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What's New?
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What's New?
The Web is always changing and evolving--new information is continually being added, new sites created, and new tools available. This is the spot for staying on top of this evolving world!
July 1998
CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
For centuries, it was believed that children are born with a large majority of their basic brain pathways already determined and formed. Research has now demonstrated that the contrary is true: beginning in infancy, significant learning occurs as the brain's neural connections are being formed. Infants, toddlers, and young children who are nurtured and experience a challenging, enriching environment are found to have greater brain activity than those children who experience environments that do not provide significant opportunities for learning and stimulation.
These findings have led to greater attention to the provision of learning experiences during the early years of childhood. In efforts to extend the benefits of early childhood programs to include children ages zero to three, additional federal and state programs have been established, including Early Head Start, Children First, Smart Start, and Healthy Start. Although the specific goals of these programs differ in scope, they are all aimed at addressing the needs of the "whole child." While variously defined, these needs include cognitive, language, physical and social development, nutrition, health, and safety.
These new early initiatives build on the previous success of Head Start and other preschool programs which have targeted low-income preschool children for more than 30 years. Long-term studies conducted with the well-known high-scope preschool program in Ypsilanti, Michigan, have shown that it not only increased reading scores, but also made it less likely for students to be held back a grade, to be placed in special education classes, or to drop out of high school.
The importance of providing nurturing learning environments and implementing practices that are developmentally appropriate in the early childhood years continues into the primary grades. Curriculum and instruction must be flexible enough to accommodate and foster each child's optimal development. Consideration must be given to the range of skills learned at home, in preschool programs, and in a variety of day-care settings.
What's New on the Net identifies programs, studies and resources on the World Wide Web related to the school-to-work learning approach. The links include discussions of school-to-work programs, studies of these programs, suggestions for structuring them, resources for school-to-work learning, school-to-work legislation, and related publications and Web sites.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education
The National Academy for Child Development
Head Start Bureau Home Page
Early Childhood Reform in Seven Communities
Education Week on the Web: Early Learning
Pathways to School Improvement: Early Childhood Education
Early Childhood Education Online
Child and Family Program
Early Childhood Educators' and Family Web Corner
National Parent Information Network
Father/Male Involvement in Early Childhood Settings: ERIC Digest
Early Learning
Early Childhood News: The Journal of Professional Development
Early Childhood Educator
Center for the Future of Children
America Reads Challenge
June 23, 1998 -- School-To-Work May 12, 1998 -- Middle School Reforms April 1998 -- Class Size and Learning March 10, 1998 -- After-School Programs for School-Aged Children and Youth January 20, 1998 -- The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Achieving Equality Within Diversity November 21, 1997 -- Fostering Literacy Throughout K-12 Education: Focus on Reading October 12, 1997 -- Net as a Resource for Helping Teachers in Their Classes Develop Homework Assignments September 25, 1997 -- Proposed National Tests in Reading and Mathematics August 18, 1997 -- Finding Lesson Plans on the Web July 10, 1997 -- Best Web Sites for K-12 Education April 16, 1997 -- Critical Thinking February 22, 1997 --The Internet and World Wide Web in K-12 Education December 19, 1996 --Multiple Intelligences Theory November 21, 1996 --Arts Education October 23, 1996 --Mathematics and Science Education September 18, 1996 --Principles of Motivation August 15, 1996 --Promoting Safe, Disciplined Schools July 16, 1996 --Addressing the Needs of Gifted and Talented Students. June 24, 1996 --Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) May 22, 1996 --Urban Schools and Disadvantaged Students May 1, 1996 --Educational Assessment Approaches April 17, 1996 --Diversity in The Nation's Classrooms April 3, 1996 --The 1996 National Education Summit: Education Standards March 22, 1996 --Reading and Writing Initiatives March 7, 1996 --Education, Motivation, and Life Success Feb. 21, 1996 --Technology and America's Schools Feb. 6, 1996 --Social Studies and Character Development
