Throughout the course of life, all adults make transitions, so do young children. Because young children are more vulnerable in general and they have experienced far fewer transitions than adults, they often experience greater challenges. As a result, the field of early childhood education has historically expended much effort in understanding and…

Outlines a framework for determining the infrastructure cost of universal early care and education for young children and adequate compensation for caregivers. Discusses the nature of compensation and infrastructure, including governance and administration, compensation, professional development, and regulation. Suggests that costs could be…

Early childhood educators should take advantage of attention on assessment to design appropriate systems. Proper assessments should enable more reflective teaching, honor children's full range of development, and provide safeguards to children from unnecessary assessment or misuse of assessment data. Issues include what standards to measure, what…

Discusses the importance of adaptability in the 21st century, both for early childhood educators in readying children for the unknown and for children's future success. Maintains that adaptability is at the core of all early childhood education and that the field must continue to assure that the inventiveness and adaptiveness of children and…

Discusses some of the issues surrounding the chronic underfunding of early care and education, and examines some of the possible reasons for our national undercommitment to young children. Stresses the need for a clear vision of an early care and education system, with concrete data on what it would cost and how funds should be generated and…

Considers the various names applied to the early childhood education field. Discusses the confusion of parents in deciding on a program, and of legislators responding to advocates and considering legislation; maintains that the name confusion may be detrimental for the field. Suggests that a change in nomenclature could alert the public to the…

Examines three challenges facing the field of early childhood education: (1) homogenization of early childhood education; (2) over-scientization of the field; and (3) bureaucratization of early childhood education. (KB)

Describes five "A"s, issues that bind together early childhood educators and give them benchmarks to gauge success: (1) access; (2) affordability; (3) appropriateness; (4) accountability; and (5) advocacy. Asserts that only when all five "A"s are achieved will early childhood education be an enterprise of which all educators can be proud. (EV)

Addresses the origins of the American school readiness myth, arguing that Americans are far too preoccupied with readiness. Concludes that early childhood professionals need to address and demystify this myth by defining early childhood education in the content-oriented context of what young children should know and be able to do. (SD)

The NAEYC Spring Leadership Conference raised fundamental questions about the nature and scope of early childhood leadership in a changing world. Leaders in the field come from all parts of the education spectrum and each have valid contributions. They include those who lead programs or services, conceptual leaders, community leaders, advocacy and…

Explores an anecdote about a parent withdrawing her child from a child care program as a metaphor for the current status of early childhood to illustrate the pedagogical, practice, and policy dilemmas challenging the field. Maintains that pedagogy, practice, and policy are inseparable and that early childhood professionals must be cognizant of…

Discusses notable changes occurring in early childhood education and the National Association for Education of Young Children: (1) both are experiencing unprecedented growth; (2) the increased attention from media, politicians, business, researchers, policymakers, and parents has created challenges for both; and (3) there are new leadership…

Visualizes future of early childhood education and care in terms of quality. Advocates quality in things that scaffold programs: quality training, education, and credentialing for staff; efficient, quality regulations that truly protect children and families; quality financing; effective accountability; and functional governance. Contends quality…

Discusses the past history and present and future goals of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), as related to the group's mission to improve the quality of services for children from birth to age 8. Considers problems and opportunities to be addressed by the NAEYC. (JPB)

Highlights principal findings and recommendations submitted to the National Education Goals Panel by the Goal 1 Early Childhood Assessments Resource Group. Explains that assessment of young children is important both to support the learning of each child and to provide data--at district, state, and national levels--for improving services and…