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From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000)

Chapter: A Related Reports from the National Academies

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Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 538
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 539
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 540
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 541
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 542
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
×
Page 543
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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Page 544
Suggested Citation:"A Related Reports from the National Academies." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2000. From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9824.
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536 APPENDIX A Development During Middle Childhood: The Years from Six to Twelve (1984) Panel to Review the Status of Basic Research on School-Age Children, Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy This report reviews the research and examines the physical health and cognitive development of 6- to 12-year-old children as well as their sur- roundings, including school and home environment, ecocultural setting, and family and peer relationships. In addition, it makes recommendations for expanding and improving research aimed at understanding the nature and processes of development in the early school years. Disability in America: Toward a National Agenda for Prevention (1991) Committee on a National Agenda for the Prevention of Disabilities Disability in America presents a five-prong strategy for reducing the incidence and prevalence of disability as well as its personal, social, and economic consequences. Although the preferred goal is to avoid potentially disabling conditions, the report focuses on the need to prevent or reverse the progression that leads to disability and reduced quality of life in persons with potentially disabling conditions. Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (2000) Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy This report focuses on educational programs provided outside of the home for children aged 2-5 (e.g., Head Start, preschool, child care centers). It emphasizes that care and education of children go hand in hand, and cannot, and should not, be thought of as two separate entities. The com- mittee makes recommendations for the professional development of teach- ers, the development of teaching materials that reflect research-based un- derstandings of children’s learning, the development of public policies that support the provision of quality preschool experiences, efforts to make more recent understanding of development in the preschool years common public knowledge, and future research needs in these areas. Educating One and All: Students with Disabilities and Standards-Based Reform (1997) Committee on Goals 2000 and the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities Educating One and All addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with education for the 10 percent of school-age children who have disabilities and qualify for special education. The report dis- cusses the history of special education, the recent reform movement, cur- ricula, and assessment systems and makes recommendations concerning standards-based reform and policies and practices to make reform consis- tent with the requirements of special education.

RELATED REPORTS 537 Emergency Medical Services for Children (1993) Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medical Services This report explores why emergency care for children—from infants through adolescents—must differ from that for adults. This comprehensive overview of emergency medical services for children describes what seri- ously ill or injured children generally experience in today’s emergency medi- cal services systems and provides a realistic plan of action for integrating them into emergency programs and into broader aspects of health care for children. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treat- ment (1996) Committee to Study Fetal Alcohol Syndrome This volume discusses fetal alcohol syndrome and other possibly alco- hol-related effects from two broad perspectives: (1) diagnosis and surveil- lance and (2) prevention and treatment. The report examines fundamental concepts for setting diagnostic criteria in general, reviews and updates the diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome and related conditions, ex- plores research findings and problems associated with epidemiology and surveillance, and describes an integrated multidisciplinary approach to re- search on prevention and treatment. From Generation to Generation: The Health and Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families (1998) Committee on the Health and Adjustment of Immigrant Children and Fami- lies From Generation to Generation explores what is known about the development of children and youth from numerous countries of origin. Describing the status of immigrant children and youth as “severely under- studied,” the report both draws on and supplements existing research to characterize the current status and outlook of immigrant children. The report also makes recommendations for improved research and data collec- tion designed to advance knowledge about these children and, as a result, their visibility in current policy debates. Growing Up Tobacco Free: Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths (1994) Committee on Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths Growing Up Tobacco Free explains nicotine’s effects and the process of addiction and documents the search for an effective approach to preventing the use of cigarettes, chewing and spitting tobacco, and snuff by children and youths. The report examines the results of recent initiatives to limit young people’s access to tobacco and discusses approaches to controls or

