Bernard Brown – författare

Since the founding of Project Head Start in 1965, there has been intense public as well as academic debate about the effectiveness of early intervention programs in producing lasting gains in children's intellectual development. In the past few years, new evidence has accumulated at a rapid pace, and there are now over 100 major studies of longitudinal experiments and Head Start program evaluations. A series of longitudinal studies of early intervention experiments was begun in the 1960s. The children who participated in these programs are now past the third grade and old enough to give reliable responses to IQ and achievement tests. In addition, they have now been in school long enough to allow examination of their overall school performance. This volume includes reports which review both center and house-based early intervention programs. One of the papers presents preliminary findings from the Developmental Continuity Consortium which is pooling the data from 12 major longitudinal experiments. The authors cite evidence for late developing gains which seem permanent. These "sleeper effects" were not manifest in the scores of the same groups of children in the first few years of the postintervention period. In addition to IQ and achievement gains, there is also evidence for gains in emotional adjustment. Early intervention appears to have dramatic effects in the assignment of children to special education classes and on retention in grade, somehow enabling them to maintain their position in the classroom. In all, the papers describe 96 major studies which report positive impacts from early intervention programs.

This volume is about public as well as academic debate about the effectiveness of early intervention programs in producing lasting gains in children's intellectual development. It includes reports which review center and house-based early intervention programs and 96 positive studies on them.

The transition from student to classroom teacher presents many opportunities and challenges. Introduction to Education welcomes pre-service teachers to the field of education, providing an overview of the context, craft and practice of teaching in Australian schools. Each chapter poses a question about the nature of teaching and explores authentic classroom examples, contemporary research and literature, and the professional, policy and curriculum contexts of teaching. Thoroughly updated, the second edition continues to cover both theoretical and practical topics, with chapters addressing assessment, planning, safe learning environments, professional experience, and working with colleagues, families, caregivers and communities. Each chapter features: chapter opening stimulus materials and questions to activate prior learning and challenge assumptions; connections to policy and research with questions to encourage critical thinking and professional literacy; voices of educators and students that provide authentic classroom examples of the practical application of theory.