"Given the diverse auspices and leadership in early education in the U.S.,United States, Universal Preschool will only happen through collaboration. The issue of Universal Preschool is not new. Others have conducted research, shared success stories, and ideas for moving forward.This book plans a different approach to the Universal Preschool dilemma by using dynamic and specific lenses to sift through the layers of power and policy that are the foundation of any effort"

A array of childcare and preschool options blossomed in the 1970s as the feminist movement spurred mothers into careers and community organizations nurtured new programs. Now a small circle of activists aims to bring more order to childhood, seeking to create a more standard, state-run preschool system. For young children already facing the rigors of play dates and harried parents juggling the strains of work and family, government is moving in to standardize childhood. Sociologist Bruce Fuller traveled the country to understand the ideologies of childhood and the raw political forces at play. He details how progressives earnestly seek to extend the rigors of public schooling down into the lives of very young children. Fuller then illuminates the stiff resistance from those who hold less trust in government solutions and more faith in nonprofits and local groups in contributing to the upbringing of young children. The call for universal preschool is a new front in the culture wars, raising sharp questions about American families, cultural diversity, and the appropriate role of the state in the lives of our young children. Standardized Childhood shows why the universal preschool movement is attracting such robust support—and strident opposition—nationwide.

With close to 1 million children on the autism spectrum enrolled in U.S. schools, educators need effective interventions that promote young learners’ abilities and build cohesiveness in complex classroom groups. Drawing upon video recordings from 16 months in a public preschool classroom, this book depicts the emerging relationships and abilities that develop through musical play with children on the autism spectrum. Barnes explores connections among students, teachers, and a music therapist; broader questions about the needs of young children; and the benefits of incorporating music therapy in early childhood education and school-based autism services. In vivid narratives, readers follow individual preschoolers through their challenges and their steps toward shared attention, interpersonal interaction, and communication during music. This important book raises key issues about autism supports and therapies, and offers encouraging alternatives to prevailing educational and therapeutic methods. Features: Chronicles the first two-year research study inside a music therapy group for preschoolers on the spectrum in a U.S. public school.Provides lucid personal portrayals of young children, teachers, and a music therapist.Explores the challenges and encouraging possibilities of helping young children through music.Describes the use of picture schedules, augmentative and alternative communication devices, musical instruments, percussion rhythms, and visual and tactile materials in music sessions.Presents children’s engagement in vocal interplay, turn-taking, theme-and-variation exchanges, and reciprocal expressions of emotion in early childhood education.

Making all children "ready to learn" is the first, and probably the most important, national education goal for the year 2000. What does it mean for children to be "ready to learn?" This book is about the beliefs of the people who are shaping preschool policy. McGill-Franzen tells us what key decision-makers are thinking about preschool education -- what counts as school, who should pay for it, what should be taught, and especially, whether there should be reading and writing programs for four-year-olds. This book also explores the history of these beliefs. The author locates contemporary early childhood concepts about "developmental appropriateness" in the ideas of physicians and psychologists of the 1920s, 1930s, and in even earlier periods of time. She believes that these ideas no longer work within the broader framework of literacy as embedded in the interactions of cultures children know and the lives they live.

"Influential leaders reveal how they have helped to shape the field of early childhood education to help us understand what is important to young children and their families"--

This popular book focuses on the leader’s role in initiating and sustaining anti-bias education in programs for young children and their families. This second edition emphasizes how the journey requires thoughtful, strategic, long-term planning that addresses all components of an early childhood care and education program. The authors, who are recognized leaders and experts on anti-bias education with extensive experience as early childhood directors, use a powerful combination of frameworks and practical tools to explain the structural and individual changes that leaders must foster. This updated edition features anti-bias leaders from diverse settings who share their insights and strategies for working with teachers and families. Book Features: The principles and guidelines for program-wide transformation.Professional development activities for teachers at all levels of experience.Approaches for engaging with families around social justice values.Strategies for strengthening the leader’s ability to initiate and sustain anti-bias change.Tools for documenting a program’s progress in anti-bias education. New for the Second Edition: Voices of additional leaders from the field, highlighting BIPOC center directors from diverse settings. Updated research, references, and terminology.Strategies and activities for teacher professional development and family engagement based on 7 years of using the first edition.Expanded section on responding to opposition to anti-bias education, addressing the current political environment. Praise for the First Edition! “This book is a tool box for building early childhood programs that foster sentiments of justice and fairness in leaders, teachers, and young children.” —Herbert Kohl, educator and bestselling author “A concise and powerful message for anti-bias leaders in early childhood education everywhere. A truly inspired gift of lessons from the movement, for the movement.” —Carol Brunson Day, board president, NAEYC (2014–2016) “For those who are seeking to make a real difference and impact on the world we live in, this book lays a road map and foundation for the work ahead.” —Luis A. Hernandez, early childhood education specialist “Recognizes the essential role early childhood administrators play in initiating and sustaining culturally relevant care and education. This book provides the tools program leaders need.” —Paula Jorde Bloom, founder, McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership “If you are an educator wanting to see more equity and inclusiveness in the world, you’ll find reassurance, resources, and strategic thinking to engage with in this anti-bias work.” —Margie Carter, author and international early childhood consultant

"This book provides evidence-based curriculum examples, pedagogies, and resources; demonstrates how teachers can achieve Pro-Black teaching while also addressing curricular standards; and explains the benefit of Pro-Black teaching for all children"--