538 APPENDIX A bans on tobacco sales, price sensitivity among adolescents, and arguments for and against taxation as a prevention strategy for tobacco use. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (1999) Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning How People Learn examines the evidence from many branches of sci- ence that has significantly added to the understanding of what it means to know—from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influ- ence of culture on what people see and absorb—and that calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in the current U.S. education system. This report addresses the implications of this evidence for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what children learn. Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Children: A Research Agenda (1997) Committee on Developing a Research Agenda on the Education of Limited- English-Proficient and Bilingual Students This comprehensive volume provides perspective on the history of bi- lingual education in the United States; summarizes research on develop- ment of a second language, literacy, and content knowledge; reviews evalu- ation studies; explores what is known about effective schools and classrooms for these children; examines research on the education of teach- ers of culturally and linguistically diverse students; critically reviews the system for the collection of education statistics as it relates to this student population; and recommends changes in the infrastructure that supports research on these students. Improving Student Learning: A Strategic Plan for Education Research and Its Utilization (1999) Committee on a Feasibility Study for a Strategic Education Research Program Improving Student Learning offers a long-range proposal for meeting the challenges of educating the nation’s children. The report presents a strategic education research program that focuses on four key questions: How can advances in research on learning be incorporated into educational practice? How can student motivation to achieve in school be increased? How can schools become organizations capable of continuous improve- ment? How can the use of research knowledge be increased in schools?

RELATED REPORTS 539 Learning from Experience: Evaluating Early Childhood Demonstration Programs (1982) Panel on Outcome Measurement in Early Childhood Demonstration Pro- grams In response to a widely perceived need to review and reshape the evalu- ation of demonstration programs that offer educational, diagnostic, and other services to young children and their families, this report examines the objective of contemporary demonstration programs; appraises the mea- sures currently available for assessing the achievement of those objectives, particularly in light of their relevance for public policy; and recommends new approaches to evaluation and outcome measurement. Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Popu- lations (1993) Committee on Measuring Lead in Critical Populations Because of growing evidence of lead toxicity at lower concentrations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered its lead-expo- sure guideline to 10 µg/dl lead in blood from 25 µg/dl. Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Populations addresses the public health concern about the logistics and feasibility of lead screen- ing in infants and children at such low concentrations. This report presents guidelines for U.S. Public Health Service activities and state and local pro- grams in monitoring lead. Nutrition During Lactation (1991) Committee on Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Lactation Nutrition During Lactation presents relevant data and points out spe- cific directions for needed research in understanding the relationship be- tween the nutrition of healthy mothers and the outcomes of lactation. Nutrition During Pregnancy: Part I: Weight Gain; Part II: Nutrient Supple- ments (1990) Committee on Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Lactation Part I of Nutrition During Pregnancy explores the issue of weight gain during pregnancy, places this in the context of the health of the infant and the mother, and calls for revisions in recommended weight gains for preg- nant women. The report also presents specific target ranges for weight gain during pregnancy and guidelines for proper measurement. Part II examines the adequacy of diet in meeting nutrient needs during pregnancy, recom- mends specific amounts of vitamin and mineral supplements for special circumstances, and presents recommendations for research.

540 APPENDIX A Nutrition Services in Perinatal Care (1992) Committee on Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Lactation This book focuses on nutrition services beginning in the preconception period and extending well beyond birth. It provides the rationale for recommended nutritional services; briefly describes the necessary elements of these services; and indicates the personnel, knowledge, skills, and spe- cialized education or training that may be needed to deliver them. Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993) Committee on Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children explores whether regula- tions controlling pesticide use adequately protect infants and children, who may differ from adults in susceptibility and in dietary exposures to pesticide residues. The report covers the issues of susceptibility, exposure, toxicity, and assessing risk. Placing Children in Special Education: A Strategy for Equity (1982) Panel on Selection and Placement of Students in Programs for the Mentally Retarded, Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy This report addresses the issue of the overrepresentation of minorities and males in special education classes. From a thorough analysis of the data, this report concludes that there is a disproportion of nonwhite mi- norities and males in special education classes, and specifically in classes for educable, mentally retarded children. Placing Children in Special Educa- tion looks at the potentially problematic conditions underlying dispropor- tion and makes recommendations that address the validity of referral and assessment procedures and the quality of instruction received in all class- rooms. Prenatal Care: Reaching Mothers, Reaching Infants (1988) Committee to Study Outreach for Prenatal Care This report addresses the issue of why over one-fourth of all pregnant women in the United States do not begin prenatal care in the first 3 months of pregnancy, despite the existence of successful prenatal programs. Prena- tal Care presents findings from a review of 30 prenatal care programs and analysis of surveys of mothers who did not seek prenatal care and offers specific recommendations for improving the nation’s maternity system and increasing the use of prenatal care programs. Preventing Low Birthweight (1985) Committee to Study the Prevention of Low Birthweight Despite declines in infant mortality, the rates of low-birthweight deliv- eries in the United States continue to be high. Preventing Low Birthweight

