This book makes a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary argument for investing in effective early childhood education programs, especially those that develop in children their proven natural capacity to construct knowledge by building meaningful relationships. Recent insights in the fields of law, policy, economics, pedagogy, and neuroscience demonstrate that these particular programs produce robust educational, social, and economic benefits for children and for the country. The book also provides legal and political strategies for achieving these proven benefits as well as pedagogical strategies for developing the most effective early childhood education programs. The book concludes by making visible the wonderful learning that can take place in an early education environment where teachers are afforded the professional judgment to encourage children to construct their own knowledge through indispensable learning relationships.

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.

PrefaceIntroductionSection 1: The Political, Pedagogical, Legal, and Economic Case for Investing in Early Childhood EducationChapter 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-Government3.The Foundation of American Educational Policy: Democratic Education Must Develop Meaningful Relationships Between Individuals and the Community4.The Foundations of Contemporary Debates About American Educational Policy5.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 Development3.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 States Power to Regulate Education and the Constitutional Rights of Parents and Guardians to Direct the Upbringing of their Children3.The Relationship Between the States Power to Regulate Education and Federal and State Constitutional Rights to Equitable and Adequate Educational Funding4.The Relationship Between the States 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.Americas Schools and Their StudentsB. Americas Early Childhood Education Programs and Their StudentsC. The Sources of Revenue to Support American Education4.The Sources of Revenue to Support Early Childhood EducationE. The Inadequate and Inequitable Funding of American Education6.The Changing Economic Landscape7.Investing in Early Childhood Education8.The Robust Economic Returns from an Investment in Early Childhood EducationChapter 5: The Relationship Between Investing in Early Childhood Education and Other Reform Initiatives1.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 Approach3.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 RelationshipsChapter 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 Programs3.Strategies for Authentically Assessing Early Childhood Education Programs4.Economic Strategies for Expanding Access to Early Childhood Education Programs5.Developing Public-Private Partnerships to Expand Access to Early Childhood Education Programs6.The Comprehensive Implementation Strategy: Supporting Teachers and Reconciling Policy Debates About Accountability and PrivatizationChapter 9: Strategies for Developing a Social Constructivist Early Learning Environment1.Role-Playing2.Shared Activities3.Encouraging Multiple Expressions of Learning through Media and Materials4.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 StakeholdersConclusionAppendicesAbout the AuthorsIndex