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Defining Early Childhood Education
An explosion of research over the past several decades offers much to learn about what is needed to support optimal development for young children. This entry first reviews the major understandings about development that inform and define early childhood education. It then describes key elements of high-quality early childhood education programs.
How Young Children Learn
From developmental psychology we have learned that active experiences are the trigger that enables children to organize their brains to support the challenges they meet. What this means is that during the early years of life, young children make sense of new concepts and ideas through active engagement with materials, ideas, and relationships. What adults often refer to as play—block play, dramatic play, singing, dancing, painting, drawing, and so forth—is really the ...
- Assessment
- Academics and Academic Assessment in Early Education
- Accommodations for Assessment
- Assessing Children for Disabilities
- Assessment of Play
- Assessment, Limitations of
- Authentic Assessment
- Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development
- Checklists and Rating Scales
- Child Observation Record
- Classroom Assessment Scoring System
- Developmental Assessment
- Developmental Screening Instruments
- Differentiated Instruction and Assessment
- Documentation
- Emotional Disabilities and Assessment
- Gesell Assessments
- Identification of Special Needs
- Intellectual Assessment
- Interpreting Assessment Data
- Literacy Assessment
- Mental Health Assessments
- Multiple Methods of Assessment
- Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
- Objectivity and Subjectivity in Assessment
- Observational Assessment
- Ounce Scale, The
- Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
- Prekindergarten Program Evaluation
- Program Evaluation
- Project Spectrum
- Readiness Assessments
- Reliability and Validity in Child Assessment
- Social Skills Assessments
- Standardized Assessment
- Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment
- Teacher Materials for Documentation
- Teacher Performance Assessment
- Work Sampling System, The
- Associations
- Alliance for Childhood
- BUILD Initiative
- Center for Applied Research
- Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
- Division for Early Childhood
- Foundation for Child Development
- Gesell Institute of Child Development
- IPA/USA American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
- National Center for Children in Poverty
- National Head Start Association
- National Institute for Early Education Research
- Ounce of Prevention Fund
- Resources for Infant Educarers
- ZERO TO THREE
- Child Care
- Child Development
- Child Care Assistance and Child Development
- Child Development and Early Childhood Education
- Determinants of Child Development
- Early Number Representation Development
- Executive Functioning
- Home-Based Early Childhood Education
- Nature and Young Children
- Neonatal Health and Development
- Neuroscience and Early Education
- Poverty Effects
- School Readiness
- Spiritual Development
- Typical Development
- Wellness Model for Young Children and Families
- Child Development–Cognition
- Cognitive Developmental Theory
- Convergent and Divergent Thinking
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Dual Language Learners and Critical Thinking Strategies
- Imagination
- Intellectual Assessment
- Intellectual Diversity
- Measurement, Children’s Understanding of
- Multiple Intelligences
- Pretense
- Reasoning and Problem Solving
- Social Class Effects on Development and Learning
- Social Play and Cognitive Development
- Spatial Development
- Theory of Mind
- Thinking
- Child Development–Language and Literacy
- Acquisition of Reading and Writing
- Children’s Literature
- Children’s Writing
- Comprehension
- Early Literacy Development
- Engaging Conversation
- Expressive Language
- Family Literacy Movement
- Key Words
- Language Development
- Language Development, Theories of
- Language Disabilities
- Language Diversity
- Literacy
- Literacy Assessment
- Literacy-Enhanced Props
- National Early Literacy Panel
- Oral Language Development
- Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
- Phonological Ability
- Read-Alouds
- Reading
- Speech Development
- Speech Development, Issues in
- Storytelling and Story Acting
- Vocabulary
- Child Development–Physical/Motor
- Child Development–Social-Emotional
- Aggression
- Attachment and Stress
- Autonomy
- Caring
- Challenging Behavior
