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This final report of the Group Errorless Teaching Strategies Research Project is organized by the project objectives and covers planned and actual activities and outcomes. Objective 1 involved a review of the literature related to teaching students with mild and moderate mental handicaps in group settings and resulted in three articles which presented guidelines for implementing group instruction and the use of constant time delay in group instruction. Objectives 2 and 3 involved conducting four investigations per year to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the system of least prompts and time delay in small group instructional arrangements. Emphasis was on how to conduct small group instruction and effects of various attentional cue manipulations in small groups. Objective 4 involved developing instructional modules and manuals, which were sent to selected training programs and agencies. The primary part of the document consists of 15 appendixes, including the texts of journal articles disseminated by the project, unpublished manuscripts, and four instructional manuals and modules. The journal articles and manuscripts discuss such topics as: small group instruction; constant time delay to teach chained tasks and to teach sight word reading; predictable and unpredictable trial sequences; use of choral and individual spelling attentional responses in teaching sight word reading; use of the system of least prompts; and acquisition of incidental information. The instructional manuals and modules cover small group instruction for students with moderate to severe disabilities, and the use of constant time delay in small group instruction. (DB)

Family issues are an abiding concern for members of the profession of early education, and debate regarding government policies about families and child care continues to be timely. This volume provides a foundation for understanding programs, families, and the current social context, as well as particular areas of concern for families and child care, such as maltreatment. The volume's chapters are divided into those that discuss and describe: (1) sources of and variations in family-oriented policy and practice; and (2) contemporary challenges faced by early childhood educators and child-care providers when working with families. The chapters are: (1) "The Family Supportiveness of Federal Early Care and Education Policy" (Sharon E. Rosenkoetter and Nancy E. Cohen); (2) "Creative Tension: Applying Family Support Principles to Early Childhood Programs" (Mary Larner); (3) "Early Education and Child Care Program Philosophy about Families" (R. A. McWilliam, Bradley J. McMillen, Kimberly M. Sloper, and Janey Sturtz McMillen); (4) "Early Childhood Program Assessment Scales and Family Support Practices" (Melinda M. Raab and Carl J. Dunst); (5) "Parents' Contributions to the Quality of Child Care Arrangements" (Douglas R. Powell); (6) "Preschool as Family Support" (Barbara T. Bowman); (7) "Child Care and Preventing Child Maltreatment" (Ross A, Thompson, Deborah J. Laible, Jennifer K. Robbennolt); (8) "Caregiving Interventions for Children Affected by Prenatal Substance Exposure" (Judith J. Carta); and (9) "Children Who Are Homeless: A Growing Challenge for Early Care and Education" (Mary Beth Bruder). Each chapter contains references. (EV)

Because all early childhood programs must now be prepared to serve children with special needs, early childhood staffs confront a host of new challenges and opportunities. This research monograph offers early childhood educators a foundational resource of information needed to develop inclusion practices. Chapter 1, "Introduction to the Inclusion of Young Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Programs" (Mark Wolery, Jan S. Wilbers), presents historic and foundational information about including young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Chapter 2, "Working with Families of Children with Special Needs" (Donald B. Bailey, Jr.), summarizes themes and issues related to implementing family-centered services, and draws implications from the relevant research for practice. Chapter 3, "Working with Members of Other Disciplines: Collaboration for Success" (Mary Beth Bruder), describes issues related to collaborating with members from various disciplines to develop defensible early childhood services. Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 by Mark Wolery describe information related to designing and implementing classroom-based services for young children with disabilities. Chapter 4, "Assessing Children with Special Needs" focuses on assessment issues, chapters 5 and 6 "Designing Inclusive Environments for Young Children with Special Needs" and "Instructional Strategies for Teaching Young Children with Special Needs" focus on intervention practices, and chapter 7, "Implementing Instruction for Young Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Classrooms" focuses on implementing those practices in the classrooms. Chapter 8, "Completing the Circle: Planning and Implementing Transition to Other Programs" (Jane B. Atwater, and others), describes issues related to planning and implementing services for helping children with disabilities and their families make the transition from one program to another. Chapter 9, "Conclusions and Future Directions" (Mark Wolery), provides summary statements and identifies issues for future research. Contains over 400 references. (TJQ)