Early Childhood Development and Learning: New Knowledge for Policy

Compelling New Scientific Evidence Reveals That A Child's Earliest Experiences Have A Major Role In Shaping The Likelihood Of Getting Off To A Good Start In Life And School, For These Are The Years When The Essential Structures For Growth And Learning Are Put In Place. These Findings Have Important Implications For The Content Of Child Care And Early Education Programs And Highlight The Public Interest In Assuring The Quality Of Those Programs. Similarly, Decades Of Research On The Science Of Learning Has Shown That Deep Understanding Requires Both A Rich Foundation Of Factual Knowledge And Command Of The Subject's Conceptual Frameworks--whether It Be Chess, Mathematics, Or Jet Engine Mechanics. This Research Has Important Implications For Educational Practice--what And How Teachers Teach--and For Policy, For Example, State Education Standards. This Booklet Includes Executive Summaries Of Five Reports That, Taken Together, Provide Policy Makers, Educators, And Parents With Important Tools For Progress. It Is Intended For Federal Administrators, Members Of Congress, Leaders Of Nongovernmental Organizations, And Others Who Want To Use The Best Available Science To Develop Policies To Promote Child Development And Education. Conducted Under The Auspices Of The Division Of Behavioral And Social Sciences And Education Of The National Research Council--the Academies' Operating Arm--and The Institute Of Medicine, These Studies Exemplify The Contributions Of Science In Charting New Directions For Policies And Programs. Early Childhood Development And Learning; Copyright; Contents; Overview; Availability Information; From Neurons To Neighborhoods The Science Of Early Childhood Development; Committee On Integrating The Science Of Early Childhood Development; Executive Summary; Putting The Study In Context; The Committee's Charge; Core Concepts Of Development; Policy And Practice; All Children Are Born Wired For Feelings And Ready To Learn; Early Environments Matter And Nurturing Relationships Are Essential Society Is Changing And The Needs Of Young Children Are Not Being Addressedinteractions Among Early Childhood Science, Policy, And Practice Are Problematic And Demand Dramatic Rethinking; Research And Evaluation; Integrating Child Development Research, Neuroscience, And Molecular Genetics; Integrating The Basic Science Of Human Development And The Applied Science Of Early Childhood Intervention; Improving Evaluations Of Early Childhood Interventions; Concluding Thoughts; Eager To Learn Educating Our Preschoolers; Committee On Early Childhood Pedagogy Executive Summarycontext Of The Report And Committee Charge; New Understandings Of Early Childhood Development And Pedagogy; Variation Among Children; Quality In Education And Care; Features Of Quality Programs; Curriculum And Pedagogy; Assessment In Early Childhood Education; Recommendations; Professional Development; Educational Materials; Policy; The Public; Future Research Needs; Research On Early Childhood Learning And Development; Research On Programs, Curricula, And Assessment Research On Ways To Create Universal High Qualityconclusion; Preventing Reading Difficulties In Young Children; Committee On The Prevention Of Reading Difficulties In Young Children; Executive Summary; The Committee's Approach; Conceptualizing Reading And Reading Instruction; Recommendations; Literacy Instruction In First Through Third Grades; Promoting Literacy Development In Preschool And Kindergarten; Education And Professional Development For All Involved In Literacy Instruction; Teaching Reading To Speakers Of Other Languages Ensuring Adequate Resources To Meet Children's Needsaddressing The Needs Of Children With Persistent Reading Difficulties; Conclusion; How People Learn Brain, Mind, Experience, And School; Committee On Learning Research And Educational Practice; Learning: From Speculation To Science; Focus: People, Schools, And The Potential To Learn; Development Of The Science Of Learning; Learning With Understanding; Pre-existing Knowledge; Active Learning; Implications For Education; An Evolving Science; Key Findings; Implications For Teaching Division Of Behavioral And Social Sciences And Education, National Research Council, National Academies. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 99-101).