Defending childhood : keeping the promise of early education / Beverly Falk, editor ; Linda Darling-Hammond, foreword.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The science of early childhood development : lessons for teachers and caregivers / Todd A. Grindal, Christina Hinton, and Jack P. Shonkoff -- A tale of two schools : the promise of playful learning / Jessa Reed, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and Roberta M. Golinkoff -- Honoring the lives of all children : identity, culture, and language / Sonia Nieto -- Low-income families and young children's development and school success / Barbara Bowman and Aisha Ray -- Foreclosed childhoods : poverty, inequality, and discarding the young / Valerie Polakow -- Working with Latino preschoolers : the literacy and language goals of teachers and mothers / Delis Cuéllar and Eugene E. García -- Media, technology, and commercialism : countering the threats to young children / Nancy Carlsson-Paige -- Standardized testing : unheeded issues that impact children's learning / George Madaus and Terrence Lee-St. John -- Tensions past, present, and future : using literature to promote social awareness and literacy in children / Robert L. Selman and Janet Kwok -- Creating powerful learning experiences in early childhood : lessons from good teaching / Mara Krechevsky, Ben Mardell, Tiziana Filippini, and Howard Gardner -- The school of the 21st century : addressing the needs of the whole child / Edward Zigler and Matia Finn-Stevenson -- The case for investing in young children / James J. Heckman -- Supporting children's education and care: putting into practice what we know / Beverly Falk.

This book brings together a group of educators and scholars who offer insights about what we can do to defend childhood from societal challenges. The authors explain new findings from neuroscience and psychology, as well as emerging knowledge about the impact on child development of cultural and linguistic diversity, poverty, families and communities, and the media. Each chapter presents experiences and suggestions, from the perspectives of different disciplines, about what can be done to ensure that all children gain access to the supports they need for optimal physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development.