Visions of Entitlement

The Care and Education of America's Children

Edited by Mary A. Jensen & Stacie G. Goffin

Subjects: Early Childhood Studies
Series: SUNY series, Early Childhood Education: Inquiries and Insights
Paperback : 9780791416761, 303 pages, October 1993
Hardcover : 9780791416754, 303 pages, October 1993

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Table of contents

Introduction: Prospects for Children's Well-Being

Mary A. Jensen

Part 1 Framing Entitlement For Young Children

Chapter 1 Entitlement in Early Care and Education: A Tale of Two Rights

Sharon L. Kagan

Chapter 2 Children's Welfare Rights Are Entitlements

Colin A. Wring

Chapter 3 The Concept of Entitlement and Its Incompatibility with American Legal Culture

Gary B. Melton and Megan Sullivan

Chapter 4 Well-Being, Entitlements, and Investment in Children: An Economic Perspective

Robert Haveman and Barbara Wolfe

Chapter 5 Children's Rights in a Civilized Society

Stuart N. Hart

Part 2 Issues of Entitlement For Young Children

Chapter 6 Equal Opportunity for Infants and Young Children: Myth or Reality?

Stanley I. Greenspan

Chapter 7 The Other Childhood: The Classroom Worlds of Poor Children

Valerie Polakow

Chapter 8 Health Care Entitlements for Children: Providing Health Services as if Children Really Mattered

Neal Halfon and Gale Berkowitz

Chapter 9 The Dilemma of Rural American Communities and Their Children

Gordon Hoke

Part 3 Providing Entitlement For Young Children Through Their Families

Chapter 10 Creating a Political Climate that Values and Supports Children

Cheryl D. Hayes

Chapter 11 Supporting Families in Their Creation of Contexts for Child Rearing

Bernice Weissbourd

Chapter 12 Building Villages: Lessons from Policy Entrepreneurs

Heather B. Weiss

Epilogue: Beyond Visions of Entitlement: Some Personal Reflections

Stacie G. Goffin

Contributors

Index

Description

As part of a re-examination of our societal values and obligations, this book focuses on illuminating the various meanings and issues of entitlement in relation to the basic needs of children in our society. Drawing on the perspectives of philosophy, law, education, sociology, child development, economics, and public health, the authors discuss the implications of their vision of entitlement for the well-being of America's children. The book also points out specific family and cultural contexts for the provision of entitlements for young children. And, finally, it turns our attention to the moral commitments needed to effect changes in policies and programs. In this way, the book provides valuable information for all who are trying to improve the nurture and education of America's children.

Mary A. Jensen received her Ph. D. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is now Director of the School of Education and Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the State University of New York, College at Geneseo. In addition to publications on child advocacy, a substantial portion of her recent work has focused on teacher education. She currently serves as President of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators as well as Editor of the SUNY Press series, Early Childhood Education: Inquiries and Insights. Stacie G. Goffin is Senior Specialist, Early Childhood Care and Education, for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. While working on this book, she was Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In addition to her publications on early childhood advocacy, early childhood education, and teacher education, Dr. Goffin is actively involved in effecting change on behalf of young children and their families in the metropolitan Kansas City community.