This paper comprises remarks of U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley at the Early Childhood Summit in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2000. The paper notes the emergence of a national consensus about the value of early childhood education. The paper maintains that brain development research coupled with new research on how children learn to read…

Early childhood institutions underwent a dramatic transformation in the twentieth century, with the perceptions of children not attending preschool reflecting shifts in political, educational, and social opinions regarding the best place for the rearing and education of young children. This lecture presents some historical "maps" of…

Reviews the history and purposes of the Association for Childhood Education International. Emphasizes the importance of play as the child's first expression of continuity. Points out that Confucius' concepts of teaching are universally practical and that his philosophy is carried out today in Taiwanese schools. (Author/RH)

Argues that behavioral differentiation of the sexes is minimal when children are observed or tested individually. Sex differences emerge primarily in social situations resulting in social styles that place females at a disadvantage in interactions with males. The role of the nuclear family in the development of these styles is discussed. (FMW)

The conceptual categories that children have developed in their second year were studied in five experiments using object manipulation tasks. Subjects included 152 children from 18 to 31 months of age. These very young children had formed global conceptions of many domains of objects. (SLD)

The purpose of this paper is to explore questions about the effects of Head Start. Among these questions are the following: What is Head Start? What are the short-term and long-term effects of Head Start education? Does Head Start meet the expectations of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)? The methodology used to answer the research questions was a…

This study examined how children's emotions affect their responses to adult conflict. A total of 64 children aged 4 through 8 heard a simulated interadult conflict in the next room after they were induced to feel angry, sad, happy, or "just O.K." Assessments of children's affect, cognitions, and behaviors consistently revealed that…

This study examined 122 juvenile books to determine how current authors and illustrators portray books, reading, and writing and how this portrayal reflects current literacy theories and recommended instructional practices. The theoretical framework of this study is grounded theory (GLaser and Strauss, 1967). Categories which emerged from the…

This study used the Learning Potential Test to demonstrate the independence of learning potential from the characteristics of the family environment. The subjects were 36 white children age 46 to 75 months from low and middle socioeconomic level families. Demographic information was obtained by a questionnaire and the home environment quality was…

Lev Vygotsky argues that natural properties as well as social relations, constrain--and therefore make possible--the social construction of a child's higher psychological processes. Most social constructivists in the cultural-historical tradition focus on three Vygotskian tenets: (1) the internalization of auxiliary cultural means or signs…

The first part of this study examined children's concepts of "preference of racial diversities" (PRD); nonviolent conflict-resolution (NCR); and "negative peace" (NP), defined as "peace in contrast to war." The first part also assessed children's mental development. The second part examined the relation of children's…

Body movement can be successfully integrated with language arts skills through the following six-step model: (1) begin with the auditory channel (chant the poem to the child and emphasize the sounds); (2) add rhythm (clap the beat, stressing the accents); (3) add movement (watch the execution); (4) add meaning (discuss each phrase, and use imagery…

A study investigated children's use of three acoustic parameters (intensity, fundamental frequency, and duration) in the production of two-syllable nonsense words. Subjects were six children each at ages 2, 3, and 4 years with age-appropriate language skills and normal hearing sensitivity. An examiner produced eight novel two-syllable words of…

A study used a paradigm in which adults believed they were teaching a simple video game to an unseen child. In fact, the adults saw computer-generated responses that were modeled on actual child behavior. Subjects were 160 mothers, who were randomly assigned to view simulations of either responsive or unresponsive behavior. The simulations of…

To determine whether deficits warranting intervention are present in the later functioning of high-risk infants, 22 premature infants who experienced asphyxia or chronic lung disease (CLD) but who had no gross developmental abnormalities were evaluated. Assessments of auditory perception and receptive language ability were made during later…