This article compares the messages contained in the physical environments of early childhood classrooms in Reggio Emilia, Italy, with typical early childhood settings in Canada and the United States. The article examines the classroom's "aesthetic code"; i.e., the social construction created, consciously or unconsciously, by the…

A longitudinal study of young children's conceptions of money and its value was conducted among 80 subjects between the ages of 3 and 8 years. The research was conducted within the framework of Piagetian theory using the "critical method." Results demonstrate that the development of the notions under investigation proceeds in six…

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 preschool program of Reggio Emilia, Italy is discussed in terms of the quality of the program's environment, the quality of its students' work, and student and teacher planning involved in the projects undertaken by the students. It is maintained that children in the Reggio Emilia program know what is important to the adults around them.(BG)

Describes an English language course for four- and five-year-old Italian children in a preschool in Padua, Italy. Twice weekly, during 40-minute periods, children participate in games and activities designed to teach them names of objects in the classroom, colors, numbers, animals, family members, clothing, food, body parts, and possessives. (CFM)

This conference proceedings compiles papers presented at the Institute of Early Childhood in September 1999, the fourth in a series examining the challenges which the schools of Reggio Emilia present the early childhood profession in Australia. The conference focused on the practices of observing children and documenting their thinking, the…

Briefly describes Italy's day care system for infants and preschoolers and contrasts some practices with those of American day care programs. (ED)

Background: The discovery of clinical markers for specific language impairment (SLI) in children can assist in the accurate identification of children with this disorder, and in a description of the disorder's phenotype for genetic study. One challenge to this type of research is the fact that languages vary in the most salient symptoms of SLI.…

Eight German and eight Italian children were observed during their first year in preschool. Cultural differences and similarities in play and behavior and sex differences are reported. Findings suggest that strategies that children use to enter kindergarten or a new group exist universally. (Author/RH)

Focuses upon the way visions for early childhood are expressed through curricula in England, New Zealand, and Reggio Emilia in Italy. Includes curricular examples illustrating how growing pressure from vocational and instrumental influences affect progressive and socioculturally inspired early childhood curricula. Reveals how curricula and…

Based on a study that compared four day nurseries in Italy with four in Spain and four in the United Kingdom, this paper examines one aspect of the comparison, the broad differences between the three countries in their approach to learning in day nurseries. Gives some practical examples about how concepts of education have been interpreted in the…

This document discusses research and thinking about several countries' experiences in providing early childhood education and services, and additionally, describes current early childhood education in the Australian states and territories. Following the first chapter's brief provision of background information about preschool education in…

A descriptive study investigated the use of an arts-based core curriculum as an alternate teaching model in all content areas with populations diverse in ability, disability and culture. Quantitative demographics and 52.6 hours of audio, video, still photo, and running record data were completed in 44 classrooms (n=545 students) from preschool…

Inspired by the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, offers six challenges to American educators to reclaim the image of the competent child, promote conceptual integrity of programs for children, refine the definition of developmental appropriateness, balance standard-setting with questioning, reflect on professional development, and…