- Child Care Quality and Young Children’s Behavior
- Children’s Cubbies
- Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
- Conflict Management
- Difficult Temperaments, Children With
- Dual Language Learners and the Development of Self-Regulation
- Emotional Development
- Empathy
- Friendships
- Grief and Loss, Young Children’s Understanding of
- Guidance With Girls
- Guiding Behavior
- Healthy Environments for Social-Emotional Development
- Initiative and Industry
- Mental Health Assessments
- Mental Health Services
- Mindfulness
- Moral Development
- Motivation
- Mutual Regulation Model
- Peers and Play
- Prenatal Mental Health
- Prosocial Behavior
- Psychosexual Theory
- Psychosocial Theory
- Relational Power
- Relationship Building
- Resilience in Adversity
- Self-Regulation
- Sexuality Development
- Shyness in Young Children
- Sibling Relationships
- Social Referencing
- Social Skills and School Success
- Social Skills Assessments
- Social-Emotional Competence
- Social-Emotional Development
- Sociomoral Development
- Temperament
- Temperament and Development
- Trauma and Young Children
- Trust
- Collaboration
- Business Partnerships
- Caring Communities
- Child Care Policy and Practice
- Community Partnerships
- Community Schools
- Community–University Partnerships
- Congruence
- Family Partnerships
- Family-Centered Practices
- Framework of Six Types of Involvement
- Grandparent Roles
- History of Early Childhood Education Policy
- Interdisciplinary Models
- Internships
- Leadership in Early Childhood Education
- Master Teachers
- Mentors
- Obesity Prevention
- Preschool Administration
- Preservice Teacher Preparation
- Principals, Role of
- Professionalism
- Program Evaluation
- Quality Through Collaboration: Oklahoma’s Quality Initiatives
- Student Teaching and Internships, Issues in
- Transdisciplinary Collaboration
- Transforming the Workforce
- Transitioning
- Workforce Development
- World Bank
- Curriculum
- Anti-Bias Education, Components of
- Approaches to Early Mathematics Instruction
- Art
- Arts Integration
- Bank Street
- Child Observation Record
- Child-Initiated Play
- Children’s Literature
- Children’s Writing
- Close Observation of Children Leads to Powerful Curriculum: Sylvia Ashton-Warner
- Common Core State Standards
- Comprehension
- Constructivism
- Constructivist Curriculum
- Creative Curriculum, The
- Curriculum and Early Childhood Education
- Documentation
- Early Childhood Science Experiences
- Early Literacy Development
- Early Number Representation Development
- Emergent Curriculum
- Expressive Language
- Family Engagement in Curriculum
- HighScope
- HighScope Perry Preschool Study
- Home-Based Early Childhood Education
- Infant and Toddler Programming
- Infant Signing
- Inquiry
- Integrated Approaches
- Integrated Curriculum
- Key Words
- Measurement, Children’s Understanding of
- Montessori Programs and Environments
- Movement Education
- Music
- Nature and Young Children
- Physical Education
- Play, Curriculum, and Pedagogy
- Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Implement Digital Media
- Project Approach
- Project Spectrum
- Reading
- Reasoning and Problem Solving
- Reggio Emilia Approach
- Reggio Emilia Approach, Role of the Arts in
- Science
- Social Studies Topics
- Standards
- Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment
- Storytelling and Story Acting
- Technology and Play
- Technology in Early Childhood Education
- Theater
- Tools of the Mind
- Transitions and Routines
- Vocabulary
- Waldorf Education
- Diversity
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Anti-Bias Education Theory
- Anti-Bias Education, Components of
- Bias
- Bilingual Families
- Black Boys, Early Childhood Education and
- Chronic Illness
- Communication Disabilities
- Critical Theory
- Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
- Cultural Competence
- Cultural Diversity
- Cultural Variations in Play
- Development of Prejudice
- Developmental Disabilities
- Differentiation
- Diversity in Early Childhood Education
- Dual Language Learners
- Dual Language Learners and Critical Thinking Strategies
- Dual Language Learners and the Development of Self-Regulation
- Dual Language Learners, Strategies for
- Economic Differences in Play
- Economic Status and Geographic Influences on Development and Learning
- Equity and Equality in Early Childhood
- Ethnic and Racial Identity Development
- Ethnic Differences and Families
- Family Structure
- Family Structure Diversity in the Early Childhood Program
- Funds of Knowledge
- Gender Diversity
- Gender Roles
