Teachers' role in the conflicts of 2- and 3-year-olds was examined in Dutch and Finnish child care centers. Data suggested that teachers indirectly influenced conflict occurrence and seriousness by their organization of time, space, and materials. Two types of equally used teacher interventions were distinguished: mediating strategies and high…

This study documented one child's development of conflict resolution skills when a peer problem-solving model was used in a constructivist-designed classroom. Findings revealed that this child progressed from a power assertion style of conflict resolution to a more sophisticated form of negotiation. The study supports current thinking that young…

Examined the types of play and social interactions in which nine preschoolers with disabilities engaged while at their chosen learning/activity centers in an inclusive program. Found individual differences in the amount of time spent in various centers, the number of different types of play engaged in, and in the amount of time spent in play of…

Examined English-speaking preschoolers' level of writing and their performance on oral-segmentation tasks. Found a close relationship between children's levels of writing and their levels of oral segmentation on a writing task in which they were asked to write four pairs of words, for example, "ham" and "hamster." Concluded that children's…

This study compared the writing mediation style of low SES mothers on home-like and school-like writing activities with their kindergartners. Analysis of videotaped interactions indicated that although mothers had a general cross-activity strategy of mediating writing, different writing contexts resulted in different maternal behaviors. The…

Used a quasi-experimental approach to examine whether exposure to age-appropriate books in their native language would affect pre-literacy skills development of language minority kindergartners. Found that native Spanish-speaking children exposed to Spanish-language books scored significantly higher on a pre-literacy skills tests than did their…

Compared the thinking of kindergartners and sixth-graders as expressed in unassisted retellings of a narrative text. Found no significant age differences in retelling lengths and few significant age differences in the amount of types of thinking. Older children tended to summarize paragraphs and single sentences; young children tended to summarize…

Examined whether participating in the North Carolina Quality Enhancement Initiative improved the quality of 26 participating school-age child care programs. Found a significant increase in the quality of child care environments and teacher-child interaction over the 9-month period. State license and smaller group size related to higher quality…

Compared Chinese fourth-, eighth-, and eleventh-graders' self-perceptions of ability in physical education. Found no grade-related decline in perceived ability. All students used effort, ability, and comparison to judge their ability. Students at all grades perceived task mastery as the major ability indicator and tended to assess ability in…

Investigated the impact of a course on interprofessional collaboration and field site experiences in family literacy programs on the perceptions of preservice teachers as it pertained to working with children and families "of promise." Found that students' views changed to a "family first" perspective, considering children and families to be "of…

Examined how British elementary principals' values were realized in the school environment. Data from online research journals kept by principals over two 4-week periods indicated that government policy of improving school leadership in order to raise standards was seriously compromised by educational market pressures. Many principals reverted to…

Surveyed English elementary school teachers regarding their roles as teachers and caregivers and their provision of social work support to parents and their children. Common roles included helping parents with personal problems, supporting students with emotional and behavioral problems, participating in child protection, and working with agencies…

Investigates music teacher retention and attrition. Surveyed in the spring of 1995 certified teachers (n=225) with music education degrees earned in the past 10 years; 137 responded. Surveyed respondents six years later and found 34.4% no longer teaching. Cites personal reasons and administrative support as the primary sources for discontent with…

Evaluates the preservice music teacher preparation program at a large Big Ten university through the perceptions of beginning teachers, their mentors, and administrators. Gathers data using interviews, focus groups, journals, and classroom observations. Identifies the most and least valuable parts of the program. Provides suggestions for the…

Examines whether observers perceptions differ if they were informed of the proximal instructional goals than if they were not informed. Classifies music education majors written statements (n=120) after viewing one of three randomly assigned stimulus tapes. Found non-informed subjects wrote more teacher-directed, inferential, and positive…