Getting It Right from the Start: The Principalâs Guide to Early Childhood Education Book

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

About the Authors xi

1 Early Childhood Education: An Expanding Enterprise! 1

Why the Push for Prekindergarten? 2

Increasing Family Demand 2

Early Learning Imperatives 4

The Marvel of Early Brain Development 5

Children at Risk of School Failure 6

Early Childhood Education: A Sound Investment 14

Principals' Roles: Laying the Groundwork 18

2 Quality Makes All the Difference 19

Distinguishing Quality in Early Childhood Settings 19

The Corrosive Impact of Poor Quality 21

High Quality Defined 22

Leadership and High Quality 24

Becoming an Early Childhood Leader 25

One Principal's Experience 25

Using the Early Childhood Administrative Pyramid to Reflect on Your Own Practices 28

Principals' Roles: Achieving High Quality 29

3 Breaking New Ground: Getting Involved in Early Childhood Education 31

What Exactly Is Early Childhood Education? 32

Becoming Familiar With Early Childhood Culture 38

School Principals as Culture Brokers 54

Principals' Roles: Getting Involved in Early Childhood Education 57

4 Early Childhood Education: Stakeholders 59

Identifying the Stakeholders 59

Collaboration 66

Principals' Roles: Working With Stakeholders 70

5 Developmentally Appropriate Practice 71

Fundamental Principles of DAP 72

Developmentally Inappropriate Practice 83

Applying DAP Requires Judgment 85

The Sounds of DAP! 86

Empirical Support for DAP 87

Common Questions About DAP 89

Principals' Roles: Supporting DAP 95

6 What Principals Need to Know About How Young Children Develop and Learn 98

The Essential Nature of Young Children 99

How Young Children Develop 100

How YoungChildren Learn 107

What Young Children Are Learning 121

Principals' Roles: Supporting Development and Learning 124

7 Early Childhood Curriculum 127

What Is the Early Childhood Curriculum? 128

"Goodness of Fit" Between Early Learning and Later Schooling 134

Implementing the Early Childhood Curriculum 138

Activities You Should Expect to See in Early Childhood Classrooms 139

Principals' Roles: Curriculum Development 145

8 Learning Centers and Classroom Routines 147

Typical Learning Centers for Young Children 149

Skills Teachers Need to Run Effective Centers 154

How Classroom Routines Support Curricular Goals 155

A Typical Day for Children 158

Principals' Roles: Centers and Routines 161

9 Assessing Young Children's Learning 162

The Need for Early Childhood Assessment 163

Key Considerations 163

Authentic Assessment 167

Strategies to Guide Learning and Improve Instruction 168

Strategies for Identifying Children's Special Needs 183

Assessing Early Childhood Programs and Learning Contexts 185

Pros and Cons of Standardized Tests in Early Childhood 185

Principals' Roles: Promoting Authentic Assessment 189

10 Early Childhood Education: Family Involvement 191

Through the Eyes of the Families 193

Looking Inside and Looking Outside 196

Suggestions for Families 197

Through the Eyes of Teachers 198

Parents Want Communication With the School 199

Family Roles 200

Principals' Roles: Family Involvement 201

11 Early Childhood Teachers 202

Teachers Matter 203

The Critical Function of Principals 204

Characteristics of "Good" Teachers 204

Formal Teacher Qualifications 206

Translating Teacher Standards Into Practice 207

Principals' Roles: Supporting Early Childhood Teachers 217

12 Finding and Keeping Good Teachers 219

Observing Teacher Candidates With Children 219

Addressing the Shortage of Qualified Early Childhood Teachers 220

Seeking Teachers to Work Effectively With Diverse Children and Families 222

Reducing Staff Turnover 226

Stable Staffing and Adult-to-Child Ratios 231

Principals' Roles: Hiring and Retaining Good Teachers 232

13 Physical Environments That Support Early Learning 233

The Importance of the Physical Environment to Young Children 233

Environmental Competence 234

Environmental Propositions 234

How Physical Environments Influence Child Development and Learning 238

Social-Emotional Development 239

Cognitive Development 242

Language Development 242

Physical Development 243

Fundamentals of Environmental Planning 244

Physical Requirements of Activity-Based Instruction 247

Equipping Early Childhood Classrooms 250

The Great Outdoors! 256

Principals' Roles: Creating Optimal Early Learning Environments 259

14 Early Childhood Education: Funding 261

Funding Sources 262

History of Federal Funding 263

State Funding 265

Local Funding 274

Start-Up Costs 275

Administrator Voices 277

Principals' Roles: Funding 279

15 Action Summary 282

Resources 291

Tool A Learning Center Checklist 291

Tool B Key Instruments Used Nationally for Evaluation of Children in Early Childhood Education Programs 293

Tool C Daily Literacy Checklist: Preschool Through Grade 3 296

Tool D Daily Numeracy Checklist: Preschool Through Grade 3 297

Tool E Guidelines for Structuring Informative On-Site Observations 298

Tool F Sample Interview Questions for Teacher Candidates 300

Tool G Early Childhood Safety and Health Checklist 302

Tool H Physical Requirements of Small-Group Activity Centers 305

Tool I Early Childhood Education Classroom Equipment List 307

Tool J Indoor Environment Checklist 310

References 312

Index 323