Investigated the early childhood teacher's role in selecting, reading, and making accessible high-quality children's books, and providing reading opportunities. Twenty-one teachers' responses showed that they mostly read books recommended for literary quality; a smaller portion of the books accessible to the children were of high quality. Problems…

Examined non-award-winning "easy-to-read" books for character gender differences. Found that both female and male characters were most likely to be pictured in a leisure activity. Otherwise, males were more likely to be seen with a production artifact. Females were equally likely to be seen with a production or household artifact. Compared…

Investigated problem-solving methods used by 3 sixth-graders working on a variety of mathematics problems over the school year. Found that the students used different strategies: one used visual strategies, one a more verbal approach, and the third a combination of the two. Over time, all three moved toward more nonvisual, verbal/analytic forms of…

Investigated teaching experiences and methods in Nigerian primary schools, using classroom observations and interviews with 3 teachers for 10 consecutive days. Examined the teachers' perceptions of learning and the congruence between teachers' expressed perspectives and observed teaching. Found that the teachers varied widely in their views of…

Examined how the concept of quality in the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is concretized in pedagogical processes, in a comparison of classroom observations in Germany and Sweden. Observers from each country evaluated preschools in the other country, using the ECERS. Comparisons showed the benefits of using ECERS for facilitating…

Argues for departure from prevailing isolationist research and policy focus on young children. Supports analysis of how diverse contexts and environments not only support or surround children's development but also how the cultural "bathwater" enters into the shaping and elaboration of the baby it supports. Focuses on child development within…

Views of 110 English school nursery nurses were studied to discover how the caregivers assess the nature and demands of their jobs. Findings confirm a need to eliminate nursery nurses' role-confusion, and to halt present trends toward de-professionalization through a public valuing and clarification of the nature of the nursery nurses' role in…

Reviews research findings in the context of Australian children in the following areas: (1) health and well-being of children in both family and school contexts; (2) early-years classes from children's perspectives; (3) classroom interactions; and (4) quality assurance and best practice as it relates to role of teacher in enhancing child thought…

The first part of this article points out the profoundly interactive reality of early-years teaching. The second part reports on an empirical study comparing the interaction profile (in educational contexts) of Portuguese and English early-years practitioners and examines the differences between the two profiles. (Author/SD)

Tested effects of a structured intervention in teaching children to represent addition and subtraction. Found significant differences between two study groups in terms of affecting the addition and subtraction operations and ability to determine which operation was appropriate. Results suggest children's exploration of real world situations should…

Analyzed records of Slovene children's speech from a linguistic point of view and established differences in communication patterns with regard to the children's ages and the type of symbolic play. Found a shift in play from make-believe with regard to objects to roleplay related to social context. The older the child, the more language functions…

Examines some historical "maps" of the child institutions in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Finds a dynamic process of accommodation and resistance by early childhood constituencies to shifting political and pedagogical agendas. These maps were multi-layered and set against a backdrop of colonial values, which are described. (Author)

Advocates further development of strategies for carrying out economic analyses of early childhood programs and identifies some emerging concepts and methodologies that might support the development of expertise for such evaluation. Draws on experience of a United Kingdom team of early childhood evaluators and their attempts to develop an economic…

Examines the current diversity of early years qualifications in Scotland and looks critically at the factors that are now enabling a more coherent framework of qualifications to emerge. Highlights the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Concludes by offering a number of recommendations to those involved in similar work in other…

Studied the symbolic play that occurs in activity corners set up around toy-objects in Greek kindergartens. Found notable differences in levels of symbolism and complexity of the play. Concluded that the most favored groups were those in which: (1) classroom space was polyvalent, permitting its informal re-organization; and (2) the teacher was an…