The purpose of this study was to examine the role and responsibilities of Norwegian kindergarten (i.e., preschool for ages 0-6 years) from the perspective of participants involved in multidisciplinary collaboration on behalf of children with severe disabilities and their families. The authors employed a multiple-case study approach comprising 26…

The main purpose of this study was to explore what Jordanian parents of children attending "traditional" kindergartens recognize as high-quality education programs. The sample consisted of 509 families ("N"?=?509) of kindergarten-age children. Data were collected using a three-part questionnaire: curriculum domains, teacher…

This study investigated a video-based self-evaluation package focused on Head Start teachers' use of praise. Fifty-one Head Start teachers were randomly assigned to one of three groups: immediate self-evaluation, delayed self-evaluation, or a control. The dependent measures were frequency of general and specific praise statements. The independent…

To explore children's perceptions of their teachers' feelings in everyday classroom contexts, the authors conducted focus groups with New Zealand primary (elementary) school children to discuss what they observed about positive classroom teachers' interactional style and emotional behavior. Seventy-nine students between age 8 and 12 years, from…

Using narrative story-completion tasks with a sample of 97 preschool-age Mexican-heritage children from a large urban area, the authors examined differences in children's representations about their mothers and teachers. The authors also looked at teachers' perceptions to determine whether teachers viewed children in the same way as children…

Taking into consideration the central role played by argumentation in children's culture, comparative studies regarding the relative contribution of peer talk and children-teacher talk to children's argumentative discourse at kindergarten are relatively scarce. In this study, the researchers gathered ethnographic data of natural peer interactions…

Fostering emotional skills in the elementary (primary) school classroom can lead to improved learning outcomes, more prosocial behavior, and positive emotional development. Incorporating emotional skill development into the naturalistic and implicit teaching environment is a key feature of what is meant by the emotional climate of the classroom.…

This study surveyed 98 teachers of 4-year-olds about dramatic play in their classrooms and about their attitudes and practices about rough-and-tumble play. Gender differences emerged in the nature of dramatic play reported and in the ways in which teachers interacted with children engaged in different forms of dramatic play. Teachers also reported…

A Day in the Life is an interdisciplinary study of thriving 2-year-old girls and their families in diverse communities around the globe. We understand development to be active participation in cultural systems of practice, and examine children's interactions with their caregivers, other companions, and the environment. We focus upon children…

Shy children are wary in the face of new social situations and perceived social evaluation. In this regard, the transition to kindergarten may represent a particularly challenging task for shy children. In this review, we explore the kindergarten classroom as a particularly stressful context for shy children. We examine the adjustment difficulties…

This study investigated relationships between teacher talk exposure in preschool and school and children's second language vocabulary acquisition. Teacher talk exposure and vocabulary acquisition in Turkish-speaking children learning Norwegian and attending various classrooms were assessed yearly from when the children were in their next-to-last…

This two-year descriptive study of purposefully selected Minnesota families included interviews with 94 children who either were currently enrolled in or had attended child care programs. Children from 1 to 18 years old recalled playmates, daily activities, schedules, discipline methods, special events, bullies, and characteristics of well-liked…

Western investigators assume that caregiver sensitivity takes similar forms and has similar outcomes in all cultures. However, cultural research suggests that sensitivity in the West has more to do with responsiveness to children's explicit expression of need, and that sensitivity in non-Western communities has more to do with anticipation of…

This study examines the role of curriculum as a vocabulary learning environment by comparing teacher's Large Group Time instruction in two curricula--Creative Curriculum (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2000) and the Doors to Discovery program (2002). Discourse samples were retrieved from the video data of the Large Group Time activity in five Head…

This qualitative multi-case study explored four young leaders' idiosyncratic leadership styles manifested within the context of their classrooms (toddler and preschool). In order to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity and variety of early childhood leadership and provide holistic descriptions of young leaders' emerging leadership…