About the Author:
Steffen Saifer, Ed.D is an international consultant and writer based in Spain. His previous work included leading the development of a national kindergarten curriculum in the Republic of Georgia for UNICEF and helping to develop and implement a master’s degree program in early childhood leadership in Russia for the Open Society Foundations. Steffen has also worked in Belarus, Hungary, Bangladesh, The Gambia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, among other countries. Earlier in his career he was an early childhood teacher, Head Start director, college instructor, education specialist for Head Start programs in four Pacific Northwest states, and director of the Child & Family Program at Education Northwest in Portland, OR. Steffen’s areas of interest and expertise—in addition to higher order thinking—include the role of play in development and education, the training of early childhood professionals, and culturally responsive early childhood curriculum. He is the author of
Practical Solutions to Practically Every Problem: The Survival Guide for Early Childhood Professionals 25th Anniversary Edition and the lead author of
Culturally Responsive Standards-based Teaching: Classroom to Community and Back, among other publications.