Challenges teachers to question their teaching practices and views regarding children's learning. Discusses issues related to curriculum design to ensure a wide range of open-ended activities; to manage and organize the environment to meet individual interests and needs; and to assess, record, and report on real-life contexts and their learning…

Proposes a more dimensional, holistic, child- and action-oriented educational-psychological approach for working with gifted preschool children, based on experiences with the Hanover Project and findings that previous kindergarten educational reforms in Germany did not sufficiently recognize and promote gifted preschool children. Examines…

Reviews recent advances in early childhood assessment and evaluation. Discusses several well-known assessment devices for screening and intelligence testing and provides information regarding their use, reliability, and validity. Tests discussed include the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Revised, Early Screening Profiles,…

Examines four categories of variables influencing the effectiveness of parent education programs for parents of gifted children: (1) content relevancy; (2) teaching techniques; (3) teacher characteristics; and (4) practical considerations. Makes specific suggestions to improve program effectiveness. Maintains that program planning should address…

Describes effective aspects of a 4-day inservice teacher education program offered in the context of Britain's Brunel Able Children's Education center. Discusses the nature of higher ability in children, identification of ability, classroom strategies, and the role of questioning. Describes a learning project based on word explorations to…

Examines science education in the United Kingdom for young children with special needs in science, and the theoretical underpinnings to children's early scientific experiences. Discusses methods of identifying young children with scientific aptitude. Examines use of children's early descriptions and explanations as emergent theorizing and use of…

Used interviews and questionnaires to examine parents' role in supporting bilingual competence of Singapore preschoolers. Found that well-educated mothers used English in everyday interactions and provided story reading, television, and video viewing in English and Mandarin. Parents were aware of the need for appropriate physical and material…

Examines the link between music and language development in early childhood. Investigates three aspects in developmental processes: (1) early sound perception; (2) premusical and prelinguistic vocalization; and (3) the emergence of singing and speech. Discusses linguistic and musical environmental stimulation such as baby talk and lullabies.…

Studied perceptions of early childhood teachers and employers regarding early childhood teacher education. Found that previous experience with, attitudes toward, and understanding of children and entry qualifications were weighted higher than age and gender for teacher selection. Lectures, group discussion, direct experience with children, and…

Used a peer rating task and a corresponding teacher rating scale to investigate preschoolers' playmate preferences and perceptions of classmates with and without disabilities. Found that preschoolers with disabilities received lower sociometric ratings than their typically developing peers, but the reasons cited for selecting or rejecting disabled…

Cognitive styles are broad, systematic characteristics that influence people's responses in different situations. Field dependence independence (FDI) is the cognitive style construct that has generated the most research. Describes the FDI characteristics in young children's social behaviors, including their social orientation, people-versus-object…

This review of school playtime literature finds that school play has gained serious recognition only in the last decade; that recognition generally falls into two camps, the romantic view (emphasizing what children learn and enjoy at playtime) and the problematic view (emphasizing issues such as bullying, disruptive behavior, and gender…

Evaluated the group treatment program Helping Encourage Affect Regulation (HEAR), developed for parents of children with symptoms of excessive aggression and noncompliance. Found significant improvements in measures of child symptoms, including level of aggression and parent-child interactions, especially parent sensitivity, intrusiveness, and…

Investigated how prison officers view the importance of maintaining relationships between incarcerated mothers and their children. Found that some hold the punishment ethic quite strongly; that women prisoners are often judged to be inadequate, uncaring mothers who use their children to access privileges; and that child visitation, while generally…

Notes the lack of literature on day care inspection under Britain's 1989 Children Act; reviews some older studies on childminding and child development in light of how much they have, or have not, influenced inspection procedures. Asserts that many studies are scathing indictments of childminders as "fit persons" to care for children; also notes…