This article describes an early childhood professional development project that took place in the summer of 2005 in Guatemala City. Located in Central America, Guatemala has a population of approximately 12.3 million people, including more than two million children under the age of 5 (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2007; UNICEF, 2004). Events…

The early childhood faculty at the University of Memphis developed the Early Childhood Education Behaviors & Dispositions Checklist for four main purposes: (1) The faculty needed a way to clearly communicate to students the expectations for their dispositions and the means of assessment; (2) It is a professional obligation in preservice…

Nourishing the young child can be a challenge. This stage of life is critical to the development of positive attitudes toward maintaining a healthy diet and learning to make reasonable food choices. Educators of young children are often the gatekeepers of child nutrition. This article reports on the current nutrient needs of young children,…

During the past six months the author was fortunate to travel to Hungary three times. Although all three trips had different purposes, they had one thing in common: professional conversations between colleagues from Hungary and the United States. In this article, the author would like to provide a short overview of these visits, which resulted in…

In this article, the author discusses her investigations into the connection between the values of Swedish society and Swedish classroom practices by way of the early childhood special education system. She describes Swedish educational policies and the challenges surrounding moving from policy to practice, and also uncovers themes regarding…

With globalization, increased mobility of families, and the resultant changes to the social and cultural profiles of many countries, early childhood education is in an exciting, challenging, and, in some ways, uncomfortable position. For many years, teachers have been influenced by developmentalists as they have tried to respond to the diverse…

This article presents the four goals of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) for all its subcommittees. These goals are: (1) Promoting ACEI's mission and work in the global community; (2) Promoting ACEI's long-standing commitment to the whole child and the whole curriculum; (3) Sustaining ACEI's leadership role in ensuring…

Teachers often are shocked and in disbelief when someone points out that they are not embracing all children and families. For many teachers, digesting the words of "Everything Possible" or encountering their first nontraditional family in the classroom is an "aha" moment, when they realize that they need classroom resources to support these…

In this article, the author provides some information on the forthcoming 2007 Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Conference and Exhibition, titled "Education for Transformation: Impact on the Children of the World." The conference will be held in Tampa, Florida, May 2-5, at the Hyatt Regency Tampa Hotel. The annual conference…

Currently, students in early childhood special education programs experience social isolation. To ameliorate the inappropriate behaviors that often contribute to this isolation, it is imperative that educators begin to include instruction in appropriate social interaction in the general education early childhood curriculum for children with…

This article reviews ways in which early childhood educators can be advocates for the many children whose diversities bring them face to face with suffering and injustice. Educators' professional advocacy can focus continually on specific ways in which schools or programs should reflect caring and fairness to all children, regardless of…

In contemporary U.S. culture, young children are not only oriented by their own multiple cultures (racial, ethnic, age, gender, and family, to name several), but also by living and learning within a socioculturally conditioned world filled with many different conditions of cultural difference. In this article, the author presents several vignettes…

Although the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) has a long history, beginning with its inception in 1892 as the International Kindergarten Union, members have more recently made a commitment to value the international perspectives in their goals and actions. Since then, ACEI has adopted as its mission to "promote and support…

In this article, the authors review "The Music, Movement, and Learning Connection," written by early childhood educator and musician Hap Palmer in the September 2001 issue of Young Children, which is of significant interest to parents and teachers. As trained musicians, the authors agree with Palmer's message about music's positive effect on…

In this article, the author demonstrates how the current emphasis on viewing early childhood education (ECE) as an investment keeps ECE at the margins of U.S. political debates as well as in other discussions around the world. Historically, the field of ECE in the United States has struggled, and continues to struggle, for political positioning.…