This study of 4- to 6-year-olds had 2 aims: first, to determine how lower level comprehension skills (receptive vocabulary and grammar) and verbal memory support early higher level comprehension skills (inference and literal story comprehension), and second, to establish the predictive power of these skills on subsequent reading comprehension.…

Impairments in social communication are the core diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In the past two decades findings from important clinical research studies have translated into improvements in understanding and practice, for example leading to a reduction in the age at which autism is commonly first recognised and diagnosed…

Research from the United Kingdom suggests that early childhood centres that operate from a multi or integrated service model, offering opportunities for parents to attend to a range of their needs and aspirations, increase the ability and the inclination of families to engage with their child's learning at the early childhood centre. Integrated…

How does it happen that some children acquire a reputation as a "problem" in school? The article discusses some findings of a qualitative study involving children in the Reception year (ages 4-5). The research focused on problematic behaviour as this emerged within, and was shaped by, the culture of the classroom. A key question for the…

This article presents a critical review of the literature surrounding the potential impact of undiagnosed and untreated vision impairment on reading development in the early years of primary school. Despite pre-school screening programmes, it is still possible for children to enter school with undiagnosed, uncorrected vision impairments. This can…

This paper reports findings from a study of young children's views about electric circuits. Twenty-eight children aged 5 and 6 years were interviewed. They were shown examples of circuits and asked to predict whether they would work and explain why. They were then invited to try out some of the circuit examples or make circuits of their own…

This article draws on data from two recent studies of young children in early childhood settings. One study was of children in a Korean private kindergarten, the other of children in a UK reception class. In each study, the data discussed include both evidence from "home" (including parent interviews) and evidence from "school"…

Inclusive play embraces dimensions of richness, diversity, appreciation of difference and is both simple and complex too. By aiming for inclusive play educators are simply aiming for the best play experiences to all children. Play opportunities ought to be full of possibilities with which the children can engage and questions that they can pose…

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effect of American Sign Language (ASL) instruction on typical hearing kindergarten children's literacy in four specific areas: receptive English vocabulary, expressive English vocabulary, ASL ability, and English emergent reading level. The research was specifically modeled after a 1997 United…