Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers.

Edited by Barbara Bowman, M. Suzanne Donovan, and M. Susan Burns, Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy, National Research Council. National Academy Press, 2000. 468 pp. This study, carried out at the request of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research, synthesizes current research on early learning and development, and explores the implications of this research for the education and care of young children ages 2-5. The report summarizes research in six distinct areas: new understandings of early childhood development and pedagogy, variations among children, quality of education and care, features of quality programs, curriculum and pedagogy, and assessment in early childhood education.

The report concludes that if there is a single critical component to high-quality education of preschool children, it is to be found in the relationship between the child and the teacher/caregiver, and the ability of this adult to be responsive to the child. Recommendations are made in four areas: 1) professional development of teachers; 2) development of teaching materials that reflect research-based understandings of children's learning; 3) development of public policies that support--through standards and 1! appropriate assessment, regulations, and funding--the provision of quality preschool experiences; and 4) efforts to make more recent understandings of development in the preschool years common public knowledge.

The Executive Summary is available in limited quantities from the National Research Council, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418. A printed copy of the full text of the report can be ordered for $34.95 plus $4.50 for shipping and handling from National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; 800-624-6242 or 202334-3313; or viewed online at www.nap.edu.