- Gifted Education
- Head Start
- Homelessness
- Immigrant Children
- Inequality From Birth
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Intellectual Diversity
- Language Diversity
- Migrant Families
- Multiracial Families
- National Center for Children in Poverty
- Parents Who Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer
- Partnership Transitions
- Poverty Effects
- Professional Development for Diversity
- Refugee Children
- Religion and Families
- Sensory Integration
- Social Class Effects on Development and Learning
- Special Needs
- Speech Development
- Speech Development, Issues in
- Strengths-Based Education and Practices
- Early Intervention
- Abecedarian Project
- Accommodations and Adaptations
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Assessing Children for Disabilities
- Assistive Technology in Early Intervention
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Atypical Development
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Behavior Disorders
- Behavioral Theory
- Child-Parent Centers
- Communication Disabilities
- Critical Theory
- Developmental Disabilities
- Direct Instruction
- Division for Early Childhood
- Early Childhood Inclusion
- Early Head Start
- Early Intervention
- Early Intervention, Legal Basis for
- Emotional Disabilities and Assessment
- Fathers in Early Intervention
- Head Start
- Home Visitation With Mothers and Infants and Children
- Home-Based Early Intervention Practices
- Identification of Special Needs
- Individualized Family Service Plan and Individualized Education Program
- Intellectual Disabilities
- Language Disabilities
- Personnel Preparation for Early Intervention
- Physical Disabilities
- Recommended Early Intervention Practice Guidelines
- Special Needs
- Universal Design for Learning
- Environments
- Accreditation
- Challenging and Supportive Climates
- Child Care
- Child Development Laboratory Schools
- Children’s Cubbies
- Comer Schools
- Community Schools
- Cooperative Learning
- Early Childhood Inclusion
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Early Head Start
- Early Intervention
- Executive Functioning
- Healthy Environments for Social-Emotional Development
- Infant and Toddler Programming
- Infant Rooms
- Kindergarten Environments
- Learning Materials
- Literacy-Enhanced Props
- Looping
- Montessori Programs and Environments
- Multiage Spaces
- Outdoor Play Spaces
- Playground Structures
- Preschool Rooms
- Primary Grade Learning Spaces
- Program Formats and Schedules
- Selection of Furniture
- Toddler Rooms
- Transitions and Routines
- Families
- Adoption
- At-Risk Families
- Attachment and Stress
- Bilingual Families
- Bioecological Theory
- Blended Families
- Breastfeeding
- Child Abuse Prevention
- Chronic Illness
- Cohabitation
- Commercialism
- Congruence
- Coparenting
- Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
- Deployment and Parenting
- Economic Status and Geographic Influences on Development and Learning
- Empathy
- Ethnic Differences and Families
- Family Child Care
- Family Engagement in Curriculum
- Family Engagement Models
- Family Health
- Family Life Education
- Family Literacy Movement
- Family Partnerships
- Family Strengths
- Family Structure
- Family Structure Diversity in the Early Childhood Program
- Family Systems Theories
- Family-Centered Practices
- Fathers
- Fathers in Early Intervention
- Framework of Six Types of Involvement
- Funds of Knowledge
- Gender Roles
- Grandparent Roles
- Healthy Choices and Young Children
- Home Visitation With Mothers and Infants and Children
- Home Visits
- Homelessness
- Immigrant Children
- Immigrant Families and Early Childhood Education
- Incarcerated Parents, Children of
- Infant–Parent Relationships
- Maternal Work Status
- Migrant Families
- Military Child Development Centers
- Military Families, Children in
- Mothers
- Multiracial Families
- Mutual Regulation Model
- Nutrition
- Parent and Family Influences on Active Free Play
- Parenting Effects on Child Development
- Parenting Support and Education
- Parents as Teachers
- Parents Who Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer
- Partnership Transitions
- Prenatal Mental Health
- Refugee Children
- Religion and Families
- Resilience in Adversity
- Sibling Relationships
- Siblings and Play
- Sleep
- Social Referencing
- Sociomoral Development
- Spiritual Development
- Stress and Resilience in Families
- Substance Abuse and Addiction
- Teen Pregnancy and Parenting
- Transition to Parenthood
- Trust
- Violence in Families
- Wellness Model for Young Children and Families
- Work and Families
