".. other living species,... also with the total environment in which we live." They explain the human ecosystem to include three fundamental organizing conceptions: the human environed unit (HEU); the natural environment (NE); the human constructed environment (HCE). The following diagram portrays "The Human Ecosystem": Bubolz, Eicher, and Sontag (1979, p. 29) The human environed unit (HEU) displayed in the center is located in a specific space in time and can be a

Early Childhood Development Roles and Responsibilities of an Early Childhood Professional Early childhood professionals are often required to wear many hats, particularly because their job description changes almost on a daily basis. As a facilitator of learning, an early childhood professional acts as a guide. Usually, a guide is tasked with leading other people down new paths, and he does so by walking beside them, rather than in front of them (Child

The primary caregiver during the very early years of the child's life is the mother. Men play a fairly minor part in the early developmental years of the child. "In Malawi most men are traditionally distanced from their children; they rarely hold and play with them. (ibid) However this situation changes as the child grows up, and there is later more interaction between father and child. Overall, however, men are generally

Porch (2002) points out that research unequivocally shows that early childhood education paves the way for later educational success. As of now, few states offer fully funded early childhood education programs. As of 2002, only three states offered fully-funded pre-kindergarten programs (Porch 2002). The fundamental purpose of the Early Childhood Development Initiative was to increase awareness of the importance of early childhood education. Yet more work needs to be done

In its most basic sense, play provides a mechanism for a young child to address him or herself and engage with others in a way that precludes feelings of immaturity and inferiority. "Play" invokes a world not limited by temporal boundaries of age and accomplishment and forces a child to relate to the world around him or her. In dramatic, physical, and celebratory play, children are able to develop social

Science may not be able to absolutely determine laws of human social development for all groups. In fact, a large majority of studies focus on a white, middle class population sample and therefore cannot be generalized to the entire population. Science is in itself a social construction, reflecting the biases, values, and beliefs of its practitioners. Because of its role in our society, science also perpetuates existing social hierarchies