Reviews recent studies on the effects of mixed-age grouping (MAG) in Swedish nursery and elementary schools. Although studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s suggested that MAG was beneficial to children's learning and socioemotional development and to teachers' work satisfaction, studies conducted in the 1990s suggest that MAG does not promote…

Surveyed 154 nursery school teachers in Greece concerning their perceptions of the nature and extent of behavior problems exhibited by their pupils. Found that geographic region and the location of the nursery school (city, town, or rural area) affected teachers' perceptions of children's emotional and developmental problems, but not conduct…

Examined the process by which 79 nursery school pupils age 4 and 5 years discovered the properties of magnetism while playing with magnets and various metallic and nonmetallic objects. Found that the older children were more likely to discover magnetism on their own, while the younger children required the encouragement of their teacher to uncover…

Interviewed 59 2nd- and 44 3rd-year elementary school students concerning their solutions to arithmetic problems commensurate with their age and ability. The results indicate that as children progress through school, they continue to use counting as an important part of their problem-solving repertoire, combining counting skills in idiosyncratic…

Interviewed teachers and parents concerning newly developed school services for 6-year olds in Stockholm, Sweden, where the traditional age for starting school will change from 7 to a flexible 6 or 7 in 1997. Results from ratings done by teachers indicate that the new services have had a positive influence on the children's adjustment and peer…

Reviews research and presents the results of a case study on the effects of subject knowledge and its place within the British National Curriculum for early childhood students. The importance of foundation subjects as a vehicle for the acquisition and development of basic skills in literacy and numeracy is a major finding of the research. (MDM)

Examined the differences between linguistic-cognitive ability and language performance in a sample of 172 preschool and kindergarten children from 3 sociocultural locations (urban, working class, and rural) in Greece. Linguistic-cognitive abilities were found to have no influence on verbal interaction and production. Sociocultural influences did…

Examines aspects of European day care that differentiate it from day care services on other continents, focusing on differences between child development and schooling, the distinction between infants and preschoolers, the place of family settings, professional versus parent perspectives, parents involvement, cultural diversity, decentralization,…

Discusses the interaction between children's minds and the learning environment, offering a conceptual framework that aims at creating authentic contexts where the quality and variety of mediated learning experiences will enable children to build a deep understanding within the domain studied. (MDM)