Developmental Education is an approach to education in school that aims at promoting children’s cultural development and their abilities to participate autonomously and well-informed in the cultural practices of their community. From the point of view of Cultural-historical Activity theory (CHAT), a play-based curriculum has been developed over the past decades for primary school, which presents activity contexts for pupils in the classroom that create learning and teaching opportunities for helping pupils with appropriating cultural knowledge, skills, and moral understandings in meaningful ways. The approach is implemented in numerous Dutch primary schools classrooms with the explicit intention to support the learning of both pupils and teachers. The book focuses especially on education of young children (4 – 8 years old) in primary school and presents the underpinning concepts of this approach, and chapters on examples of good practices in a variety of subject matter areas, such as literacy (vocabulary acquisition, reading, writing), mathematics, and arts. Successful implementation of Developmental Education in the classroom strongly depends on dynamic assessment and continuous observations of young pupils’ development. Strategies for implementation of both the teaching practices and assessment strategies are discussed in detail in the book.

This book explores the place of education in development debates and provides a systematic and a theoretical overview of the main approaches to the subject. It emphases the fact that education is profoundly shaped by national and local cultures even if many issues are shared across locations.

The 16 chapters of this volume describe a wide variety of developmental programs intended to promote skill development and enhance academic performance for high-risk students at all levels of higher education. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, the chapters are: (1) "The Origin, Scope, and Outcomes of Developmental Education in the 20th Century" (Hunter R. Boylan and D. Patrick Saxon); (2) "Who Belongs in College: A Second Look" (Carlette J. Hardin); (3) "Transitions in Developmental Education: Interviews with Hunter Boylan and David Arendale" (Cheryl B. Stratton); (4) "Remedial/Developmental Education: Past, Present, and Future" (Milton G. Spann, Jr. and Suella McCrimmon); (5) "Provisionally Admitted College Students: Do They Belong in a Research University?" (Don T. Garnett and M.V. Hood III); (6) "Transitions in Developmental Education at the University of Georgia" (Jeanne L. Higbee and Patricia L. Dwinell); (7) "Developmental Education at a Public Research University" (Catherine Wambach and Robert delMas); (8) "A Charge to Developmental Educators: Ignite the Spark" (Rita Klein et al.); (9) "The Impact of a Course in Strategic Learning on the Long-Term Retention of College Students" (Claire E. Weinstein et al.); (10) "Integrating Critical Thinking into the Developmental Curriculum" (Linda Best); (11) "Metacognition: Facilitating Academic Success" (Cynthia M. Craig); (12) "Student Beliefs, Learning Theories, and Developmental Mathematics: New Challenges in Preparing Successful College Students" (Irene Mary Duranczyk and Joanne Caniglia); (13)"Mainstreaming Basic Writers: Chronicling the Debate" (Mary P. Deming); (14) "A Commentary on the Current State of Developmental Reading Programs" (Martha Maxwell); (15) "Establishing Personal Management Training in Developmental Education and First-Year Curricula" (Robert Nelson); and (16) "Increasing Efficiency and Effectiveness of Learning for Freshman College Students through Supplemental Instruction" (David Arendale). A concluding chapter is by the editors. (Individual chapters contain references.) (DB)

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Presents an overview of developmental education at the college level: what the concept means and how most developmental education programs work.

Written in a warm, engaging style, this text embraces the emergent approach to fostering cognitive skills in children from birth through age five. It provides a complete developmental approach to early childhood education, giving teachers the specific skills they need to teach the whole child-emotionally, socially, physically, creatively and cognitively. The author believes that physical and emotional health are fundamental to the well-being of children and provides practical methods and materials that address the entire individual, not just curriculum topics. A strength of the book is while it focuses on the five developmental selves of children, it places them in the context of contemporary family life and the multicultural world of today. - Thoroughly updated with current research and expanded topics - Over 100 new citations and references, updated statistics, and new or expanded topics. education with new discussions on advocacy, child abuse and neglect, outdoor play, multiple intelligences, asthma, and many more - Increased coverage of Diversity - Incorporates content on infant and toddler education and care throughout. - Material on the Reggio Emilia approach - Offered throughout the text wherever its strategies are appropriate and effective - Three types of review questions featured in each chapter - 1) Content - related, 2) Integrative, and 3) Diversity - Annotated updated references at the end of each chapter includes Pick of the Litter features to denote citations that are particularly interesting. - Hundreds of references classified by type in one of the most extensive bibliographies of any text in the field.