Seventy-nine 3- and 4-year-old children were tested on gaze-reporting ability and Wellman and Liu's (2004) continuous measure of theory of mind (ToM). Children were better able to report where someone was looking when eye and head direction were provided as a cue compared with when only eye direction cues were provided. With the exception of…

Acquisition of gross motor skill is a natural developmental process for children. This aspect of human development increases with one's chronological age, irrespective of any developmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of gross motor skill development among pre- and early school-aged children with motor disability.…

This study investigated gender differences in North American preschoolers' biological reasoning about the concept of "life". Four-year-olds (M = 4.6, SD = 3.3 months) and five-year-olds (M = 5.6, SD = 3.8 months) were asked about the function of 13 body parts, organs, and bodily processes. Results indicated that the likelihood of…

Sex differences in disruptive behavior and sensitivity to social context are documented, but the intersection between them is rarely examined empirically. This report focuses on sex differences in observed disruptive behavior across interactional contexts and diagnostic status. Preschoolers (n = 327) were classified as nondisruptive (51%),…

The purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of two book and print awareness tests, the Concepts About Print test (CAP) and the Screening of Reading Readiness (SORR)--Book and Print Awareness portion. The variables of gender, family income, parents' education levels, and age were also examined to determine the effect that they…

This study investigated whether competitive and noncompetitive educational mathematics computer games influence four- to seven-year-old boys' and girls' recall of game-playing experience. A qualitative analysis was performed to investigate what preschool children may have learned through their selective recall of game-playing experience. A…

In the light of the new developments in preschool education in Kosovo, this study attempts to carry out an assessment of the development of gross motor skills of preschool children attending institutional education. The emphasis is on creating a set of tests to measure the motor attainments of these children by conducting assessments of the…

Previously we found in preschool that child-directed pretend play in small playing groups importantly improves cognitive competence in mixed-age environment and that the effect is based on close coupling between affective and cognitive domain. To foster affective and cognitive intertwining, it is reasonable to select the most favored pretend plays…

We examined individual differences in shame responding in early childhood and predictive relations with shame proneness in middle childhood. Child shame responding, parental shaming, and child temperamental inhibition were assessed at Time 1 (n = 225, aged 3-4 years), shame responding was reassessed at Time 2 (n = 199, aged 5-7 years), and shame…

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of the relative intensity and duration of interests associated with conceptual domains between the ages of 4 and 6 years, respectively. Results indicated a significant portion of preschool children do sustain an interest in conceptual domains during some portion of their childhood. Expected gender differences…

Purpose: In this study, the authors sought to determine the prevalence of stuttering in African American (AA) 2- to 5-year-olds as compared with same-age European Americans (EAs). Method: A total of 3,164 children participated: 2,223 AAs and 941 EAs. Data were collected using a 3-pronged approach that included investigators' individual…

This paper reports the first part of a 2-year longitudinal study, which examined the impact of age of entry to school on the reading development of 60 summer-born boys during Key Stage One. The sample was drawn from 18 schools in six Local Education Authorities operating different admissions policies. Thirty-one had attended nursery part-time,…

This paper draws on an ESRC-funded study (Payler, 2005) of the sociocultural influences on learning processes of 10 four-year-old children in their second year of the Foundation Stage in England (DfEE, 2000). The children, very close in age, were in one of two early years settings: a pre-school playgroup with a largely invisible pedagogy…