Early childhood education has reached a level of unprecedented national and international focus. Parents, policy makers, and politicians have opinions as well as new questions about what, how, when, and where young children should learn. Teachers and program administrators now find curriculum discussions linked to dramatic new understandings about children's early learning and brain development. Early childhood education is also a major topic of concern internationally, as social policy analysts point to its role in a nation's future economic outlook. As a groundbreaking contribution to its field, this four-volume handbook discusses key historical and contemporary issues, research, theoretical perspectives, national policies, and practices.

Rebecca S. New is Associate Professor of Child Development and Director of Teacher Education, Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Development, Tufts University. She has published widely in professional journals and for Teachers College Press and Jossey-Bass.

Moncrieff Cochran is Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and Director, the Cornell Early Childhood Program, Cornell University. He has published textbooks, monographs and edited volumes with Houghton Mifflin, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Teachers College Press, Erlbaum, and Greenwood.