The study examines whether elementary school students in Taiwan who had received Montessori education achieved significantly higher scores on tests of language arts, math, and social studies than students who attended non-Montessori elementary programs. One hundred ninety six children in first, second, and third grade participated in the study.…

This research investigated play between two caregivers, one with a visual impairment, and their 15-month-old daughter. The mother has a visual impairment. We aimed to identify the similarities and differences in mathematically-relevant input by comparing the 30-min naturalistic play session conducted separately between the mother-daughter and the…

This article gives a general picture of the policy and main structural features of early childhood education services for the younger children in Finland. It also provides an overview of the research on 1 to 3-year-old children in day care centres carried out in Finland during the last 15 years, the focus being on a review of all the eight…

The purpose of this study was to assess 81 kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics on six subcategory areas such as number sense, pattern, ordering, shapes, spatial sense, and comparison. The data showed participants possessed a higher level of pedagogical content knowledge of "number sense" (M = 89.12) compared to…

Based on the occurrence of modernization and globalization in Chinese society over the last few decades, the content of 145 stories, published in the most popular Chinese children's story magazine from the 1980s to the present, were examined for the representation of cultural values. The presence of Chinese, Western and social-moral values in…

This research investigated the nature of play activities and the social engagement of young children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in inclusive early childhood settings. Twelve focus children with a diagnosis of ASD participated in the research. These children were enrolled in regular early childhood education programs with typically…

China launched a top-down curriculum reform in kindergartens in the 1980s. In order to examine the influence of this reform, this study compared the similarities and differences in curricular practices in kindergartens with different sponsoring bodies in Shanxi province. Altogether, 26 principals and 95 teachers in 50 classrooms from 26…

In recent years the OECD has undertaken the evaluation of early childhood education and care (ECEC) on behalf of ministers of education in a number of countries in order to support quality improvement in this field. This article is based on a workshop for the national coordinators of early childhood policy in Sweden, 2003, which dealt with…

Childcare practices such as feeding, toilet training, sleeping arrangement and discipline in three Asian countries (China, Japan, and India) are compared. These countries differ from each other in culture, religion, language and ethnic makeup from Euro-American culture. The differences in childcare practices are broadly related to the differences…

Examined how Chinese and American Indian mothers (20 mother-child dyads from each culture) supported their young children's emergent literacy development during everyday interactions. Found that Chinese mothers tended to privilege print-based literacy interactions more than American Indian mothers. American Indian mothers tended to privilege…

This study examined parent factors and teacher strategies fostering parent involvement and efficacy in a Canadian preschool intervention program in the Toronto area. Both English-as-a-second-language and English-speaking parent groups participated in school-based Parenting and Readiness Center programs with their 4-year-olds. Findings suggested…

Compared the personal/social development of preschoolers in two intergenerational and two non-intergenerational settings. Found that children in intergenerational programs scored higher on the personal/social development scale of the Learning Accomplishment Profile than did children in non-intergenerational settings. (KB)

Investigated perceptions of poverty among 6- and 7-year-olds in Poland, expressed in drawings and discussion, comparing results to those of a United Nations Development Program study of preschoolers' perceptions. The approach showed that new forms of activity, based mainly on early intervention of psychologists, pedagogues, and physicians, are…

Examined sex differences in perceptual and cognitive abilities and in reading skills among 922 first graders in the United States, India, and Taiwan. Found that girls scored significantly higher than boys on reading skills, visual memory, directionality, and ability to track nonsymbolic figures. Urban children outscored rural children on four…

Examines what providers of early childhood programs and children's families want from the program, comparing responses from Laos and England. Considers decision-making roles and the need for early childhood education to provide a foundation for the child's future. Suggests that different theories and practices deserve respect and should be…