In this article, a parent of a child with a developmental disability discusses the complications of parent-professional partnerships and identifies the following five distinct features, or dimensions, which both entangle and enhances the partnership dance: choice, forced intimacy, identification of partners, role expectations, and differing…

Argues that professional development for early childhood educators should address the challenge of diversity in order to produce an optimal child and truly realize a participatory democracy. Outlines four professional development opportunities that will help acknowledge diversity and create a realistic context from which teachers can teach. (SD)

Adapted from a speech given at the 1985 conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, this discussion addresses issues concerning the formation of a national child care policy and describes factors contributing to "child carelessness" in the conception and delivery of child care services. (KS)

Maintains that early childhood education and care teachers and workers have some hard choices to face in terms of the delivery of high quality programs. Choices concern salaries, differential staffing and salary plans, interagency and institutional cooperation, curriculum design, and research. (BB)

Offers three lines of evidence associated with the need to better educate the public about the child care profession, suggesting ways for achieving this objective. (MP)

Urges the members of the National Association for the Education of Young Children to work together toward achieving more social and economic support for child care programs and workers. (MP)

Discusses the results of the 1982 elections to the United States Congress and implications for the future of family and children's services and programs. (MP)

Argues that parents must stop using the television set to care for children and then blaming television for their failure as parents. (MP)

Argues that the 1960s form the largest common background of experience people share as members of the "children's cause," additionally suggesting that since this background forms our sense of the present an understanding of the period is important. (MP)

Discusses the critical links between children's social and cognitive development in light of findings of the Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers study discussed in this issue. Highlights some observations of the study. Examines public notions regarding child care and the need to increase awareness of circumstances from which…

Presents one kindergarten teacher's daily classroom experiences in a speech to the National Governor's Association Action Team on School Readiness. Advocates continued and increased state funding for preschool programs, parenting, and health care services to ensure school readiness, especially among high-risk (disadvantaged or disabled) children.…

Presents a statement to the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council concerning the issue of all-day "whole" kindergarten--combining education and child care--for five-year-old children. (BB)

Presents views conveyed to Pennsylvania's State Board of Education about what has been learned from poor and quality practices in early childhood education, and how to apply that knowledge to ensure the best education for young children. Recommends public school classes for preschool-aged children to prevent or remediate environmental and…

Comments on where the early childhood profession stands, where it should go, and how organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) can move the field ahead. Discusses two strategies early childhood educators can pursue to improve compensation in the next 5 to 10 years: defining quality as an issue of…

Speech delivered at NAEYC's National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development explores changing perspectives on social needs, and suggests building a sense of community and improving teacher education as ways to support children and families in need. (HTH)