Researchers have long been interested in why some children have behavioral and developmental problems while others appear to develop "normally." A substantial body of research supports the notion that a child's early experiences--from birth to school entry--can influence significantly later cognitive, behavioral, educational, and…

Noting that our ability to incorporate the cultural strengths and the distinctive ways that families, specifically fathers, contribute to educational accomplishments of preschool children is severely constrained by major gaps and inadequacy in the research literature, this Digest explores what is known about the role of fathers in young children's…

The Step by Step program was begun in 1994 as an experiment linking sound early childhood educational practice with concepts of democracy to create learning environments in which children practice choice and learn critical thinking skills, and in which parents actively participate in their child's education. This manual expands the program to…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 4-year federally supported project to develop independence in 12 young children (ages 3-5) with deaf-blindness enrolled in the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools Early Intervention Program. The project focused on helping teachers learn to target communicative and cognitive learning…

An intensive early intervention program was evaluated by assessing gains made by 44 special needs children (age 2) in cognition, gross motor, fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains. Comparison of actual to predicted posttest scores did not reveal significant gains in any domains. In cognition, gross motor, and fine motor…

This article reviews experiments that have revealed developmental changes in speech perception that accompany improvements in access to phonetic structure. It explains how these perceptual changes appear to be related to other aspects of language development. Evidence is provided that these changes result from adequate language experience in…

Compares parents' knowledge of behavioral capabilities of young children in a sample of low-income Hispanic, Black, and Anglo communities. Results indicate foreign-born Hispanics, more than other groups, perceive children's motor skills and language abilities as developing at later age. Discusses implications for social programs. (Author/TES)

Examines a number of theoretical issues in the provision of education and care for preschool children in the United Kingdom, focusing on the ideology of child care, the psychology of child development, and definitions of education and care. Argues that present services are too rigid and outdated, uncoordinated, and inequitable. (MDM)

Surveys television cartoons for preschoolers to analyze how they present the female gender. Finds that infant, shrew, eccentric, mother, frump, vamp, and twin role models dominate; argues that these stereotypes limit children's imagination of other possibilities. Notes that the repertoire of female characters seems to have become more…

Examined relationship between paternal roles and 3-year olds' well-being in low income, African-American families. Found that children's cognition, receptive language, behavior, and home environment were not related to father presence. Controlled for maternal age, education, and parenting satisfaction; found that paternal roles related to indices…

The year 1995-96 marks the 10th anniversary of NAEYC accreditation. This collection brings together essays that examine what educators have learned from the past decade along with future directions for accreditation. The chapters focus on three broad themes: (1) effects of NAEYC accreditation on program quality and outcomes for children; (2)…

This training guide is intended to help Head Start staff promote mental health for all members of the Head Start Community, by means of activities that build skills in creating responsive, respectful relationships with co-workers, parents, and children. The guide has five working sections, the first three of which are training modules. Each of the…

An integral part of The Developing Child video modules from the same producer, this workbook provides a very useful clearly formatted modular presentation, 30 modules in all, of information on all areas of child development. The workbook can be used with the videos, without them as a stand alone tutorial or review source, or as the outline for a…

Prior research concerning young children's moral development has been conducted primarily in same-age environments. This study investigated whether preschool children's moral (helping) behaviors are related to younger peer-directed internal state language (talking about younger peer's feelings, wants, and abilities), perspective-taking skills, and…

This paper presents data documenting gender differences in preschool exceptional education placement for a large metropolitan school district (Tampa, Florida). Research is reviewed in the areas of biological and physiological gender differences, psychological gender development, and sociological influences on gender based developmental outcomes.…