Investigates the ability of 63 children between five and six years of age to interpret ambiguous messages. Three studies were made into the relationship between children's uncertainty about the correctness of their interpretation of an ambiguous message and their judgment of the quality of that message. (Author/CI)

To test interrater reliability on the Infant Rating Scale (an assessment instrument for screening educationally "at risk" young children), two teachers completed the scale for the same group of pupils. The reported level of interrater reliability was considered very satisfactory. (Author/MJL)

Investigated the relationships among individual differences in reading ability, phonological awareness, and short-term memory. Also examined the mechanisms responsible for differences in short-term memory skills between good and poor readers. Found that reading differences were associated with verbal short-term memory differences. (TM)

Children face many important changes in the first eight years of life, including different learning centres, social groups, roles and expectations. Their ability to adapt to such a dynamic and evolving environment directly affects their sense of identity and status within their community over the short and long term. In particular, the key turning…

Nurture groups (NGs) are a form of provision for children with social, emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. Although the first groups were established over 30 years ago, growth in the number of NGs in the UK has been exponential over the past ten years. This study attempts to assess the effectiveness of NGs in promoting positive…

This article reports on case study research of seven- and eight-year-old children's discourse about reading. The case studies were selected to provide classrooms in contrasting neighbourhoods within a white "working class" town in the North of England. Mixed methods were employed, but primarily the case studies were ethnographic in…

A qualitative study of Bookstart, which gave free children's books and support to British inner-city families, collected data from librarians, health visitors, and nursery school staff. Bookstart increased positive attitudes toward and interest in books. Health visitors' support was crucial in helping parents use the books to support children's…

Discusses postplacement adoption service contracts between East Sussex Social Services and the Post-Adoption Centre (PAC). Describes how PAC originally provided subscription services to local authorities, but when limitations of the subscription service were recognized, a collaborative service with more local authority was developed. (AJH)

This article focuses on the specific skills and abilities of young children in oral counting and enumeration. Responses to an oral counting task and an enumeration task by a sample (n=93) of 3- and 4-year old children attending a range of pre-five establishments in an urban district of northern England are described. The findings, whilst providing…

Children's communicative competence is essential and predictive of their success in school. However, in England in recent years we have faced particular challenges inculcating this understanding into primary and early years teachers' practice. Furthermore, some studies have raised concerns about children's communicative competence on school entry.…

In 1998, when "Teachers--meeting the challenge of change" was published by the English Department for Education and Skills (DfES), one of the most fundamental reforms of the teaching profession was initiated--performance management. In 2005, all schools became subject to "Light Touch Validation" of their performance management…

Two conflicting developmental accounts of how mental states are used in evaluating actors were tested by varying actors' intentionality, foreknowledge of outcome, and the values of motive and outcome. Findings suggested that children use intentionality before knowledge in judgments of action sequences and that actor's foreknowledge of an outcome…

Western and Chinese children six years of age judged that an initially intense positive or negative emotional reaction would wane gradually over time. Children four years of age were less consistent, but, when steps were taken to insure their comprehension, they too judged that emotion wanes gradually over time. (Author/RH)

Studies 58 children ages eight to nine years who were classified as good and poor readers on the basis of their proofreading two passages varying in level of difficulty. Misspellings were introduced by transposing two adjacent letters in the word "the," other three-letter words, and longer words. (Author/CI)

Piaget presents an account in which children's abilities to appreciate points of view are intimately related to their capacities for operational thought. To examine this hypothesis, children ages three to seven were given tasks requiring the coordination of visual-spatial perspectives and tests of operational thinking. Subjects exhibited potential…