1Early Development and School Readiness from the Perspective of Addressing Barriers to Learning

Over the past decade there has been renewed interest in facilitating early development and learning. Beside the normal tendency for us all to want our children to have a good start in life, three movements have stimulated formal interventions to ensure this happens. One push comes from interpretations of recent brain research that underscore how early experiences effect the developing brain. A second thrust arises from research showing positive outcomes of early interventions with children who have special needs. A third influence is filtering down from the school accountability movement and is pressuring kindergartens and preschools to focus greater efforts on reading readiness and cognitiv