Children in the fast lane: Implications for early childhood policy and practice

The values and ambitions of many parents lead them to exert pressure on young children for high, early achievement and to constrain early childhood educators to accelerate formal academic instruction. The conflicts between this kind of parental pressure and the values and training of early childhood educators are discussed. Implications for policy and practice are drawn from an overview of the contemporary conditions of childhood, concerns of achievement-oriented parents, and the knowledge base of early childhood education.