Learning Together

Michael J. Kaufman, J.D., M.A., is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Law, and Director of the Education Law and Policy Institute at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Dean Kaufman has written countless books and countless articles regarding education law and policy and has served for many years on the Board of Education of a large, diverse public school district in the Chicago area. Sherelyn R. Kaufman, J.D., M.A.T., is a Professor on the Adjunct Faculty at the Erikson Institute Graduate School of Child Development. She has practiced education law in private law firms and the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, has taught students in virtually every grade level, has served as the director of an early childhood education program, and has provided expert consulting to many early childhood programs.Elizabeth C. Nelson, J. D. M.A.T., is a Professor on the Adjunct Faculty at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, specializing in education law and policy, as well as professional skills development. She has practiced law in the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Illinois and taught third grade in the city of Chicago.

For too long, early childhood education has been conceived of as simply “pre-school,” rather than as a critical and foundational school experience. Weaving together research and rationale from a wide variety of disciplines, the authors build an airtight case for recognizing early education as the “real” schooling it is, and for investing in quality programming for all of our children.

• PrefaceIntroductionSection 1: The Political, Pedagogical, Legal, and Economic Case for Investing in Early Childhood Education Chapter 1: The Foundations of American Education Policy1.Classical Philosophies of Education: Early Education Must Be a Public Concern Because It Has the Power to Shape Character and Support the Particular Political Regime2.Modern Educational Philosophy: Public Education Is Vital to Freedom and Self-Government 3.The Foundation of American Educational Policy: Democratic Education Must Develop Meaningful Relationships Between Individuals and the Community 4.The Foundations of Contemporary Debates About American Educational Policy 5.Reconciling the Authoritarian and Progressive Movements: Educating Children for the Future by Encouraging them to Construct Knowledge through Meaningful Relationships6.American Education Policy Establishes a Strong Foundation for Early Childhood Education Programs Designed to Construct Knowledge Through Meaningful RelationshipsChapter 2: The Pedagogical Foundations of American Early Childhood Education1.The Framers’ Nuanced Understanding of Human Nature and Human Development2.The Pedagogical Consequences of the Framers’ Nuanced View of Human Nature and Human Development 3.The Political Consequences of the Framers’ Nuanced View of Human Nature and Human DevelopmentChapter 3: The Legal Foundations of American Early Childhood Education1.The Fundamental Relationship Between Federal and State Control Over Education2.The Relationship Between the State’s Power to Regulate Education and the Constitutional Rights of Parents and Guardians to Direct the Upbringing of their Children3.The Relationship Between the State’s Power to Regulate Education and Federal and State Constitutional Rights to Equitable and Adequate Educational Funding 4.The Relationship Between the State’s Power to Regulate Education And Federal Statutory Rights and Protections for Young Children with Educational Disabilities5.The Foundations of American Education Law Support Compelling Legal Arguments for Providing Access to Early Childhood Education ProgramsChapter 4: The Economic Foundations of American Early Childhood Education1.America’s Schools and Their StudentsB. America’s Early Childhood Education Programs and Their StudentsC. The Sources of Revenue to Support American Education4.The Sources of Revenue to Support Early Childhood Education E. The Inadequate and Inequitable Funding of American Education 6.The Changing Economic Landscape 7.Investing in Early Childhood Education 8.The Robust Economic Returns from an Investment in Early Childhood Education Chapter 5: The Relationship Between Investing in Early Childhood Education and Other Reform Initiatives 1.Accountability2.Privatization3.Remedial Education and Vocational Training ProgramsSection 2: The Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Education Programs that Encourage Children to Construct Knowledge by Building Meaningful RelationshipsChapter 6: Pedagogical Approaches to Early Childhood Education1.Direct Instruction of Traditional Academic Skills2.The Constructivist Approach 3.The Social Constructivist ApproachChapter 7: The Proven Benefits of the Social Constructivist Approach to Early Childhood Education1.The Social Constructivist Approach Has Proven to Produce Robust Educational, Social, and Economic Benefits2.Recent Discoveries in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology Demonstrate How the Social Constructivist Approach Produces Particularly Robust Returns on an Investment in Early Childhood EducationSection 3: Strategies for Expanding, Developing, and Designing Early Childhood Learning Communities that Construct Knowledge through Meaningful Relationships Chapter 8: Legal, Political, Economic and Comprehensive Strategies for Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education Programs1.Legal Strategies for Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education Programs2.Political Strategies for Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education Programs 3.Strategies for Authentically Assessing Early Childhood Education Programs4.Economic Strategies for Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education Programs 5.Developing Public-Private Partnerships to Expand Access to Early Childhood Education Programs 6.The Comprehensive Implementation Strategy: Supporting Teachers and Reconciling Policy Debates About Accountability and Privatization Chapter 9: Strategies for Developing a Social Constructivist Early Learning Environment1.Role-Playing2.Shared Activities3.Encouraging Multiple Expressions of Learning through Media and Materials 4.The Social Construction of Literacy5.The Social Construction of Mathematics6.The Social Construction of ScienceChapter 10: Making Learning Visible Through Documentation1.Developing the Art of Documentation2.Practicing Documentation to Deepen Learning3.Using Documentation to Make Learning Visible to Multiple StakeholdersConclusionAppendices About the AuthorsIndex