This study documents the home literacy experiences of children born with very low birth weight (VLBW). The study's design was modelled after Purcell-Gates' study of social domains mediated by print as home literacy experiences. A design combining purposeful sampling, semi-structured data collection and descriptive case study analysis was employed…

Assessed the differential effects of academic versus socioemotional focuses in kindergartens. Subjects were 307 predominately African-American children in 86 inner-city classrooms. Found a detrimental impact of an overly academic focus in kindergarten on young boys' development and school achievement. Although girls were developmentally more ready…

Discusses the implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, including progress made since 1989, and aims of early childhood education under the convention's mission and ideals. Proposes that the convention should be enacted in domestic law and become a reality in day-to-day teaching, thus ensuring that the philosophy of the…

Beings participating in mutual interrelationships with an environment do not need memories. Instead, they are involved in remembering as part of their continual adaptation within that environment. (PCB)

Observed 19 preschool children at lunch for 20 days to determine the effects of imposed silence at lunch on the amount of food consumed during meals in a nursery school setting. Found that imposing silence during mealtime did not increase food consumption but did foster a stressful atmosphere. (MM)

Studies indicate that young children's literacy learning can be promoted in a play setting. Literacy interactions, strategies, and activities in the children's play environment can facilitate their acquisition of literacy. In literacy-related play experiences, children select and utilize their abilities that are essential for literacy learning in…

In this study, we defined three distinct groups based on the infant's principal childcare experience: infants reared exclusively at home by their mothers, infants reared in their own homes but by a non-familial childcare provider, and infants reared in non-familial homes in group care. At 4.5 years of age, we compared mothers' and teachers'…

Proximal environmental variables illustrate aspects of the environment that are experienced directly and specifically by the child. The current study examined the associations between three proximal environmental variables: (1) quality of the home environment, (2) regularity of family routines and (3) frequency of parenting daily hassles and…

Six popular misconceptions about adoption are presented along with research evidence refuting each of them. (Author/RH)

The regulatory environment in which long daycare centres are required to operate plays a key role in determining what early childhood professionals do and how they go about doing it. This paper reports findings from a state-wide survey undertaken in New South Wales, Australia, which shows how early childhood professionals position themselves on…

This paper reports an investigation of children's picture storybooks about school. Previous research has indicated that parents and educators choose to read books about school to children as a way of helping children become familiar with school expectations. Drawing on over 100 children's picture storybooks, the content (text and illustrations) of…

This study examined the effectiveness of embedding children's social goals into routine activities within inclusive preschool classroom settings. An AB (i.e. baseline and intervention) single-subject design was used across three male participants with identified disabilities. Three student-teachers, enrolled in a master's program at a university,…

Reviews recent research on: (1) the causes of childhood stress; (2) ways in which teachers can help; (3) available resources concerning children's stress; and (4) coping techniques of resilient children. (RJC)

Reviews various models for understanding, treating and preventing child abuse. Describes an ecological model of human behavior that provides a comprehensive perspective for integrating the diverse models. Discusses an ecological model of child abuse. (RJC)

Play subtypes of Activity and Pretend have been proposed yet no empirical study has determined the criteria that identify and differentiate these two play subtypes. Children (n=98) and adults (n=38) were shown 10 video examples of human and other primate. Activity and Pretend play and asked to identify which of six criteria (positive affect,…