- Play
- Assessment of Play
- Child-Initiated Play
- Commercialism
- Cultural Variations in Play
- Economic Differences in Play
- Free Play, Importance of
- Guided Play
- Media Influences on Play
- Noncurricular Play
- Outdoor Play Spaces
- Parent and Family Influences on Active Free Play
- Peers and Play
- Play and Early Childhood Education
- Play and Early Writing
- Play, Benefits of
- Play, Curriculum, and Pedagogy
- Play, Definition of
- Play, Nature of
- Playground Structures
- Recess
- Rough and Tumble Play
- Siblings and Play
- Social Play and Cognitive Development
- Sociodramatic Play and Sara Smilansky
- Technology and Play
- Policy and Advocacy
- Accessibility
- Accountability in Early Care and Education
- Accreditation
- Affordability
- Alliance for Childhood
- Assessment, Limitations of
- At-Risk Families
- Authentic Assessment
- BUILD Initiative
- Center for Applied Research
- Child Abuse Prevention
- Child Care Assistance and Child Development
- Child Care Policy and Practice
- Child-Parent Centers
- Common Core State Standards
- Community–University Partnerships
- Crime, Early Childhood Education and
- Data-Based Child Advocacy
- Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Education Systems
- Early Childhood Research and Policy Linkages
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Early Childhood Teacher Education
- Early Intervention, Legal Basis for
- Effective Advocacy Practices
- Ethics in Early Childhood Education
- Family Health
- Family Strengths
- Grade Retention
- Highly Qualified Early Childhood Teachers
- High-Quality Early Education, Long-Term Benefits of
- HighScope Perry Preschool Study
- High-Stakes Standards-Based Accountability Reform
- History of Early Childhood Education Policy
- Individualized Family Service Plan and Individualized Education Program
- IPA/USA American Association for the Child’s Right to Play
- Maternal Work Status
- Men in Early Childhood Education
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
- National Head Start Association
- National Institute for Early Education Research
- Neonatal Health and Development
- Ounce of Prevention Fund
- Policy and Early Childhood Education
- Prevention Science and Early Education
- Quality
- Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
- Quality Through Collaboration: Oklahoma’s Quality Initiatives
- Recommended Early Intervention Practice Guidelines
- Regulatory Agencies
- School Readiness
- Smart Start (North Carolina)
- Standardized Assessment
- State Policy Making
- Teacher Preparation Policy and Practice
- Work and Families
- World Bank
- The Profession of Early Childhood Education
- Accountability in Early Care and Education
- Business Partnerships
- Child Development and Early Childhood Education
- Classroom Processes
- Clinical Experiences
- Coaching
- Community Partnerships
- Conceptual Framework for Teacher Preparation Programs
- Content Knowledge
- Cooperating Teachers
- Curriculum and Early Childhood Education
- Data-Based Child Advocacy
- Defining Early Childhood Education
- Developmentally Appropriate Practice
- Diversity in Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Education Systems
- Early Childhood Research and Policy Linkages
- Early Childhood Teacher Education
- Effective Advocacy Practices
- Equity and Equality in Early Childhood
- Ethics in Early Childhood Education
- Family Life Education
- Field Experiences
- Highly Qualified Early Childhood Teachers
- High-Quality Early Education, Long-Term Benefits of
- History of Early Childhood Education in the United States
- Identifying as an Early Childhood Professional
- Immigrant Families and Early Childhood Education
- Intentional Teaching
- Internships
- Interpreting Assessment Data
- Kindergarten Environments
- Leadership in Early Childhood Education
- Master Teachers
- Measuring Effectiveness
- Men in Early Childhood Education
- Mental Health Services
- Mentors
- Models
- Moral Dimensions of Teaching
- Multiple Methods of Assessment
- Neuroscience and Early Education
- Noncurricular Play
- Objectivity and Subjectivity in Assessment
- Observational Assessment
- Paraprofessionals
- Parenting Support and Education
- Pedagogical Knowledge
- Personnel Preparation for Early Intervention
- Planning
- Play and Early Childhood Education
- Play, Definition of
- Policy and Early Childhood Education
- Postmodernism
- Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Implement Digital Media
- Preschool Administration
- Preservice Teacher Preparation
- Prevention Science and Early Education
- Principals, Role of
