Handbook of Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education receives more attention and funding today than ever before, yet the quality of available programs varies widely. What interventions are most effective for promoting young children's school readiness? How can educators partner successfully with diverse families to help close the income- and race-based achievement gap? What are the obstacles to dissemination of evidence-based child care and preschool practices, and how can these obstacles be overcome? Bringing together foremost experts, this forward-thinking book reviews the breadth of current knowledge about early education and identifies important priorities for practice and policy. Part I describes the contemporary landscape of early education in the United States: what programs are in place; how they are utilized, administered, and funded; and their educational aims. Part II presents cutting-edge research on curricula and teaching methods that work. Coverage encompasses strategies for fostering specific skill areas--including language, literacy, and early mathematics and science--and for enhancing academic development overall. Next, Part III turns to the critical areas of social development and the family context of early education. Chapters describe exemplary approaches to supporting young children's executive functioning, self-regulation, social-emotional learning, and mental health. Rounding out the volume, Part IV addresses ways to better serve children with special needs, as well as how to strengthen the roles of early educators through professional development, higher education, and certification. Comprehensive and authoritative, this volume combines an impeccable research grounding with a strong applied focus. It belongs on the desks of researchers, teacher educators, and graduate students in early education, early literacy, child development, and special education; school and child care administrators; and education policymakers.

Robert C. Pianta, PhD, is Dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, where he is also the Novartis Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. A former special education teacher, Dr. Pianta's research focuses on investigating the effects of schooling on children's social and academic outcomes, and on improving school and classroom experiences through teachers' professional development. His team of education researchers has developed the Classroom Assessment Scoring System(TM), an observational measure that has been tested and proven effective in several large national studies and is being utilized by every Head Start program in the United States. Dr. Pianta is Editor of the Journal of School Psychology and the author of more than 400 journal articles, chapters, and books in the areas of early childhood development, transition to school, school readiness, and parent-child and teacher-child relationships. He consults regularly with federal agencies, foundations, and universities.
Associate Editors
W. Steven Barnett, PhD, is Board of Governors Professor and Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Laura M. Justice, PhD, is Professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University, where she also directs the Children's Learning Research Collaborative. Susan M. Sheridan, PhD, is George Holmes University Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska, where she is also Director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools and of the National Center for Research on Rural Education.