Introducing the ECAP Report.

Longtime readers of the ERIC/EECE Report will undoubtedly notice the change in the column's name. For many years, the "ERIC/EECE Report" was contributed to Childhood Education by the former ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE). A little explanation is in order,

Changes in the ERIC System

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Education decided to restructure the ERIC system. Since its inception in the mid-1960s, the ERIC system was composed of individual subject-specific or grade-level-specific clearinghouses that gathered and disseminated information in their focus area, and of several support components that performed systemwide functions, such as compiling the ERIC database from data supplied by the clearinghouses.

The present restructuring involves the elimination of each of the 16 former ERIC clearinghouses and the creation of a single central ERIC entity. After deciding on new guidelines for selection, this entity will continue to gather materials and produce the ERIC database. The additional functions that the clearinghouses performed have been eliminated. These functions include publications, such as the ERIC digests;subject-specific Web sites; question-answering services; and the operation of subject-specific Listserv and other electronic discussion lists.

At the time this article went to press (January 2004), the U.S. Department of Education had not yet named the new ERIC contractor. However, information should be eventually available at the central ERIC Web site at www.eric.ed.gov.

ECAP Report

So what does all this mean for the former "ERIC/EECE Report" column? Because ERIC/EECE ceased to exist on January 1, 2004, the responsibility for preparing the column has been transferred to the Ear]y Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative. ECAP consists of a group of projects and programs in early childhood education within the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Until December 31, 2003, ERIC/EECE was one of these projects.

As readers of this column know, the former ERIC/EECE Report has provided bibliographic citations, from the ERIC database, to documents and journal articles related to a particular topic. In recent years, topics have included "Using Technology in the Classroom," "Helping Children Deal With Trauma and Terrorism," and "Educating Immigrant Children." The "Report" will continue under the name "ECAP Report."

In the future, we will continue to provide citations from the ERIC database, and perhaps other databases as well, on topics relevant to early childhood education. As has been the case for the past several years, we will also continue to highlight resources on the Web relevant to the topic.

Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative

ECAP is home to projects that focus on the education, care, and parenting of young children. Most of these projects are located at the Children's Research Center on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign. The projects are committed to influencing state and national policy through relevant research, providing a context for interdisciplinary training, and fostering links between research and practice. You can visit ECAP on the Web at http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu.

Here are a few of ECAP's projects and Web sites:

* The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning focuses on strengthening the capacity of child care programs to improve the social and emotional outcomes of young children. http://csefel.uiuc.edu

* The Illinois Early Learning project provides evidence-based, reliable information for parents, caregivers, and teachers of young children, particularly for the State of Illinois, although the information is generally relevant elsewhere. http://illinoisearlylearning.org

* Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP) is a peer-reviewed, Internet-only journal with articles that address topics related to the development, care, and education of children from birth to approximately age 8. The articles stress research that affects practice and practice that informs research. http://ecrp.uiuc.edu

The ECAP Information Technology Group (ECAP/ITG; http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/info) also partners with other organizations in early childhood education to help them disseminate information to their clienteles via the Web. These organizations include the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC; http://nccic.org), the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE; http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu), and the National Coalition of Campus Children's Centers (NCCCC; www.campuschildren.org).

Web Resources: Electronic Periodicals in Early Childhood

Having mentioned the ECRP journal, we'd like to highlight this month--in the space remaining--a few online journals and magazines in early childhood education. The periodicals listed here provide access to at least some of their articles free of charge.

* Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood wwww.triangle.co.uk/ciec/index.htm

The articles in this refereed journal for researchers and professionals explore new and alternative perspectives in working with young children. (fee for current volume; previous volumes free)

* The Future of Children www.futureofchildren.org/index.htm This journal seeks to promote effective policies and programs for children by providing policymakers, service providers, and the media with timely, objective information based on the best available research. (all articles free)

* Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research http://education.ucsc.edu/faculty/gwells/networks/index.html This journal, sponsored by the University of California-Santa Cruz, seeks to provide a forum for classroom teachers to share their experiences. (all articles free)

* Northwest Education Magazine www.nwrel.org/nwedu

This journal of the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory presents theme-based issues on topics of interest to educators at various levels. (all articles free)

The Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative contributed this column. Further information on ECAP projects is available from ECAP; contact ECAP, Children's Research Center, University of Illinois, 51 Gerty Drive, Champaign, IL 61820-7469; phone: [phone] or 217333-1386; E-mail: [e-mail]; URL: http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu.