Reviews a range of material written about the use of the Alexander Technique in educating children to acquire better kinesthetic awareness of balance and body movement, and introduces briefly the theoretical principles underpinning Alexander's teaching. Presents curriculum issues for young children and the teacher awareness required to educate…

Examines the change in family structure together with the various pressures that now inhibit, inform, or constrain modern child rearing. Argues for educators of vision and compassion, who are articulate and well read. Concludes that without effective, knowledgeable early years professionals and appropriate institutions for the very young,…

Acknowledges that early-childhood education is a global practice and examines underlying images of the child. Questions the adequacy of current research to encompass global childhoods, how child development is conceptualized within early-childhood work, and children's status within early-education research and practice. Notes a current paradigm…

Child psychology and early-childhood education are related, as the former includes three distinct aspects: scientific, popular, and common-sense psychology of parents and teachers. No clear relationship exists between current theory and those of parents and teachers; however, teachers' and parents' views do influence their behavior toward…

This study evaluated several groups of preschoolers engaged in symbolic play to define elements of play and differences in regard to age. Analyses of videotapes indicated that the nature of symbolic play changes with regard to play situations in which children have been included. (LBT)

Discusses development of Early Childhood Studies (ECS) programs in Britain within social, political, and ideological context, and how ECS degrees could affect early-childhood workforce, parents, children, and society in general. Includes description of ECS programs at five institutions. (LBT)

Advocates an approach to observation of young children in nurseries that takes into account the emotional and cognitive domains of observer and the observer in communication with the entire nursery system. Notes that in this approach, observation becomes a source of reflection that involves psychological and pedagogical states of uncertainty and…

Explored teachers' and student teachers' views of the framework of educational training in the area of science in early-childhood education. Found that scientific training was necessary to support the preschool curriculum; teachers have different tendencies in regard to scientific knowledge; and the cohesion between content knowledge and…

Reviews studies examining the effects of theoretically-based Logo environments on young children's metacognitive processing and the extent to which sociocognitive processes mediate those effects. Findings suggest that Logo fosters development of metacognitive processing, in part by engendering high-level conflict resolution. Implications are…

Discusses conditions under which computers may be used effectively in elementary schools and provides examples of how these conditions may be achieved. Includes advocating for integration of technology into curricula in environments characterized by active learning, inquiry, and problem-solving where higher-order thinking skills are promoted.…

Examined effects of computer-assisted cooperative learning in Grade 3 mathematics instruction within integrated classrooms for students with and without disabilities. Found that cooperative-learning group had statistically higher achievement than did the whole-class learning group. Found no significant differences between groups of regular…

Examines the potential and hazards of using the Internet in American education. Concludes that Internet technology must be guarded when used by children and that there is no foolproof technological solution to protecting children against unacceptable information on the Internet. Maintains that a balance between using filtering software and…

Compared the impact of robotics (computer-powered manipulative) to a battery-powered manipulative (novelty control) and traditionally taught science class on science achievement and problem solving of fourth through sixth graders. Found that the robotics group had higher scores on programming logic-problem solving than did the novelty control…

Reviews research on computer programming and discusses implications for future research across various computer applications. Suggests future research needs, including expanding knowledge of what students/teachers learn in various environments, and investigating how unique features of various programming environments interact with goals and…

Examined Web sites from randomly selected elementary schools registered on Web66 to determine trends in elementary schools' presence on the World Wide Web from 1996 to 1998. Found that most educators use the Web to display school information. Few use it to increase students' communication skills, motivation toward writing, organizing and…