Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8


Book Description

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.




Psychological Development in the Elementary Year


Book Description

Psychological Development in the Elementary Years is the second in a series of reviews relating current theory and research on psychological development to educational practice. The book discusses the significance and change in psychological sex roles; peer relations; and the development and regulation of aggression in young children. The text also describes the acquisition of self-control; the developmental trends in the learning processes; and the foundations and direction of cognitive development. The theory and research on children's achievement; the family influences on language and cognitive development and the personal and social causation in the school context are also considered. The book further tackles the behavioral perspective of children with learning and behavior problems. Psychologists, psychiatrists, behavioral psychologists, and students taking related courses will find the book invaluable.




Positive Psychology in the Elementary School Classroom


Book Description

Use the neuroscience of emotional learning to transform your teaching. How can the latest breakthroughs in the neuroscience of emotional learning transform the classroom? How can teachers use the principles and practices of positive psychology to ensure optimal 21st-century learning experiences for all children? Patty O’Grady answers those questions. Positive Psychology in the Elementary School Classroom presents the basics of positive psychology to educators and provides interactive resources to enrich teachers’ proficiency when using positive psychology in the classroom. O’Grady underlines the importance of teaching the whole child: encouraging social awareness and positive relationships, fostering self-motivation, and emphasizing social and emotional learning. Through the use of positive psychology in the classroom, children can learn to be more emotionally aware of their own and others’ feelings, use their strengths to engage academically and socially, pursue meaningful lives, and accomplish their personal goals. The book begins with Martin Seligman’s positive psychology principles, and continues into an overview of affective learning, including its philosophical and psychological roots, from finding the “golden mean” of emotional regulation to finding a child’s potencies and “golden self.” O’Grady connects the core concepts of educational neuroscience to the principles of positive psychology, explaining how feelings permeate the brain, affecting children’s thoughts and actions; how insular neurons make us feel empathy and help us learn by observation; and how the frontal cortex is the hall monitor of the brain. The book is full of practical examples and interactive resources that invite every educator to create a positive psychology classroom, where children can flourish and reach their full potential.




Parenting Matters


Book Description

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.




Development During Middle Childhood


Book Description

For the first time, a report focuses specifically on middle childhoodâ€"a discrete, pivotal period of development. In this review of research, experts examine the physical health and cognitive development of 6- to 12-year-old children as well as their surroundings: school and home environment, ecocultural setting, and family and peer relationships.




The Promise of Adolescence


Book Description

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.







Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing


Book Description

Living with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing smashed potatoes on walls at Hamburger Heaven, or scribbling all over Peter's homework, he's never far from trouble. He's a two-year-old terror who gets away with everything—and Peter's had enough. When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter's pet turtle, it's the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge too long. How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?




Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan


Book Description

Note to Readers: Publisher does not guarantee quality or access to any included digital components if book is purchased through a third-party seller. The third edition of this unrivaled text on loss, grief, and bereavement continues to provide a unique biopsychosocial perspective and developmental framework for understanding grieving patterns. Organized by a lifespan trajectory, this text describes developmental aspects of grieving, linking these theories to effective clinical work. Biopsychosocial developmental theories, including neurobiological and genetic information, frame chapters that include recent research on how people of that age respond to varied loss situations, and intervention strategies supported by practice experience and empirical evidence are addressed. The new edition illuminates special considerations in risk and resilience for each life phase, systematically addressing issues of oppression, marginalization, and health disparities. It includes a new chapter on grief and loss as they effect individuals over 85 and covers spiritual development for each life phase. The book restructures the adult chapters to reflect major changes in theories on expanded lifespans, adds to content on evolving living arrangements for aging individuals, and expands coverage of common losses at different points in the lifespan. This new edition includes material on ageism and its impact on health and also examines the challenges faced by older adults in the LGBT community. Additionally, the third edition explicitly incorporates the rapidly evolving science of Adverse Childhood Experiences, addressing how ACEs intersect with grief and loss. Vignettes and case studies are incorporated into each life-phase chapter, illuminating the lived experience of grief. Thought-provoking discussion questions, chapter objectives, and additional resources for both students and instructors reinforce critical thinking and an Instructor’s Manual, Casebook (of prior chapter readings), and PowerPoint slides are available for download. A free eBook is included with every text purchase. New to the Third Edition: Adds Special Considerations in Risk and Resilience to every chapter Incorporates Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and their effects at various life stages Focus on neurobiological and genomic aspects of health Includes a new chapter on the Fourth Age – from 85 up Discusses spiritual development for each life phase Incorporates new case studies Restructures adult chapters to reflect major new theories about expanded lifespans Welcomes a new author who adds content on the third and fourth ages of older adulthood, ageism, and the experience of aging in LGBT communities Expands content on areas of marginalization – race, gender, financial resources, educational disparities, and more Expands content on evolving living arrangements for older adults Expands information on typical losses at different life stages Delivers expanded web materials including a casebook of prior readings from earlier editions, in addition to PowerPoint slides and class plans and activities in the Instructor Manual Key Features: Provides a complete overview of classic and current grief theories Delivers a standardized developmental approach to each age group for consistency Presents practical intervention strategies for different life stages Includes chapter objectives, vignettes, case studies, and narratives to illustrate specific forms of loss Delivers abundant instructor resources including instructor’s guide with sample syllabus and exercises, PowerPoints, class activities, and suggested resources




The Family Context of Parenting in Children's Adaptation to Elementary School


Book Description

This volume focuses on how parent-child relationships aren't the only determinants of a child's academic competence, social competence, and behavior. Rather, these relationships must be understood in the context of the role they play within the family as