The Pre–K Debates: Current Controversies and Issues (Zigler, Gilliam, & Barnett)

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The Pre–K Debates
Current Controversies and Issues
Edited by Edward Zigler, Ph.D., Yale University; Walter S. Gilliam, Ph.D., Yale University; W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Rutgers University

"Offers illuminating pros and cons to current early education debates ... concisely captures the most important areas of critical tension in the field and helps sharpen our thinking as we continue to seek their resolution."—Carol Brunson Day, Ph.D., President and CEO, National Black Child Development Institute, Washington, DC

"Thanks and praise to these distinguished authors and editors for capturing and framing questions essential to refined and nuanced thinking about early education. Their ability to balance neutrality with passion offer each of us our own entry point into the thinking and the conversation. "—Sharon Ritchie, Ed.D., Senior Scientist, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Targeted or universal pre-K? Direct instruction or learning through play? These and other debates are heating up as more and more young children across the country gain access to pre-K programs. Now there's a single volume that spotlights today's most urgent pre-K debates, explores each one from all sides, and paves the way for sound, educated decision-making.

Edited by a founder of Head Start and two other highly respected experts, this forward-thinking book gathers a who's who of more than 40 leading thinkers in early childhood education for a rigorous examination of the most-debated pre-K issues. In a clear and compelling point–counterpoint format, this book gives current and future decision-makers multifaceted perspectives on critical questions:

Should pre-K be targeted or universal?
What kind of teacher preparation should be required, in terms of credentials and education?
When should pre-K services be provided and for how long?
Where should pre-K be provided—in public schools only or in other early childhood programs?
What should the primary focus of instruction be—academics or the whole child?
Should pre-K be structured around direct instruction or learning through play?
How can we ensure quality and accountability in pre-K programs?

Readers will also get a helpful synthesis of the major themes of the pre-K debate, investigate lessons learned from model programs in two states (New Jersey and Oklahoma), and identify key issues for future research and debate, including education policies for English language learners and children with special needs.

Whether used as a reference or a preservice text, this landmark book will prepare early childhood administrators, policy makers, and researchers to make informed decisions about the future of preK—so all young children will have the best chance at school success.

With contributions from

James J. Heckman – Nobel Prize Winner
Barbara Bowman
Robert C. Pianta
Sharon Lynn Kagan
Margaret Burchinal
E.D. Hirsh, Jr.
Kathy Hirsch-Pasek
Lawrence J. Schweinhart
Ellen C. Frede
Martha Zaslow
and many more

The Pre–K Debates: Current Controversies and Issues

ORDERING INFO

ISBN 978-1-59857-183-7
Paperback
264 pages
7 x 10
2011 / $36.95
Stock# 71837

Table of Contents

About the Editors
About the Contributors

Introduction
Edward Zigler, Walter S. Gilliam, & W. Steven Barnett

An Overview of Preschool

Chapter 1: Effective Child Development Strategies
James J. Heckman

Chapter 2. The Right Policy at the Right Time: The Pew Prekindergarten Campaign
Sara D. Watson

PART I: THE DEBATES

Debate 1: Targeted versus Universal Preschool

Chapter 3. The Economic Case for Targeted Preschool Programs
Art Rolnick & Rob Grunewald

Chapter 4. Preschool as Public Entitlement: Advancing Children or Political Interests?
Bruce Fuller

Chapter 5. Four Reasons the United States Should Offer Every Child a Preschool Education
W. Steven Barnett

Chapter 6. About Everyone's Child: Winning Public Support for Early Learning
David Lawrence, Jr.

