ED361107 PS021671
Title: Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children.
Author(s): Spodek, Bernard, Ed.
Pages: 568
Publication Date: 1993
ISBN: 0-02-897405-0
Available from: Document Not Available from EDRS.
Availability: Macmillan Publishing Company, 866 Third Avenue, New
York, NY 10022 ($65).
Language: English
Document Type: Book (010); Collected works--General (020)
Geographic Source: U.S.; New York
Journal Announcement: RIEJAN1994
This handbook
is a compendium of current research findings in early childhood
education (ECE) and contains 33 essays, divided into 4 parts, by
leading scholars in the field. After a brief introduction, part
1 addresses child development and early education in five chapters:
"Cognitive Development and ECE"; "Motor Development
and Movement Skill Acquisition in ECE"; "There and Then,
Intangible and Internal: Narratives in Early Childhood"; "Young
Children's Peer Relationships"; and "The Emotional Basis
of Learning." Part 2 covers the foundations of ECE curriculum
and includes 11 chapters: "Curriculum Alternatives in ECE:
A Historical Perspective"; "The Role of Play in Early
Childhood Development and Education"; "Visions of Children
as Language Users"; "Emerging Literacy in the Early Childhood
Years"; "Fostering the
Mathematical Learning of Young Children"; "Social Studies
in ECE"; "The Arts and ECE"; "Music in ECE";
"Science in ECE"; "Multicultural Education for Young
Children"; and "Electronic Media and ECE." Part 3
examines the foundations of ECE policy and includes 10 chapters:
"Testing, Tracking, and Retaining Young Children"; "The
Morass of School Readiness Screening: Research on Test Use and Test
Validity"; "Play Environments for ECE"; "Child
Care for Young Children"; "The Influence of Parents on
Children's Development and Education"; "Portrait of a
Changing Field: Policy and Practice in ECE"; "The Education
of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Children"; "Effective
Preschool and Kindergarten Programs for Students At-Risk";
"Preparing Teachers for Early Childhood Programs"; and
"Early Childhood Care and Development: Issues from the Developing
Country Perspective." Part 4 addresses research strategies
for ECE in six chapters: "Young Children and
Measurement: Standardized and Nonstandardized Instruments in ECE";
"The Interpretive Voice: Qualitative Research in ECE";
"Studying Educational Settings"; "Trends in Demographic
and Behavioral Research"; "The Research-Policy Connection:
Moving Beyond Incrementalism"; and "Chinese and Japanese
Kindergartens: Case Study in Comparative Research." Each chapter
contains an extensive bibliography, and the volume itself has both
name and subject indexes. (MDM)
Descriptors: *Child Development; *Curriculum Development; *Early
Childhood Education; Educational Methods; *Educational Policy; *Educational
Research; Multicultural Education; Play; Research Methodology; Student
Evaluation; *Young Children
Identifiers: Educational Issues
