Culture and child development in early childhood programs : practices for quality education and care / Carollee Howes ; foreword by Louise Derman-Sparks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Howes, Carollee.

Series:

Early childhood education series (Teachers College Press)

Early childhood education series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Early childhood education--United States.

Early childhood education.

United States.

Child development--United States.

Child development.

Physical Description:

xi, 203 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [2010]

Summary:

Early childood education programs are expected to provide exemplary care for all children-poor and affluent, children of color and White children-while also adapting care to include children's families and cultures. These two sets of expectations are often difficult for teachers and programs to meet. In this book, Carollee Howes shows how high-quality programs successfully adapt child development guidelines within cultural contexts, and why quality needs to be and can be measured in culturally specific ways. This important book:

Closely examines ECE programs considered exemplary for low-income children of color.

Shown how directors and teachers successfully use practices derived from their cultural communities to implement universal standards of child care.

Identifies the commonalities in good early childhood programs that are shared across class, race, and ethnic communities.

Offers best practices based on extensive assessments, interviews, and observations.

Contents:

1 Overview 1

Building a New Conceptual Framework for Studying Children's Experiences Within ECE Programs 3

Cultural Communities and Practices 4

The Research Team 7

The Kaleidoscope: Examining Both Individual Child Development and Participation in a Cultural Community 9

Organization of the Book 11

Part I Seeing ECE Programs Through a Kaleidoscope: Lenses and Descriptions

2 Multiple Lenses and Elements 15

Analyzing Contextual Influences: Kaleidoscopes and Circles 16

Cultural Shaping of Early Childhood Practices 16

Describing Early Childhood Programs 17

3 Quality and School Readiness: Promises, Controversies, and Definitions 28

Defining Quality by Selecting and Assessing ECE Programs 29

School Success: "What Is a Prepared Child?" 37

Children Participating in the Longitudinal Study 39

4 How They Did Things: Practices, Activities, and Activities Embedded in Practices 45

Practices Directly Influencing Children's Experiences in Classrooms 47

Practices Indirectly Influencing Children's Experiences in the Classroom 61

Children and Teachers Involved in Activities and Interaction 64

Teacher Engagement with Children and Activities Embedded Within Practices 69

5 ECE Programs Nested Within Larger Cultural Communities 72

Cultural Community, Race, and Ethnicity 72

Focus on Practices 75

Activities and Interaction 83

Part II ECE Programs Within Cultural Communities

6 Los Angeles Early Childhood Programs Within the African American Community 87

Focus on the Larger Cultural Community 87

Focus on Practices 91

Focus on the Interpersonal 97

Focus on the Children 100

Summary 101

7 Early Childhood Programs Within the Latino/a Larger Cultural Community 103

Focus on the Larger Cultural Community 103

Focus on Practices 109

Focus on the Interpersonal 114

Focus on the Children 116

Summary 117

8 Early Childhood Programs in Rural North Carolina 119

Focus on the Larger Cultural Communities 120

Focus on Practices 122

Focus on the Interpersonal 125

Focus on the Children 128

Summary 128

9 Serving Children in a Multicultural Context: The Diverse Families Cultural Community 129

Serving Children in a Multicultural Context 129

Focus on Practices 134

Focus on the Interpersonal 137

Focus on the Children 140

Summary 140

10 Conclusions 142

Culture, Child Development, and Early Childhood Education 142

Limitations 146

Application to Current Issues in the ECE Field 147

What We Have Learned 149.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780807750209

0807750204

OCLC:

432653910