Preschool Education in Today's World: Teaching Children with Diverse Backgrounds and Abilities

Mona M. Assaf, M.Ed., Head Start Teacher and Doctoral Candidate at George Mason University, Post Office Box 114, Oakton, Virginia 22124 Ms. Assaf has been a Head Start teacher in a large public school district for the last 8 years, and she has conducted research in community Head Start programs. She is passionate about improving educational opportunities for culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse young children and their families. M. Susan Burns, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, George Mason University, Graduate School of Education, MS 4B3, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Dr. Burns is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at George Mason University. Her research centers on the development and learning of young children (birth through Grade 3). Her work includes all children: those with diverse abilities (children with disabilities), those living in poverty, and those from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Of particular interest to Dr. Burns are language and early literacy development. She has numerous publications presenting her research in these areas. A former employee at the National Research Council, she is a coeditor of Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, and Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success, all publications of the National Academy Press of the National Academies of Science. She earned her Ph.D. degree in psychology at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Richard T. Johnson, Ed.D., Professor, Institute for Teacher Education, College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1776 University Avenue, Everly Hall 223D, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Dr. Johnson is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he is on the faculty of the Institute for Teacher Education. His recent research and field-based work includes no-touch policies in education, risk, childhood subjectivity, and visual culture. He has taught and served extensively in various field-based preservice early childhood/ elementary teacher education programs for more than 20 years. He earned his Ed.D. degree at Vanderbilt University.