Promoting Positive Behavior: Guidance Strategies for Early Childhood Settings

Written in an informal, accessible style, this practical book equips future teaching professionals to effectively support emotional well-being, reduce problem behavior, and enhance social competence in toddlers, pre-schoolers, and primary-grade children. Based on the ECE-CARES Project, housed at the University of Colorado at Denver, text-advocated strategies are focused on five fundamental constructions: caring and cooperative early childhood settings, assertiveness through self-esteem and mastery, relationship skills, emotional regulation and reactivity, and self-control. The authors make use of numerous real-life examples to show how these strategies result in high rates of prosocial skills, positive peer interactions, and use of peaceful conflict resolution techniques. Chapter topics include complex influences on children's lives, class meetings and family involvement, creating a caring emotional environment, identifying and expressing emotions, peaceful problem solving, anger management and calming down, stress reduction, emotionally-responsive curriculum planning, and intervention for children with behavior challenges. For pre-K, primary grade, and special education teachers; and for elementary school administrative personnel, and other individuals involved in early childhood management.

Suzanne Adams, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, where she is also the Early Childhood Program Coordinator. In addition, Dr. Adams is the Director of the ECE-CARES Project, a unique training and mentoring program for early childhood teachers and related service professionals. The focus of this program is to help early childhood personnel respond constructively to the complex influences on young children's lives, promote children's emotional well-being, reduce disruptive classroom behavior, and enhance children's social competence.

Dr. Adams has coordinated several teacher training grants funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Colorado Department of Education, the State of Colorado Youth Crime Prevention and Intervention Initiatives, and Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. She has served in a variety of service capacities through professional organizations and currently sits on the governor-appointed Colorado Interagency Coordinating Council.

Dr. Adams has presented many workshops on a variety of topics, including promoting social competence in young children, developmentally appropriate practice, intervention strategies, behavioral challenges, family-centered approach, and teacher mentoring. She has published in the areas of conflict mediation with young children, social competence, early literacy development, and is the co-producer of the video, "The CARES Model: Building Social Skills and Reducing Problem Behaviors in Early Childhood Classrooms."

Joan Baronberg, M.A., has worked in the field of early childhood education for over 25 years. She assisted in the development and evaluation of urban education demonstration projects for the U.S. Office of Education and in the early development of Project Head Start for the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington, D.C. Before joining the ECE-CARES Project, Ms. Baronberg worked in the field of child abuse prevention and developed programs and curricula for use by children and families. Ms. Baronberg has taught children and teachers, led workshops throughout the state of Colorado, and mentored early childhood providers. She is the co-producer of the video, "The CARES Model: Building Social Skills and Reducing Problem Behaviors in Early Childhood Classrooms."

Ms. Baronberg received her Master's Degree from Bank St. College of Education in New York City. Her Master's thesis, "Black Representation in Children's Books," was published by the ERIC Information Retrieval Center. She later authored "The Eight Week Nurturing Program for Children" published by Family Focus, Inc., a child abuse prevention agency in Colorado.

Ms. Baronberg sat on the development board for the newest Denver Public Schools elementary school, is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and is the founder and coordinator of a 250 member Internet genealogy group.