, and this, in turn, provides a plethora of learning possibilities for the classroom. Why should teachers consider creating a…