This paper examines the long-term effect of enrollment in center- or school-based care programs on the academic performance of language minority students in the USA. The study applies a longitudinal multilevel analysis to a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Of particular interest are the…

Despite strenuous attempts made by the New Labour government in the UK to progress towards its goal of eradicating child poverty by 2020, educational outcomes for disadvantaged children remain depressed compared to those of more advantaged children. The fact that children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds are at much greater risk of language…

Investigated young children's (N=20) comprehension of sentences containing one or more markers using three tasks in two experiments. Results suggested that children's comprehension of sentential number is aided by redundancy of information involving different syntactic markers, but not by mere repetition of the same maker. (JAC)

The purpose of this paper is to show how curricular quality is related to the day-to-day activities experienced by children and the pedagogical activities of staff, both coded through systematic target-child observations. Data were drawn from the Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) and the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early…

With the shift towards the knowledge society, the change of working conditions, and the high-speed evolution of information and communication technologies, peoples' knowledge and skills need continuous updating. Learning based on collaborative working, creativity, multidisciplinarity, adaptiveness, intercultural communication, and problem solving…

Background: An area-based initiative, Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs), was established by the UK government to reduce social exclusion through improving the well-being of children aged 0-3 years and their families in disadvantaged communities; a true community intervention in that all children under four and their families in specified areas…

Describes the nature and function of preschool playgroups in the United Kingdom, highlighting recent trends in financing, facilities, qualifications of volunteer staff, and parent participation. Also discussed are offerings of the Preschool Playgroups Association such as educational materials, courses and training on running playgroups, and a…

Survey responses from 311 British parents involved in preschool groups show that participating parents gain social contacts, increased confidence in parenting, knowledge of child development, experience in managing groups, and greater community involvement. (SK)

The effectiveness of 3 early teaching interventions (applied behavior analysis [ABA], special nursery placement, and portage) for children with autism spectrum disorder was studied in a community-based sample over 10 months. Measures of autism severity as well as intellectual, educational, and adaptive behavioral function were administered. In…

Three experiments examined 24- though 39-month-olds' understanding of pretend episodes, such as a puppet pouring pretend milk into a container and then tipping it over a toy animal. The children understood the linkage between the two actions and realized that the toy animal would become "wet." (MDM)

In this article theories of the gendered nature of new managerialism are drawn upon to examine the economic rationale behind educational reform (Trow, 1994) and the marketization and economization (Ozga, 2000) of early years education and childcare services. The author concentrates on the policy attention that the early years and childcare sector…

This report describes the various programs associated with the British educational priority area (EPA) project whose aim was to identify and evaluate practical means of implementing in the primary and pre-school the recommendations of the Plowden Report that a policy of "positive discrimination" be adopted towards the education of…

A study investigating the maintenance of a memory strategy after training indicated that one factor influencing preschool children's strategy maintenance was the size of the improvement on recall performance that the strategy produced. A second study showed that size of improvement did not influence strategy transfer. (RH)

Evaluation of an early literacy initiative in which free books and literacy information were given to 40 caregivers of infants. Compared book-related activity in the home before and 2 months after the program. Results showed significant increases in book ownership and frequency of mothers and babies looking at children's books together. (SK)

This paper reviews preschool provision of the U.K., focusing on the problem of immigrants, child minding, special schools for the handicapped, day care services, nursery schools, teacher training, and community involvement. The quality of provision in the U.K. is compared with provision in Australia. (CM)