Examples are provided in this discussion to indicate the nature of professional judgment in a teaching situation likely to be encountered by most child care workers or preschool teachers. Specifically, this predicament involves a problem in turn taking among 4-year-olds. As used here, the term "professional judgment" refers to cognitive…

This discussion focuses on elements of children's immediate experience that influence their food preferences. Some evidence suggests that there may be sensitive periods early in life that are critical for the formation of food preferences and aversions. Additionally, the familiarity and the sweetness of foods appear to be important determinants of…

A human ecological approach to the study of children's television viewing raises questions that researchers have largely neglected. Does television influence the interaction patterns of socializing agents with children and with one another? Are there long-term, psychological consequences of unintegrated and competing influences from television and…

Changing ideas about the role of early education increasingly point toward universal preschool education for all children. Early education has come to serve many purposes but, as it expands, there is danger that the particular needs of young children will be overlooked by both professionals and parents. This essay underlines the vulnerability of…

This paper provides a detailed overview of the preschool education system in Queensland, Australia, from the perspective of one of the original designers of that program. The first section of the paper describes the social, political and general educational contexts within which the Queensland preschool system was developed. Steps in state level…