In Nova Scotia as in much of Canada, early intervention service providers for young children with special needs are predominantly independent non-profit organizations which, although subject to government regulation, may or may nor receive government financial support. Basic information about who provides and uses services, the types of services…

This article examines how kindergarten-children are differentiated and segregated through vocal practices and processes. The analysis is based on empirical data, which originate from a long ethnographic fieldwork in Denmark. The author presents two different language tones: "a teaching tone and an exchange tone" and shows a pattern in the ways the…

Recent studies have shown that under the influence of feminist theory, today one of the most popular areas of academic children's literature criticism is "the rereading of texts for previously unrevealed interpretations" (Paul, 2004: 142). By "rereading," academic feminist children's literature critics look at the ways ideological implications are…

Where are all the disabled people in children's picture books? This article will introduce an innovative three-year project, based in the United Kingdom, which asks this question of the book world. In The Picture, managed by disability charity Scope, aims to point out the invisibility of disabled people in children's media to publishers, writers…

The aim of the study was to examine teachers' didactic projects in connection with constructing co-narratives with very young children during mealtimes. As a genre, co-narrative practice has a special quality for didactic work with children from one to three years old. Yet it is not always common in preschools for the teachers to talk to children…

The use of drama with the children in your classroom can catch the attention of even the most reluctant of students and bring literature to life in a way that other methods cannot. Furthermore, "playing" with plays can teach more than language arts; depending on the texts chosen, drama can teach children such important life lessons as tolerance…

In the past thirty years or so, divorce has been widespread in many countries. Globally the percentage of marriages that end up in divorce has increased dramatically even in countries where religious and legal impediments are strong. Divorce occurs most often within the first ten years of marriage. That means children of most couples who are…

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…

This article examines a group of New Zealand preschool teachers' perspectives on their early childhood curriculum--"Te Whariki: He Whariki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa" (Ministry of Education, 1996). In this discussion we focus on the teachers' understandings of the meaning, value and focus of this curriculum document. This is part of a…

What role do infant and toddler teachers play in transmitting their culture? Symbolic and cultural mediation approaches suggest children learn how to be members of their culture through social interactions and that this process begins at least by 9 months of age if not from birth. In previous cross-cultural studies of early childhood programs,…

This article introduces the curriculum history of early childhood education in Sweden. The study is based on curriculum theory and gender theory. A broad curricular concept is used. The period analysed ranges from approximately the 1850s to the present day. Examples of key-texts analysed are National curricula, Handbooks, one journal (The…

The recent development of the British early years (3-5 years) maths curriculum is described as a function of successive educational reforms aimed at the primary school curriculum in general and the primary maths curriculum (5-12 years) in particular. Contradictions within this curriculum development process are explained in terms of current…

This paper begins by outlining and discussing the fundamental elements of the process, child-centred model of curriculum, which has informed the two most recent Irish primary school curricula "Curaclam na Bunscoile" (1971 to 1999) and the "Primary School Curriculum" (1999 to date). The specific ways in which both Irish curricula embrace…

All schools in Hong Kong were closed in April 2003 to prevent the spread of SARS. This paper considers the influence of the SARS epidemic on children's routines and behaviour when preschools re-opened, after a six-week closure. Observations were made in 20 kindergartens and principals of another 10 kindergartens completed questionnaires. The…