This article describes the multielement design, often recommended in single-subject research, and discusses its advantages and disadvantages for research in early intervention with handicapped children. The article concludes that the multielement design has many advantages, though multiple treatment interference is an issue of concern. (JDD)

A short term longitudinal study investigated the relationship between spatial activity and spatial competencies over the course of the preschool years. A group of 22 children, 3 years of age, were observed exploring two different novel environments with their mothers: an indoor children's museum and a small outdoor zoo. When the children were 3.5…

Examined were preschoolers' naturally occurring behaviors during their attempts to gain, maintain, and regain materials, space, and peers' attention/interaction in the classroom. The major question addressed was, Are there differences between "most" and "least" competent preschoolers in terms of (1) frequency and type of…

Teachers who have been trained to work with normal young children (early childhood certification) or with older disabled children (special education certification) are unprepared to assume the multiple responsibilities of the teacher of preschool disabled children. Prior to the 1979-1980 academic year, few (if any) formal on-going inservice (or…

This document was prepared in response to a comparative study tour undertaken as part of the European Communities Commission's Community Education Programme. It describes the educational structures of Belgium, Denmark, the Federal Republic of German, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemborg, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Each country's…

The 1987-88 annual report reviews progress on 17 longitudinal studies to determine the efficacy of early intervention with handicapped children. The overview chapter reviews previous research on this topic; considers ethical, practical, and scientific considerations of randomized experiments in early childhood special education; examines benefits…

This study examined age and sex differences in young children's skills in decoding nonverbal facial cues of emotional states. The purpose was threefold: (1) to determine whether older preschoolers were better decoders than younger preschoolers; (2) to see whether sex differences would be apparent throughout the preschool period or emerge only…

Stability of K-ABC (Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children) performance of 33 nonhandicapped and 53 at-risk preschool children was examined over a 9- to 12-month period. A high level of stability for global scale scores as well as subtest scores was indicated for both groups of children. (PCB)

The correspondence of left-right confusion in children to the bilateral symmetry in the nervous system was tested by presenting left-right and up-down discrimination-learning tasks to 80 preschoolers who viewed these stimuli from either an upright or 90-degree-rotated body position. The data contradict anatomical model predictions. (Author/BN)

The article describes "Simu-Teach," an interactive video training program for personnel training in early intervention curricula for disabled young children. Results of pilot testing indicate the feasibility of a simulated teaching experience through interactive video technology and enthusiasm of its users. (Author/DB)

Reports the results of one study in which parents taught their two- to four-year-olds basic and superordinate concepts, and another, in which they taught them subordinate concepts. Parents' teaching styles were analyzed in terms of their usefulness for children who are attempting to learn about principles of hierarchical classification. (AS)

Examines the factors influencing the use of a plan by four- and five-year-old children to judge the relative number of two sets by one-to-one correspodence. Results suggest that most children have one-to-one plans in long-term memory by age four. (Author/RWB)

Describes factor analysis of preschool children's play behavior, as measured by the Smilansky-Parten play matrix. Varimax rotation solution suggests three factors: Dramatic-Constructive Play, Solitary Behavior, and Functional-Constructive Play. Study suggests that these factors represent constructs of preschoolers' play. (Author/RWB)

Discusses young children's adaptation to out-of-home care with regard to both immediate and long-term effects. Presents results of two studies that illustrate alternative research strategies and address substantive issues concerning the effects of out-of-home care on the behavior and quality of adaptation of young children. (Author/NH)

Examined sequential dependencies in solitary and interactive states of social organization as a function of age, sex, and type of toy in 12 triads of 3 1/2- and 5-year-old children. Each triad was observed during two 30-minute sessions, one in which objects with highly specific functions were available and one in which objects with relatively…