Early Formal Education

The future of any society lies in its ability to train and socialize its young. The stability of its institutions, political systems, the productivity of its industrial resources, and the creativity of its intellectual talent reflect the success of those who have been given responsibility for shaping and developing its youth. If these teaching functions are not adequately performed, through failure of the agents, as a result of new demands created by new values, social, economic, or political change, pressures may emerge for the modification of socializing procedures, or for a change in the agents allocated responsibility for socialization. Some major questions answered in this book include: At what age should formal education begin? What effect does the timing of education have on a child's later social and educational development? Do pre-school years deserve the fiscal resources and professional talent now being allocated to them? Can socially and economically disadvantaged children be successfully educated without involving families and community? What is the role of technology in the early education process? This volume brings together the work of active and articulate spokespersons in the field of early education during the 1960s. It makes explicit the concepts, theories, and empirical data upon which the field as a whole is proceeding. These contributions from leading psychologists, child development researchers, and educators cover an unusually broad range of issues. Providing a reference on theories and existing programs in the field of early learning and offering many suggestions for the course and content of today's programs, this volume is important reading in child development and the psychology and sociology of education.

Robert Hess

I. Early Education as Socialization, Robert D. Hess II. The Effect of Early Stimulation in the Emergence of Cognitive Processes, William Fowler III. The Problem of Timing in Pre-School Education, Halbert B. Robinson and Nancy M. Robinson IV. Conditions That Facilitate or Impede Cognitive Functioning: Implications for Developmental Theory and for Education, Eugene S. Collin V. The Early Training Project and Its General Rationale, Susan W. Gray and Rupert A. Klaus VI. The Fourth Dimension in Early Childhood Education, Bettye M. Caldwell VII. Brief Reflections on the Theory of Early Childhood Enrichment Programs, Cynthia P. Deutsch and Martin Deutsch VIII. Maternal Influences upon Early Learning: The Cognitive Environments of Urban Pre-School Children, Robert D. Hess and Virginia C. Shipman IX. Montessori with the Culturally Disadvantaged: A Cognitive-Developmental Interpretation and Some Research Findings, Lawrence Kohlberg X. The Reinforcement Contingency in Pre-School and Remedial Education, Donald M. Baer and Montrose M. Wolf XI. Some Implications of Research on Language Development for Pre-School Education, Courtney B. Cazden XII. Informal Education during the First Months of Life, Burton L. White XIII. The Responsive Environments Project, Omar Khayyam Moore and Alan Ross Anderson XIV. Early Learning and Personality: Summary and Commentary, Eleanor E. Maccoby XV. Some Educated Guesses about Cognitive Development in the Pre-School Years, Sheldon H. White XVI. Some Problems in the Evaluation of Pre-School Intervention Programs, Joseph Glick XVII. Issues in Early Learning and Pre-School Education: A Summary of the Conference Discussions, Roberta Meyer Bear BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX