Examined the perceptions of 20 early-childhood special-education professionals regarding different types of student assessment. Found that subjects perceived the activity-based assessment to be significantly more able than the norm-referenced test to assess functional skills of children with special needs, to provide information about the child's…

Examined the impact of a cultural exchange program on ethnic/racial awareness and attitudes of preschoolers in the United States. Found that teaching preschoolers about an ethnic/racial out-group raises their awareness of their own group membership, and does not automatically translate into their disparagement of out-groups; also found that…

Examined toddlers' spontaneous responses to six repeated readings; subjects were 2- to 3-year olds from at-risk backgrounds. Found that frequent children's responses included labeling pictures, commenting about the picture/story, and repeating what the reader said. Overall verbal activity and number of different responses increased across repeated…

Compared food texture preferences during infancy and toddlerhood. Found that infants displayed more negative expressions and head and body movements in response to complex textures than to simple textures. Toddlers displayed more positive head and body movements and more eagerness in response to complex than to simple textures. Experience with…

Examined Korean early-childhood teachers' knowledge and understanding of Froebel's educational ideas. Found that teachers' current knowledge and understanding of Froebel's educational ideas is weak, although teachers show enthusiasm for learning about them. An overview of Korean early-childhood education and teacher-training programs showed…

Explores the notion that some social interactions are more conducive to the construction of knowledge than others. Describes the use of argumentation as a learning tool during play by analyzing transcripts of the interactions of four-and-a-half year olds. Derives implications for early childhood education from these examples and from a theoretical…

Examined the relationship between play and learning by exploring contrasts between the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and examining data from a study of preschool teachers' theories of play. At the outset, these theories revealed a predominantly Piagetian, developmental orientation but changed toward a more social-constructivist orientation.…

Reviews constructivist and sociocultural approaches to child development and early education. Outlines a neo-Piagetian systems approach to early learning and development which examines development as the result of coactions between multiple levels of hierarchical individual-environment systems. Discusses a neo-Piagetian curriculum, Rightstart, for…

Examines three transcripts of preschool children's informal mathematical discourse during play to highlight the role of informal learning in young children's education. Considers the children's ability to adopt instructor, mediator and evaluator communication roles, to gain access to formal mathematics knowledge, and to use these to meet…

Describes a science enrichment program for 5- to 8-year- olds that used constructivist theory to create a social learning environment conducive to science learning. Considers the strategic actions and roles the teacher adopted to achieve theoretical objectives. Presents evidence that the children engaged in knowledge generation and critical…

Argues that science investigation by young children should not be constrained by rigid curriculum frameworks, but be prompted by natural curiosity, as in the constructivist approach. Maintains that cognitive abilities in science and investigative skills will develop if children are encouraged to test their observations, questions, and hypotheses…

Analyzes two episodes of mathematics instruction by a first-year preschool teacher to highlight the importance of responsiveness in creating an interpersonal relation with students. Discusses the linguistic features of the teacher's discourses which generated a sense of shared control and meaning-making with students when adopting an instructor…

Investigated the ways 0-6 year-old children express their altruism, particularly the feelings and actions making up the altruistic behavior in this period of development, based on parent reports. Found that children behave altruistically almost from birth, with a great variety of this feeling from 2-4 years old, mostly expressed toward loved…

Explores the nature, importance, and development of child metacognition, arguing for the assisted development of metacognitive awareness in young children. Identifies factors that enhance metacognitive development and thus assist the transfer of learning. Suggests that metateaching strategies can help mediate the metacognitive strategies of…

Examined child caregivers responses to children's behavior and their attributions regarding the type of behavior requiring discipline and the nature of the punishment. Found that caregivers were most concerned about aggression, not listening, and sexually related behaviors; disciplinary strategies included time-out, explanation, and redirection.…