Chapter 7. Universal Plus: What's Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Well
Sharon Lynn Kagan & Jocelyn Friedlander

Debate 2: Teacher Credentials versus Competencies and Supports

Chapter 8. Minimum Requirements for Preschool Teacher Educational Qualifications
W. Steven Barnett

Chapter 9. Bachelor's Degrees Are Necessary But Not Sufficient: Preparing Teachers to Teach Young Children
Barbara T. Bowman

Chapter 10. College Credentials and Caring: How Teacher Training Could Lift Young Children
Bruce Fuller

Chapter 11. A Degree Is Not Enough: Teachers Need Stronger and More Individualized Professional Development Supports to Be Effective in the Classroom
Robert C. Pianta

Chapter 12. B.A. Plus: Reconciling Reality and Reach
Sharon Lynn Kagan & Rebecca E. Gomez

Chapter 13. Competencies and Credentials for Early Childhood Educators: What Do We know and What Do We Need to Know?
Margaret Burchinal, Marilou Hyson, & Martha Zaslow

Chapter 14. The Importance of Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: The Perspectives and Positions of the National Association for the Education of Young Children
Barbara A. Willer, Alison Lutton, & Mark Ginsberg

Debate 3: Cognitive/Academic Emphasis versus Whole Child Approach

Chapter 15. The Cognitive/Academic Emphasis versus the Whole Child Approach: The 50-Year Debate
Sandra J. Bishop-Josef & Edward Zigler

Chapter 16. The Importance of Kindergarten-Entry Academic Skills
Greg J. Duncan

Chapter 17. Academic Preschool: The French Connection
E.D. Hirsch, Jr.

18. Classroom Practices and Children's Motivation to Learn
Deborah Stipek

Chapter 19. Classroom-Based Intervention as a Way to Support Low-Income Preschoolers' Emotional and Behavioral Development: Pressing Challenges and Potential Opportunities
C. Cybele Raver & Genevieve Okada

Chapter 20. The Great Balancing Act: Optimizing Core Curricula through Playful Pedagogy
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek & Roberta Michnick Golinkoff

Debate 4: Public Schools Only versus Other Sites

Chapter 21. The Case for Public Preschool
Kathleen McCartney, Margaret Burchinal, & Todd Grindal

Chapter 22. Preschool Programs Should Be Coordinated in the Public Schools with Supports from Head Start and Child Care
Walter S. Gilliam

Chapter 23. Public Schools as the Hub of a Mixed Delivery System of Early Care and Education
W. Steven Barnett & Debra J. Ackerman

Chapter 24. Applying Choice-Based Multivenue Education Concepts to Preschool Education
Daniel E. Witte

PART II: THE ISSUES

Issue 1: How Can Quality and Accountability in Preschool Programs Be Ensured?

Chapter 25. A Model Preschool Program
Edward Zigler

Chapter 26. How to Make Early Childhood Programs Highly Effective
Lawrence J. Schweinhart

Chapter 27. Why the Child–Parent Center Education Program Promotes Life-Course Development
Arthur J. Reynolds & Cathy Momoko Hayakawa

Chapter 28. Assessing Accountability and Ensuring Continuous Program Improvement: Why, How and Who
Ellen C. Frede, Walter S. Gilliam, & Lawrence J. Schweinhart

Issue 2: What Should Come Before and After Preschool?

Chapter 29. The Link Between Consistent Caring Interactions with Babies, Early Brain Development, and School Readiness
J. Ronald Lally

Chapter 30. What Should Come Before Preschool: Lessons from Early Head Start
Helen Raikes, Rachel Chazan-Cohen, & John M. Love

Chapter 31. Home Visitation
Deborah Daro

Chapter 32. Economic Benefits of Intervention Programs Implemented in the First Decade of Life
Arthur J. Reynolds, Judy A. Temple, & Barry A.B. White

Chapter 33. Transforming America's Primary Education System for the 21st Century: Integrating K–12 Education with Prekindergarten
Ruby Takanishi

Chapter 34. Redirecting Title I
Edward Zigler

PART III: WHAT NEXT?

Lessons from the States

Chapter 35. Prekindergarten in Oklahoma
Elizabeth Rose

Chapter 36. New Jersey's Abbott Prekindergarten Program: A Model for the Nation
Ellen C. Frede & W. Steven Barnett

Danger of Overselling Preschool

Chapter 37. A Warning Against Exaggerating the Benefits of Preschool Education Programs
Edward Zigler

Chapter 38. Early Childhood Education: The Likelihood of Sustained Effects
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

Summary and Synthesis

Chapter 39. The Prekindergarten Debates: Contrasting Perspectives, Integrative Possibilities, and Potential for Deepening the Debates
Martha Zaslow

References
Index