In recent years the OECD has undertaken the evaluation of early childhood education and care (ECEC) on behalf of ministers of education in a number of countries in order to support quality improvement in this field. This article is based on a workshop for the national coordinators of early childhood policy in Sweden, 2003, which dealt with…

This paper describes a family literacy project that involved parents whose children were attending a pre-school centre in a low socio-economic suburb of Perth, Western Australia. A formative experimental design was used to examine the home literacy practices of the families as described by the parents, and to construct a series of workshops. The…

This study examined parent factors and teacher strategies fostering parent involvement and efficacy in a Canadian preschool intervention program in the Toronto area. Both English-as-a-second-language and English-speaking parent groups participated in school-based Parenting and Readiness Center programs with their 4-year-olds. Findings suggested…

Reviews Hewes' book on the development of the parent cooperative nursery school movement in its political, sociological, economic, and historical contexts. Notes the success of the organizational model used to analyze the movement and the book's value as a reference work. (JPB)

Examined effect of a workshop on issues and prevention of child sexual abuse on the knowledge of mothers of kindergarten-age children while children attended a class on the prevention of sexual abuse in school. Found that mothers in the workshop improved their knowledge, while mothers who did not attend, but whose children did, showed no change in…

Discusses the value of preschool experience for children at risk for school failure. Explores questions: Does early intervention help? Should parents be involved in their children's education? and What is the impact of the quality of the preschool program? by examining the Early Learning Classroom component of the Kansas City, Missouri School…

Discusses the views and attitudes of preschool and kindergarten teachers towards parental involvement and parent-teacher partnership during early childhood education in Greece. Identifies types of involvement needed in order to prepare for future policy-making on preschool education. (AS)

Used group and individual interviews to examine the information needs and sources of London parents of young children. Found that the areas in which information was needed by the majority of parents were children's and parents' health, child care and development, schools, behavior, careers, education, and training. Popular sources of information…

Describes a demonstration program called Project Developmental Continuity which attempts to provide continuity between the Head Start Program and the public school, with the parents as a major element in both settings. (SE)

Describes a home visiting project (in London, England) designed to help disadvantaged children (20-30 months) and their parents, and discusses two school/community projects: the Chaucer Nursery and Infant School and eight nursery centers located throughout the country. (SE)

Describes the playcentre, a parent-based center resembling the preschools of Western societies, but serving a wider age range, from 2 1/2 to 5 years. Includes a section on parent training. (BR)

Discusses the vital importance of the preschool period in educational terms and maintains that early influences are much more effective than later experience; one cannot look upon nursery schools as merely child care services. (MS)

This article explains how the French nursery school, established by the Ministry of Education, provides the basis for the educational system as well as a social service for child welfare. (MS)

Article discusses language development as inseparable from early childhood experience. Educational task is to associate language with child's experience in the presense of an interested adult in order to generate further language development. (MS)

Describes the nature and function of preschool playgroups in the United Kingdom, highlighting recent trends in financing, facilities, qualifications of volunteer staff, and parent participation. Also discussed are offerings of the Preschool Playgroups Association such as educational materials, courses and training on running playgroups, and a…