Despite the ubiquitous presence of children in society, the dominant discourse of childhood does not admit room for much of the complexity that the condition of children presents. This project shows that reading for childhood in philosophy and literature makes space for re-imagining childhood as a complex and valuable concept that impacts both the experience of children and their relationships with others and the world. This project situates childhood as a magnified time of growth and development, a unique aspect of human life. At the same time childhood cultivates an interest in and with others, it is also a constructed concept. This inquiry engages this complexity by a reading of rich descriptions and inquiries of childhood in texts of philosophy and literature. These foundational texts are: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile, John Dewey's Democracy and Education, Simone De Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Virginia Woolf's The Waves, Vivian Paley's The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Helicopter, and Harriet Cuffaro's Experimenting with the World. Childhood in the texts functions to complicate and reframe conventional and historical interpretations of childhood. The readings in the project challenge a conventional rendering of childhood that serves to distance childhood from its wider community. Childhood is reframed as a concept of inclusion of the other, particularly the adult educator. The project expands scholarship examining how adult interactions with childhood manifest changes in conceptual understandings or practices. The project concludes that cultivating habits of reading for the concept of childhood assists educators in engaging their teaching practice meaningfully. Uncovering the complexity of the concept of childhood invites educators to uncover such ethical aspects of the educational relationship as responsibility, recognition, acceptance of difference, acknowledgement of power dynamics, freedom, and growth. In this context childhood functions as an ethical construct - a guiding value - in education. Multiple ways of viewing and reflecting on the concept of childhood illuminate possibilities for renewing and reengaging these ethical aspects within an educational context.

Research has demonstrated a consistent link between reports of parent-teacher relationship quality and various student outcomes within the general education, early childhood population. However, there remains a need to more fully understand the factors that contribute to parent-teacher partnerships and the mechanism through which they impact student progress. Consistent, frequent, honest, bi-directional communication is considered to be a key aspect of parent-teacher collaborative efforts, but limited research has objectively explored the content and quality of ongoing, day-to-day parent-teacher exchanges and how communication contributes to parent-teacher partnerships and student outcomes. Furthermore, while many parents of children with special needs, particularly ASD, are not fully satisfied with their current level of communication and family-school partnering, there is little published research in this area for this population. Communication notebooks are a commonly used communication tool in special education classrooms around the country, especially for students who have difficulty communicating, such as those with ASD. Despite their widespread use and the time commitment they require of teachers and parents, minimal empirical research has explored how they are typically used and how they may be utilized to their maximum potential. The current study sought to systematically examine the content of family-school communication notebooks at two ABA preschools for young children with special needs. The Notebook Communication System (NCS), a reliable and valid coding tool developed specifically for this project, was used to analyze 60 communication notebooks. In addition, parents completed a survey on their partnership and communication with teachers, and teachers provided data on student progress on learning goals. This research investigated the association between notebook content over six months of the school year, the quality of parent-teacher partnerships from the parents' perspective, parent report of familiarity with and reinforcement of educational goals at home, and student learning outcomes. While parent-teacher communication was not directly related to parent-teacher partnerships or student outcomes, other interesting relationships and findings about communication notebook use emerged. Results demonstrated that students' verbal skills, teacher quality, and family income predicted student outcomes. In addition, the strength of parent-teacher partnership predicted the frequency of parent practice at home. The data revealed that parent and teacher use of the communication notebook was significantly related with regards to frequency as well as content. Within this sample, communication notebooks were useful for and desired by most families, especially those whose children were bussed to school and did not have opportunities for regular in-person meetings. Family demographic variables and student language level were found to have a significant impact on parent and teacher communication and collaboration. Clinical implications regarding parent-teacher partnerships and the use of communication notebooks for preschoolers with special needs are discussed along with directions for future research.

<p> In an age of <i>adultism</i> in which children have been perceived as mere drains on society, schooling often has been viewed as a means to an end. Due to the fact that a capitalistic society requires future workers, children have been socialized in the necessary skills and knowledge required to fulfill their future job requirements. Consequently, schooling often has taken place in the form of the banking model in which students are treated as empty vessels to be filled up by the knowledgeable teachers, and then to regurgitate said knowledge on assessments to prove their understanding. I challenge this antiquated vision of education, especially in relation to what it has meant for young children in preschool through first grade. </p><p> Using critical pedagogy and the Reggio Emilia approach as theoretical frameworks, I conducted a critical narrative study of eight early educators who have had experience working with students in early grades in emancipatory ways. I found that educators&rsquo; own experiences and consciousness greatly affected their beliefs about young children as well as the <i>liberatory </i> practices they engaged. I present a proposal for a shift in thinking about the education of young children, a relational model of education that highlights the intersections of critical pedagogy and the Reggio Emilia approach in grounding the work of teaching in armed love, belief in the capabilities of children, and opportunities for students to work with educators as revolutionary partners and transformative change agents who have an active role in their education and their world.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative explanatory multi-case study was to examine childcare workers&rsquo; perceptions about the use of developmentally appropriate practices within private toddler and preschool classrooms. The problem was that some child care workers have a master&rsquo;s or bachelor&rsquo;s degree in another field not related to early childhood education, which may result in a lack of knowledge regarding child growth and development and the use of developmentally inappropriate practices in toddler and preschool classrooms. The theoretical framework for this qualitative multi-case study was based on the contributions from the field of developmental psychology and neuroscience. Data collection included semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a focus group, and documentation which included photographs of participants&rsquo; classrooms, sample lesson plans, and children&rsquo;s work samples from 16 child care workers in Northern New Jersey. Transcribed interviews were imported to NVivo 12 Pro. NVivo 12 Pro was used to manage and organize transcribed data and assign codes, which led to emerging themes. Three themes emerged: (a) preparing children so they would not be behind in kindergarten or for the next teacher; (b) curriculum and the age level approach; and (c) qualifications, knowledge, and training. Recommendations may lead to better monitoring of child care center programs to ensure that program activities are appropriate according to age and developmental level of the children. Recommendations may also lead to training models for child care center directors and child care workers. </p><p>

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