Afrikaans and Sesotho are two of the 11 official languages of the Republic of South Africa. Data on the acquisition of these languages are scarce. It is interesting to compare the acquisition of the two languages because they are very different in grammatical structure. In addition, cultural differences may possibly be visible in the style of…

This study explores educators' reflections on professional childcare practice in different national contexts. The data were collected by showing video clips of classroom activities in Japanese, Dutch and German pre-schools to experienced German and Dutch pre-school teachers. The clips were used to elicit their opinions on playing and learning in…

The authors studied the acquisition of nine #sC clusters in 30 Croatian-speaking phonologically disordered children, aged between 3;8-7;0 years, by analysing their renditions of target words elicited in response to visual stimuli presented on a computer screen. Results did not support the idea that a greater jump in sonority from C1 to C2 would…

This study investigated the acquisition of word initial s clusters of 3-5 year old Dutch children with phonological disorders. Within these clusters, sl was produced correctly most often, whereas sn and sx were the more difficult clusters. In cluster reductions, s+obstruent and sl clusters reduction patterns followed the Sonority Sequencing…

This paper is the result of collaboration among early childhood education researchers from different cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The project sought to identify what practitioners in both preschool and primary school settings in Iceland and Australia regarded as successful transition to school practices. Independently developed surveys…

This paper describes a cross-cultural study of the emotion of fear. Caregivers from an independent preschool, a preschool attached to a public school, an extended hours care facility for children from birth to school age, and an indigenous community preschool were invited to participate. In total, 20 caregivers in Canada and 21 in Australia…

This article examines a group of New Zealand preschool teachers' perspectives on their early childhood curriculum--"Te Whariki: He Whariki Maatauranga mo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa" (Ministry of Education, 1996). In this discussion we focus on the teachers' understandings of the meaning, value and focus of this curriculum document. This is…

The purpose of the study was to explore how young children express their perception of gender dynamics (e.g., gender-bending and gender-doing) in their play. A total of 84 children (52 boys and 32 girls) and 4 teachers from the U.S. and South Korea participated in the study. To capture perspectives from the children, qualitative data were…

Ninety children from South Korea and 119 children from the United States were observed in early childhood programs, and differences in classroom environments and teachers' and children's behavior in the two countries were identified. In both countries, there was evidence that preschool education is guided by ideas about "developmentally…

Early childhood teachers' understandings of play were examined in a qualitative comparative study of 41 Japanese and 41 American participants. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five themes: the power of living, the opportunity to learn and to develop, fun activities, child's work, and the opportunity to explore nature. Two themes emerged in…

The 2011 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 47th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…