African American Children in Early Childhood Education

• Part I: Striving for Educational EquityChapter 1. Introduction; Iheoma U. Iruka, Stephanie M. Curenton and Tonia R. DurdenChapter 2. Ring the Alarm: Moving from Educational Gaps to Educational Opportunities for Black Students; Marisha L. Humphries and Iheoma U. IrukaChapter 3. Pathways to Excellence: What We Know Works for Nurturing Black Children's Success; Tonia R. Durden and Stephanie M. CurentonChapter 4. Historical Analysis: Tracking, Problematizing, and Reterritorializing Achievement and the Achievement Gap; Justin Olmanson, Zoe Falls and Guieswende RouambaChapter 5. Cultivating Genius: Black Children and Gifted Education; Debra R. SullivanChapter 6. Viewing African American Children's Oral Language Skills as a Strength; Nicole Gardner-Neblett, Stephanie M. Curenton and Kimberly A. BlitchPart II: Home and School Environmental ContextsChapter 7. Home-school Partnerships in Support of Young Children's Development: The Intersection of Relationships, Rurality, and Race; Lisa L. Knoche and Amanda L. WitteChapter 8. The Experiences and Effects of Toxic Stress on Young African American Children; Brenda Jones Harden, Brandee Feola, Colleen Morrison, Shelby Brown, Laura Jimenez Parra and Andrea Buhler WassmanChapter 9. Father Involvement and Early Childhood Development in African American Families: Implications for Research, Practice, and Policy; Claire E. BakerChapter 10. African American Fathers' Mental Health & Child Well-being: A Cultural Practices, Strengths-based Perspective; Erika L. Bocknek, Marva L. Lewis and Hasti Ashtiani RaveauPart III: Preparing Teachers and Improving PracticeChapter 11. Teaching about Racial Equity Issues in Teacher Education Programs; Gloria BoutteChapter 12. Teaching Children to Fail: How Early Education Is Failing Black Youth; Tunette M. Powell and Ryan SyrekChapter 13. The Economic Realities of Early Childhood Education in the United States and the Policy Implications for Economically Disadvantaged Children, Families, and the Child Care Workforce; Melissa K. Van DykeChapter 14. Afterword: Working toward Better Outcomes for Children and Their Families; Carla D. Thompson Payton

Education, psychology, and public health researchers mainly from the US provide 14 chapters on improving the early childhood education and well-being of young African American children through equivalent resources and opportunities and equity in terms of additional resources targeted at correcting disparities. They address issues related to academic achievement, including increasing educational opportunities, alternative approaches and successful programs for educating black children, how historical and contemporary educational practices have worked against black students, gifted education, learning styles, and oral language skills; home-school contexts, including black fatherhood, parenting styles, the role of poverty and toxic stress, and home-school partnerships; and teacher preparation issues, including teaching about racial equity in teacher education and tackling the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as workforce aspects of early childhood education.