RELATED REPORTS 541 defines the significance of the problems, presents data on risk factors and etiology, and reviews state and national trends in the incidence of low birthweight among various groups. This report also describes the preven- tive approaches found most desirable, considers their costs, and discusses research needs. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998) Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading. The report makes recommendations that address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingual- ism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in the understanding of how children learn to read. Prevention of Micronutrient Deficiencies: Tools for Policymakers and Pub- lic Health Workers (1998) Committee on Micronutrient Deficiencies This report examines key elements in the design and implementation of interventions designed to prevent micronutrient deficiencies. It also pro- vides a conceptual framework that will allow funders to tailor programs to existing regional and country capabilities and to incorporate within these programs the capacity to address multiple prevention strategies and mul- tiple micronutrient deficiencies. Prevention of Micronutrient Deficiencies also contains three background papers that address the prevention of defi- ciencies of iron, vitamin A, and iodine. Reducing the Odds: Preventing Perinatal Transmission of HIV in the United States (1999) Committee on Perinatal Transmission of HIV The report evaluates the extent to which state efforts have been effec- tive in reducing the transmission of HIV from pregnant mother to unborn child. Reducing the Odds recommends that HIV testing be a routine part of prenatal care and that health care providers notify women that this is part of the usual array of prenatal tests and that they have an opportunity to refuse the HIV test. This approach could help both reduce the number of pediatric AIDS cases and improve treatment for mothers with AIDS.

542 APPENDIX A Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing (1987) Panel on Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing Risking the Future reviews in detail the trends in and consequences of teenage sexual behavior and offers thoughtful insights on the issues of sexual initiation, contraception, pregnancy, abortion, adoption, and the well-being of adolescent families. The report provides a systematic assess- ment of the impact of various programmatic approaches, both preventive and ameliorative, in light of the growing scientific understanding of the topic. Schools and Health: Our Nation’s Investment (1997) Committee on Comprehensive School Health Programs in Grades K-12 This report reviews information on Comprehensive School Health Pro- grams for children in grades K-12, explores the needs of today’s students, and examines how those needs can be met through program design and development. Schools and Health also gives broad recommendations for the programs, with suggestions and guidelines for national, state, and local actions. Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success (1999) Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children Based on the extensive research synthesized in Preventing Reading Dif- ficulties in Young Children, this book identifies the most important ques- tions and explores the authoritative answers on the topic of how children can grow into readers. Included are 55 activities to do with children to help them become successful readers, a list of recommended children’s books, and a guide to CD-ROMs and websites. The Best Intentions: Unintended Pregnancy and the Well-Being of Chil- dren and Families (1995) Committee on Unintended Pregnancy The Best Intentions offers frank discussion, synthesis of data, and policy recommendations on family planning issues and sheds light on the ques- tions and controversies surrounding unintended pregnancy. The report considers the effectiveness of over 20 pregnancy prevention programs and offers specific recommendations to put the United States on a par with other developed nations in terms of contraceptive attitudes and policies. In addition, it summarizes the health and social consequences of unintended pregnancies for men, women, and the children they bear and examines the variety of reasons unintended pregnancies occur.

