A study examined how Swedish parents discipline their 1- to 6-year-old children. Data were collected from 200 families, using two instruments which were both employed in previous studies: the EAS Temperament Survey and the Manageability Index. Other methods used included interviewing mothers about family demographics and a "parental modernity…

Two studies examined conversations between mothers and children from three different groups to determine culturally preferred narrative elicitation patterns: (1) Japanese-speaking mother-child pairs living in Japan; (2) Japanese-speaking mother-child pairs living in the United States; and (3) English-speaking Canadian mother-child pairs.…

A longitudinal study called The Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development examined the relationships between the kinds of talk that children experience at home and school at ages 3 and 4 and measures of literate abilities at age 5. Subjects, 87 children in 2 cohorts of 42 and 45 children from low-income families living in the Boston,…

Research on determinants of parenting behavior has traditionally focused on parents' goals and beliefs about child rearing or on the effect of parents' own attachment experiences. In an effort to relate these two approaches, a study was conducted to examine parent behaviors and attitudes in 94 parent-child dyads. Dyads consisted of 20 fathers and…

Early childhood special educators recognize the necessity of establishing indices of reliability and validity for instruments that provide an index of developmental status. Many such instruments present little empirical evidence regarding psychometric integrity, particularly for a non-normative sample. The 341-item Battelle Developmental Inventory…

Noting that the majority of teachers use restrictive rather than responsive language, this paper suggests that teachers consider using questioning techniques as a way of making their language more responsive. The paper notes that restrictive language involves teacher control, includes commands and criticisms, discourages independent thinking, and…

Some researchers argue that males and females develop moral reasoning in the same manner, while others contend that males tend toward moral judgements based on the concept of "Justice" and women base their judgements on "Care." A third school argues that neither such cognitive elements as justice and care are as important as…

This paper describes the District of Columbia's system for tracking at-risk and disabled infants during their first 3 years of life. The project involves a computerized system for following the developmental progress of at-risk infants identified at birth or other times. The project monitors the activities of children within various service…

This paper reviews the current literature on the suggested uses of play for assessment, prevention, and intervention with special needs children. The paper also uses case studies to illustrate the ways play is being used to facilitate achievement of early intervention goals and discusses advantages and disadvantages of these uses of play. The…

Planning assessment procedures for disabled young children is a concern that grows as the students move from among various community or state agency programs. This paper discusses the issues surrounding interagency transition procedures and introduces a guide for helping agency personnel define problems with the transition process. It also…

Second language educators need to examine in greater depth the learning processes of young children in order to provide them with the kind of teaching they need in order to really learn. This means searching other fields to learn as much as possible about: questioning strategies and the development of critical thinking skills; hemispheric…

The development of and relationship between early language, symbolic play, sensorimotor skills, and social development were examined in a longitudinal study conducted in Japan with two young autistic males who were observed from the approximate ages of 2 to 4 years in clinic, day care, and home settings. One child acquired speech; the other did…

This paper reports the results of a comparative study carried out with populations from two distinct cultural environments: kibbutz and city raised children in Israel. The study examined how perceptions and responses to television differ across social environments and how children's perceptions of, and reactions to, television may affect…

To determine if there are common factors which all teachers of Hispanic children should be acquainted with in order to facilitate the education of Hispanics, a study was conducted of 4 Hispanic groups (25 Mexican Americans, 23 Puerto Ricans, 20 Cubans, and 17 Venezuelans). Eighty-five families, together with their children ranging in age from 4-60…

Children's responses toward strangers, qualities of mother-child interaction, and maternal stresses were examined in 38 mother-child pairs, with children from single and two-parent families. Responses to female and male strangers were observed in a modified Strange Situation. Mother-child interaction was assessed with a modified version of…