| Montessori Method Reggio Emilia Method |
School Readiness |
Early Childhood Education
Internet Sites:
• Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
“The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) Program provides national data on children’s status at birth and at various points thereafter; children’s transitions to nonparental care, early education programs, and school; and children’s experiences and growth through the fifth grade.” Provided by the National Center for Education Statistics.
http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/
• The State of Preschool: 2003 State Preschool Yearbook
This report “describes state-funded prekindergarten programs in the 2001–2002 school year and establishes a baseline against which to compare future progress.” Produced by the National Institute for Early Education Research.
http://nieer.org/yearbook/pdf/yearbook.pdf
• State-Funded Pre-Kindergarten: What the Evidence Shows (December 2003)
“The goal of this report is to review evidence to determine the likelihood that states can meet the challenge of providing high quality, comprehensive early childhood education and whether states would be dedicated to this effort.” From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/state-funded-pre-k/index.htm
• In the Beginning
“Good preschools have much to offer, but should they be universal? Some research suggests otherwise.” An article on universal prekindergarten from the American School Board Journal.
http://www.asbj.com/2003/11/1103research.html
• Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers
From the Kaiser Network, “this study has documented a potentially revolutionary phenomenon in American society: the immersion of our very youngest children…in the world of electronic and interactive media. The impact that this level of media exposure has on children’s development is unknown, but one thing is certain: it is an issue that demands immediate attention.”
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1006
• Prekindergarten in U.S. Public Schools: 2000-2001
This report provides national estimates on classes that serve children prior to kindergarten in U.S. public schools. The report includes information on the number of schools that offered general or special education prekindergarten classes, the number and characteristics of children enrolled in such classes, support services offered to and received by these children, the number and characteristics of teachers assigned to prekindergarten teachers, and funding sources used by the schools.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003019
• At the Starting Line: Early Childhood Education Programs in the 50 States (December 2002)
“In this report, the American Federation of Teachers provides baseline information about states’ provision of early childhood education, including the policies of preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds and kindergarten for 5-year-olds.”
http://www.aft.org/edissues/downloads/EarlyChildhoodreport.pdf
• National Institute for Early Education Research
This site contains a wealth of information about early childhood education. Resources include full-text research reports, links to current events, a listing of state requirements for early education, and a question & answer service.
http://nieer.org/
• Teaching Our Youngest: A Guide for Preschool Teachers & Child Care & Family Providers
“This booklet draws from scientifically based research about what can be done to help children to develop their language abilities, increase their knowledge, become familiar with books and other printed materials, learn letters and sounds, recognize numbers and learn to count.” Produced by the U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/teachingouryoungest/
• Good Start, Grow Smart: The Bush Administration’s Early Childhood Initiative
“In his State of the Union Address delivered January 2002, President Bush outlined the next critical step in education reform the need to prepare children to read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early childhood development programs.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/toc.html
• Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society
“This report makes the case for universal, free access to prekindergarten.” It calls for a federal/state partnership to ensure all children are enrolled in quality programs. Produced by the Committee for Economic Development, and available as a pdf document.
http://www.ced.org/docs/report/report_preschool.pdf
• Quality Counts 2002: Building Blocks for Success: State Efforts in Early Childhood Education (note: site requires free registration)
This report from Education Week “examines what states are doing to provide early-learning experiences for young children; to ensure that those experiences are of high quality; to prepare and pay early-childhood educators adequately; and to measure the results of early-childhood programs.”
http://www.edweek.org/sreports/qc02/
• Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (2000)
This report argues “that promoting young children’s growth calls for early childhood settings (half day or full day, public or private, child care or preschool) the support the development of the full range of capacities that will serve as a foundation for school learning.” Published by National Academy Press.
http://books.nap.edu/books/0309068363/html/index.html
• Early Childhood Research and Practice
A peer-reviewed electronic journal sponsored by the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, covers topics related to the development, care, and education of children from birth to approximately age 8. Also includes links to other electronic publications on early childhood education.
http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/
• America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2000
“Readers will find here an accessible compendium of indicators–drawn from the most recent, most reliable official statistics–illustrative of both the promises and the difficulties confronting our Nation’s young people.” Prepared by the Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a collaborative effort of 20 federal agencies.
http://childstats.gov/ac2000/ac00.asp
• Pathways to School Improvement: Early Childhood Education
Discussion of issues in early childhood education including school readiness, diverse needs, assessment, emergent literacy, and program organization. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/ar0cont.htm
• Terminology in the Early Childhood Field
Compared with the terminology used in K-12 education, terminology used to describe the field of early care and education of children lacks clarity. This Frequently Requested Information file provides on overview of issues related to early childhood terminology.
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/pubs/fri/terminology.html
• State-Funded Pre-kindergarten Initiatives
Offers an synthesis of issues related to state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, links to relevant web resources, as well as links to a listing of many state funded pre-kindergarten web sites, and ERIC resources.
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/pubs/fri/prek.html
• The Early Childhood Education Curriculum Debate: Direct Instruction vs. Child-Initiated Learning
Offers a synthesis of the literature related to this topic, including web resources and relevant ERIC citations/abstracts.
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info/pubs/fri/preschoolcurr.html
• Literacy Center – Early Childhood Education Network
Online exercises on letters, numbers, shapes, and colors for young children.
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
• EduPuppy
A collection of PreK-2 resources organized by category.
http://www.EduPuppy.com/
• Perpetual Preschool
Classroom activities, subject-related resources, professional development links for early childhood educators.
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/
• ERIC Digest – Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs (1994)
http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed365478.html
• ECENET-L
Discussion on Early Childhood & Elementary Education. ECENET-L is for those interested in children from birth to age 8.
To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: mailto:listserv@listserv.uiuc.edu
In the message body type: subscribe ECENET-L [Your First and Last Name]
Archives: http://listarchives.crc.uiuc.edu/ecenet/
For more information about ECENET-L see:
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/listserv/ecenet-l.html
• PROJECTS-L
(The Project Approach, a specific interdisciplinary approach to teaching children in the preschool, elementary, and middle grades).
To subscribe, address an e-mail message to: listserv@postoffice.cso.uiuc.edu
In the message body: subscribe projects-l [Your First and Last Name] For more information about PROJECTS-L see:
http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/listserv/projec-l.html
• Early Childhood Chatboard at Teachers.net
http://teachers.net/mentors/early_childhood/
• The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
1509 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Toll-free: 800-424-2460
Phone: (202) 232-8777
Fax: (202) 328-1846
E-mail: naeyc@naeyc.org
http://www.naeyc.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
120 Albany Street, Suite 500
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901
tel (732) 932-4350
fax (732) 932-4360
http://nieer.org