What is Early Childhood Education Program Models

This chapter outlines the roles of families and communities as well as the importance of early learning classrooms as they relate to integrating activities designed to promote children's development. Specific focuses of the chapter will delve into family dynamics, including various parenting styles and meta-emotion approaches, as they relate to affecting children's development. The chapter will also uncover the role of children's play interactions as they relate to how the activity itself fosters children's development as well as how play may be viewed as a vehicle in which to promote children's appreciation and understanding of diversity and multiculturalism. Specific program models typically seen within early learning classrooms and standards created by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) will be discussed in this chapter.