RELATED REPORTS 543 The Children’s Vaccine Initiative: Achieving the Vision (1993) Committee on the Children’s Vaccine Initiative: Planning Alternative Strategies This report contains information on the nature and status of vaccine development and production efforts in the United States and abroad and recommends ways to enhance participation in the International Children’s Vaccine Initiative. Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect (1993) Panel on Research on Child Abuse and Neglect Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect provides a comprehensive, integrated, child-oriented research agenda on child abuse and neglect. The report presents an overview of three major areas that impact child abuse and neglect research, namely, definitions and scope; etiology, consequences, treatment, and prevention; and infrastructure and ethics. Violence in Families: Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs (1998) Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions Violence in Families examines the successes and failures of family vio- lence interventions used in three institutional sectors (social services, health, and law enforcement) to combat maltreatment of children, domestic vio- lence, and abuse of the elderly. The report discusses how to measure program effectiveness and offers recommendations to guide services, pro- grams, policy, and research on victim support and assistance, treatments and penalties for offenders, and law enforcement. Also included in Vio- lence in Families is an analysis of more than 100 evaluation studies on the outcomes of different kinds of programs and services. Who Cares for America’s Children? (1990) Panel on Child Care Policy Who Cares for America’s Children? explores the critical need for a more coherent policy on child care, offers recommendations for the actions needed to develop such a policy, evaluates the factors in child care that are most important to children’s development, and examines ways of protect- ing children’s physical well-being and fostering their development in child care settings. WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria: A Scientific Assessment (1996) Committee on Scientific Evaluation of WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria This report reviews the scientific basis for nutrition risk criteria used to establish eligibility for participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria also examines the specific segments of

544 APPENDIX A the WIC population at risk for each criterion, identifies gaps in the scientific knowledge base, formulates recommendations regarding appropriate crite- ria, and when applicable, recommends values for determining who is at risk for each criterion. In addition, the report makes recommendations for program action and research to strengthen the validity of nutrition risk criteria used in the WIC program. Work and Family: Policies for a Changing Work Force (1991) Panel on Employer Policies and Working Families This report examines the changes in work and family structures that coincide with the dramatic increase in the number of dual-earner and single- adult families. It also discusses the effects of these changes on worker productivity and employer practices, and presents a wide range of ap- proaches to easing the conflicts between work and family by exploring appropriate roles for business, labor, and government. Work and Family describes the advantages and disadvantages of being part of a working family and takes a critical look at the range of benefits provided, including existing and proposed employer programs for families.

545 Defining and Estimating Causal Effects B What is a causal effect? Many discussions of causal inference and research design neglect to confront this issue. However, a theory that has come to dominate modern thinking in statistics about cause begins with this fundamental question. Pioneered by Rubin (1976) and Rosenbaum and Rubin (1983) and elaborated by Holland (1986), this theory has come to be known as the Rubin-Rosenbaum-Holland (RRH) theory of causal infer- ence, although its roots can be traced to much earlier work on experimen- tation (e.g., Fisher, 1918; Cochran, 1965). To describe this theory, the simplest case will suffice: we have a causal variable (the treatment) with two possible values (experimental and control). For clarity, let us consider a case in which a child will receive either the new experimental approach to day care (call it E) or the currently available approach (call it C) and the outcome will be a measure of self-regulation. If the child were to receive E, the child would experience the outcome under E. However, if the child were to receive C, that same child would experience the outcome under C. The causal effect of the experimental treatment (relative to the control) is defined by a comparison between how that child would fare under E versus C. For example, we might define this treatment effect for that child as Treatment effect = (Outcome under E) minus (Outcome under C), that is the difference between the outcome a child would receive if assigned to treatment E and the outcome that same child would receive if assigned to

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How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development—in the womb and in the first months and years—have reached the popular media.

How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues.

The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more.

Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate—family, child care, community—within which the child grows.

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