Draws on a case study to explore parents' and young people's perception of drug issues and the experience of communication about drugs within the family. Identifies the need of young people to establish a sense of self and a meaningful life as a spiritual need. Explores this concept in literature on spirituality and Kelly's Individuality and…

Tested the "buffer" hypothesis in caregiver-parent relationships, predicting that parents seek caregiver contact primarily in response to negative daycare situations. Parents' responses to vignettes revealed that parents reported most caregiver inclusions in negative daycare situations compared to other daycare or home situations. Parents…

Examined education of children in Tanzania, United States, and Canada and immigrant parents' views on their child's transition to new educational system. Found that Tanzanian children who came to North America to continue schooling came mostly from public schools or child care centers, most with high educational aspirations. Factors inhibiting…

This study examined mentoring practice, mentor characteristics, and factors influencing development of mentor-protege relationships in preservice teacher education programs. Questionnaire responses indicated three important mentor characteristics: nurturer, expert colleague, and role model. Mentors and proteges felt that long-term placement had…

Describes the preschool education policies and practices in Turkey. Summarizes the history, organization, educational programs, teacher training programs, and demographics of children attending preschool educational institutions. Outlines research and other projects to extend preschool education opportunities. Discusses the problems involved in…

Compared the impact of a small box emitting sounds in response to nearby motion introduced into an infant/toddler and a preschool classroom to illustrate qualitative differences in how children of different ages recognize the same objects as mediating devices for activity. Found that the box became a social object for infants/toddlers and part of…

Identifies historical factors involved in analyzing Initial Teacher Education (ITE) for primary level in England, focusing on institutions in which primary ITE courses are taught and the curricula for primary ITE. Argues that primary ITE has been characterized by rapid changes and discontinuities in both institutions and curricula. Concludes that…

Examined how, over a 1-year primary post graduate certification of education, student teachers in England experienced their professional learning and the extent to which this mapped onto the underpinning assumptions of the course process. Discusses students' experiences in learning to learn, students' motivations, function of teacher educators,…

Investigated associations between mentors' emotional empathic tendency, proteges' perception of the mentoring relationship, and proteges' belief in their efficacy as teachers. Found that mentors had relatively high emotional empathic tendency, the proteges rated their mentor-protege relationships highly, and the proteges had a high level of…

Uses data from pilot year of Pre-school Education Initiative in Scotland to look at the impact of government-introduced voucher system intended to expand preschool provision. Identifies four changes in provision and for the culture: playroom activities, expectations for purpose/outcomes of program, parental roles, and requirements for quality…

Interviewed 24 early-childhood service managers to study impact of government regulations on daily practices within a range of early-childhood services in southwest England. Found that the majority of respondents considered government regulations to be related to meeting minimum standards rather than to quality assurance and were confused about…

Compared group and individual interviews to determine views of staff and 40 parents from four Scottish preschool centers. Found that parents' priorities for their children lie in the emotional and social domain and that they want a warm and homelike experience. Argues that staff should harness this parental "force" to resist pressures for a more…

Draws on research/development projects aimed at raising achievement through teaching thinking to explore core concepts of thinking skills and learning. Argues that educators need to move from the idea of developing the thinking child to creating powerful learning environments, thinking classroom, schools, and communities. Discusses approaches to…

Considers theoretical approaches to the origins, diagnosis, and etiology of autism and focuses on the research and development of the psychological theories concerned with the theory of mind in both normally developing and autistic children. (Author/KB)

Examined factors predicting parenting behavior of adolescent mothers of 24-month olds in a family-support program. Found that teens providing higher quality care had more positive childrearing beliefs, were less psychologically distressed, perceived their children as less irritable, and lived in higher quality neighborhoods than those providing…