- Professional Development for Diversity
- Professional Dispositions of Early Childhood Educators
- Professionalism
- Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
- Reflective Practice
- Regulatory Agencies
- Reliability and Validity in Child Assessment
- Standards
- State Policy Making
- Student Teaching and Internships, Issues in
- Teacher Beliefs
- Teacher Materials for Documentation
- Teacher Performance Assessment
- Teacher Preparation Policy and Practice
- Teaching Teams
- Technology in Early Childhood Education
- Theory to Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care
- Transdisciplinary Collaboration
- Transforming the Workforce
- Workforce Development
- Teaching and Learning
- Abecedarian Project
- Academics and Academic Assessment in Early Education
- Accommodations and Adaptations
- Accommodations for Assessment
- Acquisition of Reading and Writing
- Approaches to Early Mathematics Instruction
- Approaches to Learning
- Art
- Arts Integration
- Assistive Technology in Early Intervention
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Autonomy
- Bank Street
- Behavior Disorders
- Bias
- Black Boys, Early Childhood Education and
- Brain Development
- Caring
- Center-Based Care
- Challenging and Supportive Climates
- Challenging Behavior
- Child-Initiated Learning
- Classroom Assessment Scoring System
- Classroom Processes
- Clinical Experiences
- Coaching
- Conceptual Framework for Teacher Preparation Programs
- Conflict Management
- Content Knowledge
- Convergent and Divergent Thinking
- Cooperating Teachers
- Cooperative Learning
- Creative Curriculum, The
- Creativity
- Cultural Competence
- Curiosity
- Determinants of Child Development
- Developmentally Appropriate Practice
- Differentiated Instruction and Assessment
- Differentiation
- Direct Instruction
- Dual Language Learners
- Dual Language Learners, Strategies for
- Early Childhood Science Experiences
- Emergent Curriculum
- Engaging Conversation
- Field Experiences
- Friendships
- Gifted Education
- Grade Retention
- Grief and Loss, Young Children’s Understanding of
- Guided Play
- Guiding Behavior
- History of Early Childhood Education in the United States
- Home-Based Early Intervention Practices
- Identifying as an Early Childhood Professional
- Imagination
- Initiative and Industry
- Inquiry
- Inquiry-Based Learning
- Integrated Approaches
- Integrated Curriculum
- Intentional Teaching
- Interdisciplinary Models
- Joyful Learning
- Kindergarten
- Language Development
- Learning Materials
- Literacy
- Looping
- Measuring Effectiveness
- Mindfulness
- Moral Development
- Moral Dimensions of Teaching
- Motivation
- Multiage Education
- Multiage Spaces
- Music
- National Early Literacy Panel
- Oral Language Development
- Paraprofessionals
- Pedagogical Knowledge
- Phonological Ability
- Planning
- Play and Early Writing
- Prekindergarten
- Prekindergarten Program Evaluation
- Preschool
- Preschool Rooms
- Pretense
- Primary Grade Learning Spaces
- Primary Grades
- Professional Dispositions of Early Childhood Educators
- Program Formats and Schedules
- Project Approach
- Prosocial Behavior
- Quality
- Read-Alouds
- Reflective Practice
- Relationship Building
- School of the 21st Century (21C)
- Science
- Self-Regulation
- Sensory Development
- Setting Influences on Child Development
- Shyness in Young Children
- Social Skills and School Success
- Social Studies Topics
- Sociocultural Theory
- Spatial Development
- Strengths-Based Education and Practices
- Teacher Beliefs
- Teacher Roles in Inquiry
- Teacher-Directed Learning
- Teaching Teams
- Temperament and Development
- Theater
- Thinking
- Toddler Rooms
- Typical Development
- Warm and Responsive Interactions
- Work Sampling System, The
- Theories and Models
- Anti-Bias Education Theory
- Behavioral Theory
- Bioecological Theory
- Close Observation of Children Leads to Powerful Curriculum: Sylvia Ashton-Warner
- Cognitive Developmental Theory
- Constructivism
- Constructivist Curriculum
- Critical Theory
- Family Engagement Models
- Family Systems Theories
- HighScope
- Language Development, Theories of
- Maturational Theory
- Models
- Multiple Intelligences
- Parents as Teachers
- Postmodernism
- Psychosexual Theory
- Psychosocial Theory
- Reggio Emilia Approach
- Reggio Emilia Approach, Role of the Arts in
- School of the 21st Century (21C)
- Smart Start (North Carolina)
- Sociocultural Theory
- Stage Theories
- Theory of Mind
- Theory to Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care
- Tools of the Mind
- Waldorf Education
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