This article presents the findings of a set of Action Research projects carried out by practitioners in 14 Local Education Districts in collaboration with a team of university tutors over a period of three years. The aim of the project was to explore ways of nurturing the gifts and talents of children aged 4-7 years. The project was funded by the…

Accounts of fathers' reluctance to engage with locally based family learning groups rarely acknowledge the relationship between learning and identity. This tends not to be the case in parallel accounts of women's reluctance to become involved in groups or networks where the mainstream clientele is male. Drawing on the case study of a national…

This study explores preschoolers' real life engagement with music in everyday life, examining the choices that they have over music listening and the engagement that they show in relation to music in different contexts. A total of 32 children from the United Kingdom aged 3.2-3.9 years participated with their families, nursery teachers and other…

In this article, the author looks at some of the aspects of the equals sign. He shares several insights from his colleagues on the meaning of the equals sign. He also discusses how children view "=" as a sign which is written before "the answer," and, in the recording of the many practical activities that form the basis for the…

In chapter IV, the authors focused on their findings on the developmental course of deprivation-specific psychological patterns (DSPs). The authors rediscussed the syndrome concept in the light of two main considerations. First, the findings indicated substantial overlap among the four postulated DSPs at 15 years including CI and I/O before…

This article reports the views of parents of children with Down syndrome in the United Kingdom, and those of a parent-researcher, who have recently been or are currently involved in early intervention programmes. It reports on a series of semi-structured interviews with nine parents of eight children with Down syndrome and the reflective…

Recent interest in gesture has led to an understanding of the development of gesture and speech in typically developing young children. Research suggests that initially gesture and speech form two independent systems which combine together temporally and semantically before children enter the two-word period of language development. However,…

In the journal section Improving the Lives of Children: Three Programs from around the World, this article about childminding-known as family child care in the U.S.-discusses advances in the training and professionalism of home-based child care providers in Britain. The author explains childminding networks, and looks at the contributions of…

Based on the analysis of interviews with children, this article links what we know about the way in which they learn with their views of creativity. Whilst pupils have a crisp view of the nature of creativity, which links them to well-established philosophical views, this contrasts both with the vaguer notions of the term and with their experience…

This article examines how a sample of first-time mothers in the UK constitute childhood in general, and their own children in particular, in and through their talk about the mundane practices of childcare. The data analysed are drawn from a longitudinal qualitative interview study that followed a sample of mothers from late pregnancy until their…

In the last three decades, several strands of research have produced compelling evidence justifying a focus on the family with a particular emphasis on early years in order to raise literacy standards. Partners in Literacy is an evidence-based model which is built on these key research findings, these are: (1) Families and parents are critical to…

Background: Children with phonological problems are a significant proportion of many therapists' caseloads. However, little is known about current clinical practice with these children or whether research on the effects of therapy have influenced this practice. Aims: To investigate the methods of assessment and remediation used by therapists…

Background: High levels of clinical comorbidity have been reported between autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study takes an individual differences approach to determine the degree of phenotypic and aetiological overlap between autistic traits and ADHD behaviours in the general population.…

In this article, the authors report on the experiences of the Early Years Review Group, one of a number of education groups contracted to carry out systematic reviews for the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating (EPPI) Centre in the United Kingdom. The Early Years Review Group has carried out three systematic reviews: one…

Although the recent publication of the Rose Report appears to draw a line in the sand that privileges synthetic phonics over other methods in the UK, history indicates a pendulum swing of preference between whole-word and phonics since the advent of mass education. Suggesting that the current "victory" for exponents of synthetic phonics…