Constructive Guidance and Discipline: Birth to Age Eight (6th Edition)
Marjorie FieldsDr. Marjorie Fields has recently retired after teaching in the field ofearly childhood education for more than 30 years. She first taught kindergarten, thenfirst grade, and then began teaching teachers. Thanks to her own children, she alsohad experience in cooperative preschools and various types of childcare. Marjorie has a Doctorate in Early Childhood Education with Research in ParentInvolvement. She has been active in early childhood professional organizations atthe national and local levels; she recently served as president of the National Associationof Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE) and has also served asvice president of that association. She has served on the national governing boardfor the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). She haspublished extensively in the field of emergent literacy, including the textbookLet’sBegin Reading Right(Merrill/Prentice Hall), as well as in the field of child guidance. This book is the result of more than 30 years of reading and thinking in conjunctionwith developing and teaching early childhood discipline courses. Dr. Fieldscredits her two sons with initially helping her learn what is most important aboutchild guidance and discipline. She now continues to learn from her grandchildren. Patty MerittPatty currently serves as a Professor of Early Childhood Education forthe University of Alaska in Fairbanks. The newest author, Patty used this book forseveral years in classes for both teachers and parents. She teaches Child Guidancein several formats, including workshops, on the web and as an intensive and compressedcourse, and says the book is the backbone of every presentation. In additionto teaching at the university, Patty has worked as a classroom teacher, owner andadministrator in childcare, private preschool, and a parent coop. Patty’s academicdegrees began with an AA in Nursery School and include a BA in Child Developmentand a Masters in Teaching. Her research has been primarily in the field of genderdifferences in early childhood. First as a parent and continuing as a grandparent, shedelights in continually learning, sharing, and improving her respectful responses toall children. Deborah M. FieldsDebby is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the Director ofSocial Services for Agape Adoptions, an international adoption agency. She assessesand helps prepare families who wish to adopt children in normal health and with specialneeds from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Debby also provides post-adoptionsupport services, assisting parents with the process of adjustment, attachment, anddeveloping sensitive discipline practices. Debby is particularly interested in the role ofprimary relationships and is continually impressed by the powerful effect that lovingand sensitive caregivers have on children’s behavior and emotional development.Debby is also the mother of two preteen daughters and continues to learn a great dealabout emotional development in her family life. Her children attend a cooperativepublic school, where Debby enjoys working regularly in their classrooms. Debby has a Master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. Shepresented her Master’s thesis on Multicultural Counseling at a national conventionfor the American Psychological Association. In addition to her training in attachmentissues, she has focused on developing culturally sensitive practices in her work withchildren and families. She has also worked with teen parents and in an elementaryschool counseling center.