For more than three decades, theory of mind (ToM) has been one of the leading and prevalent issues in developmental psychology. ToM is the ability to ascribe mental states (e.g. beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge) to oneself and others as well as to recognise that others have beliefs, desires, and intentions that differ from…

For more than two decades, research has focused on the understanding of pretence as an important means for young children to conceptualise the mind. Many use the phrase "mental representation" to a mental model of some entity or concept, which describes what is inside the minds of young children in relation to a real-world situation or…

Throughout history, society has expressed little interest in early childhood play. Still early literature authors and classical paintings portray childhood play experiences. The way play has been conceived in the past in child development, psychology and other disciplines relates to contemporary early childhood programmes. This article provides an…

Family literacy studies have shown that the role of parental storybook reading has an impact on children's success in school-based literacy instruction. Storybook reading is when adults read an appropriate text to their children. This review describes studies in which parents and children engage in storybook reading. It specifically reports…

A family literacy program was examined to document the literacy experiences of 25 fathers and their five-year-old children. Using a case study methodology, this study examined the effects of a literacy intervention program that was designed to assist fathers to promote their children's acquisition of literacy. The results indicated that the…

This article discusses studies that provide the historical and contemporary patterns of father involvement in the USA to provide researchers with an understanding of contemporary fatherhood. It describes the historical patterns and research studies on father involvement that created methodological and conceptual challenges in conducting studies…

The issue of the preparation of effective teachers becomes more critical for teachers of early childhood programs. It has been hypothesized that better program quality depends on better-educated teachers. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the importance of a high level of education for all early childhood education teachers. This…

Research provides evidence that fathers can promote the development of their children's literacy skills, including reading books to them that are appropriate, engaging their children in discussions about books they read, recording in a notebook the books the children have read and encouraging their children to read more books. This review presents…

Researchers and educators have developed an interest in language development. Their studies focused on the cultural context in which language is learned and developed and its relationship to cognitive development. This article reviews the researchers' definitions on oracy and its social facets of language learning. Specifically, it reviews studies…

Studies indicate that young children's literacy learning can be promoted in a play setting. Literacy interactions, strategies, and activities in the children's play environment can facilitate their acquisition of literacy. In literacy-related play experiences, children select and utilize their abilities that are essential for literacy learning in…

Describes how the field dependence independence dimension of cognitive style affects teachers' instructional behaviors and students' learning behaviors, and how interaction of teachers' and students' cognitive styles creates different learning environments. Discusses matching alternatives, focusing on identical cognitive style matching and…

Examines recent trends in early childhood education practice: the education of all children in inclusive classes, the management of vertical and horizontal transitions, the emergence of early childhood education and care programs, the development of school-family-community partnerships, the emphasis on language learning and emergent literacy, the…

This article discusses commonalities among experts' descriptions of creative individuals, including rational thinking, high levels of emotional development, talent, and higher levels of consciousness. Maintains that creativity studies justify the development of educational creativity training programs. Asserts that teachers can promote children's…

Reviews literature on family influence on children's acquisition of literacy. Discusses the ambivalence regarding family literacy theories and the lack of family literacy theoretical frameworks. Identifies types of family involvement and effective literacy strategies for families. Finds that most studies suggest that family literacy contributes to…

This study examined the importance of roles teachers undertake to promote literacy in kindergarten classrooms. Content analyses of videotaped play identified, defined, and described the roles teachers assumed in promoting children's literacy development in the context of play, including discussion leader, storyteller, examiner, instructional…