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Early Childhood Education
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Early Childhood Mathematics: An 18-month study will synthesize and analyze the past twenty years of research on early childhood mathematics from a number of disciplinary fields, draw out the implications for policy and practice affecting young children as they move through the preschool years and begin formal schooling, and provide research-based guidance to increase the numbers of young children, especially vulnerable children, getting off to a strong start in learning mathematics during their first years of schooling. It is designed to capitalize on the research literature in the field. The committee held its first meeting August 9-10, 2007. Click here for the agenda and committee membership.
The Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children, with oversight from NRC/IOM’s Board on Children, Youth, and Families in collaboration with the Center’s Board on Testing and Assessment will respond to a Congressional mandate for a National Research Council panel to "review and provide guidance on appropriate outcomes and assessments for young children." The committee will focus on two key topics: (1) the identification of key outcomes associated with early stages of child development for children ages 0-5, and (2) the quality and purpose of different state-of-the art techniques and instruments for developmental assessments. Special consideration will be given to the training requirements that are necessary for the use of assessments in different program settings and with different child populations. Click here for more information on the study.
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Featured Report
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Mathematical and Scientific Development in Early Childhood (2005)
The research base about learning in early childhood is expanding and has great potential to contribute to a broader set of national policy goals focused on making sure that all children enter kindergarten ready to learn. With this important research base in mind, the National Research Council’s Center for Education (CFE) convened a workshop to focus on early learning in mathematics and science. The workshop brought experts together to discuss research on the ways children’s cognitive capacities can serve as building blocks in the development of mathematical and scientific understanding. A one-day workshop on such a complicated topic can provide only a starting point to guide policy makers, researchers, and education professionals. The sole purpose of this report is to describe the discussions that took place at that workshop. However, issues for further investigation are explored in two afterwords.
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More NRC Publications
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Who Are These People?: A Guide for Child Care Professionals (2003) offers helpful suggestions and practical guidance to child care providers, educators, and even interested parents -- based on key findings described in two reports on early childhood development and education from the National Academies From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development and Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers. You may download this useful and informative booklet (PDF) from the National Academies Press at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10696. The Spanish version (PDF).
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Early Childhood Development and Learning: New Knowledge for Policy (2001) includes executive summaries of five reports that provide policy makers, educators, and parents with important tools for progress. It is intended for federal administrators, members of Congress, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and others who want to use the best available science to develop policies to promote child development and education. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10067
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Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (2000) synthesizes the newest research findings on how children between the ages of two and five begin the learning process. Valuable conclusions and recommendations are presented in the areas of the teacher-child relationship, the organization and content of curriculum, meeting the needs of those children most at risk of school failure, teacher preparation, assessment of teaching and learning, and more. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9745
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Early Childhood Intervention: Views from the Field: Report of a Workshop (2000) summarizes a workshop held June 1999 for researchers and practitioners to examine the underlying knowledge base that informs current best practices in early childhood services—from the prenatal period to school entry. You may read and search the full text of this book online at
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9858
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From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000)
discusses how policy makers, parents, childcare providers, educators, and others can apply decades of research findings to child policy, as well as to everyday dealings with preschoolers. It offers key conclusions about the value of intervention programs to help at-risk kids, the quality of childcare, and whether important developmental periods end at age three or five. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9824
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Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success (1999) discusses how best to help children succeed in reading and includes 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children's books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. A must read for specialists in primary education as well as pediatricians, childcare providers, tutors, literacy advocates, and parents. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6014
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Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998) explores how to prevent reading difficulties in the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=6023
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Cultural Diversity and Early Education: Report of a Workshop (1994) explores what is known about the effects of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds on early education. This report examines the research on such topics as different home environments and expectations about learning and their consequences for preschool classrooms, for both teachers and children. You may read and search the full text of this book online at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9197
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See the list of Early Childhood Education reports from the National Academies Press.
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