More than 30 highly respected experts contribute cutting-edge information to give readers a comprehensive look at early education and kindergarten transition.;;

Today's kindergarten is the onset of formal schooling for children--the first time families, schools, teachers, and communities come together to form an educational partnership. In this thought-provoking, issues-focused book, the experts explore the research on early schooling and give you a starting point with which to reexamine your beliefs, policies, and practices regarding the first years of school. Scholars, researchers, and other professionals will discover why early school transitions need to be improved and how these critical transitions affect children's future educational success. You'll learn about readiness assessment entrance ages grade retention classroom structure family-school-community partnerships cultural diversity children with disabilities children in poverty This book is part of a series edited by Donald B. Bailey, Jr., Ph.D., and developed in conjunction with the National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL). Visit NCEDL's website for information on the center's research, upcoming meetings, and free online publications..

Making the transition into kindergarten is a significant and exciting milestone in young children's lives. With proper coordination and planning, it can be a smooth process, benefiting children, families, and schools. Is Everybody Ready for Kindergarten? provides early childhood professionals with information and practical advice to help children and their families prepare for the transition and then successfully begin kindergarten. Helpful activities and reproducible checklists and handouts are included.

Life transitions differ concerning the intensity of the change and the intensity of the child’s reaction to that change. For most children, the first and most significant transition is from the family home to an institution of early care and education, which includes preschool. These transitions can also include children's passage from kindergarten to elementary school. However, the intensity of the child's reaction is related to the size of the change that is happening and also to who or what is involved in that change and the importance a child attributes to that someone or something. Supporting Children’s Well-Being During Early Childhood Transition to School is an essential scholarly publication that examines evidence-based practices and approaches that fully support a child’s well-being during transition periods in early childhood. It serves as a resource to rethink contemporary transition theoretical models, research studies, and applied practices. Featuring a wide range of topics such as emotional competency, language learners, and professional development, this book is ideal for academicians, psychologists, early childhood educators, daycare centers, curriculum designers, policymakers, researchers, education professionals, and students.

The Future of Children is a new semiannual publication that provies research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children. This first issue focuses on "School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps." For more than 30 years, researchers have seen white children outperform black and other minority children in tests of reading and math skills. Though there is evidence that the gap has narrowed somewhat, the very persistence of this "racial and ethnic gap" remains a source considerable concern for academics, policy professionals and parents. The ethnic and racial gaps appear to reach back to the preschool years. When children reach the school door, minority children exhibit lower school readiness skills, at least those measured by standardized tests, than their white counterparts. From that point forward, the achievement gap only widens. If policy professionals are to address this disparity in academic achievement (and the consequent disparity in later opportunity), the racial and ethnic gap must be examined in the very earliest years, before students begin school with embedded inequalities. This volume critically summarizes the research on the origin and trajectory of the racial and ethnic gap in the early years from several theoretical perspectives. In particular, research is analyzed to determine when these differences start to emerge, in what areas they appear, what factors contribute to their development by the time children enter grade school and what are the long term effects. Contents: Introducing the Issue of Test Score Ethnic and Racial Disparities, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Sara McLanahan, and Cecilia Elena Rouse Identifying Racial and Ethnic Differences in School Readiness, Donald Rock and Jack Stenner Test Score Gaps: The Contribution of Family and Neighborhood Characteristics, Greg Duncan and Katherine Magnuson Genetic Differences and School Readiness, William T. Dickens Neuroscience Perspectives on Disparities in School Readiness, Kim Noble, B. J. Casey, and Nim Tottenham Low Birth Weight and School Readiness, Nancy Reichman The Impact of Health on School Readiness, Janet Currie Parenting, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Lisa Markman Childcare and Early Education, Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel

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.

Smooth early childhood transitions are key to ensuring positive outcomes for young children the world over, but in today's fragmented early education systems, it's difficult to ensure continuity among programs and services. Early childhood professionals will help change that with this book, the first to propose a comprehensive, practical framework for repairing fissures in the system and making transitions successful for young children globally. A groundbreaking resource for a wide range of professionals, including principals, school-based administrators, program directors, district supervisors, and curriculum specialists, this book brings together the best thinking on ealry childhood transitions from leading researchers and practitioners around the world. Focusing on both vertical and horizontal transitions, the expert contributors give readers the in-dept guidance they need to: develop a coherent, connected framework of curriculum and instruction across the pre-K-Grade 3 continuum; enhance transitions for infants and young children with disabilities and their families; address the specific issues dual language learners face during transitions; align early learning standards, curricula, and assessments; improve all aspects of school readiness; improve transitions through better accountability policies; and understand how transitions are affected by a wide range of factors, including poverty, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the child's neighbourhood. Through invaluable case studies on diverse programs, readers will get practical insight into what really works and apply the lessons of real-life success stories. And with the clear and useful analysis of up-to-date research, policy, and practice, professionals will see where the field is today and where it needs to go to support better transitions.