The present research focuses on one aspect of John Dewey's teaching methodology--the role of imagination--that, though not fully developed into a coherent theory within his writings on education, and hence underestimated in the subsequent secondary literature, stands up to criticism and still proves to be viable. In the second section of the…

This paper sets out to explore the thinking underpinning young children's earliest drawings, often regarded as "scribbling." It questions whether the physical satisfaction of making marks is sufficient reward for this often repeated activity, or whether with each repetition children intend deeper meanings not apparent to the eyes of the…

"The High-Performing Preschool" takes readers into the lives of three- and four-year-old Head Start students during their first year of school and focuses on the centerpiece of their school day: story acting. In this activity, students act out stories from high-quality children's literature as well as stories dictated by their peers.…

Head Start enhances school readiness during preschool, but effects diminish after children transition into kindergarten. Designed to promote sustained gains, the Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) Parent program (REDI-P) provided home visits before and after the kindergarten transition, giving parents evidence-based learning games,…

Examines the role of metaphor and narrative in the interpretive organization of feelings and knowledge, especially in children. Looks at a particular case of figurative speech--a child's storytelling--to show how imaginative narrative may carry important clues about the child's inner world of experience. (MG)

Examined 6-, 9-, and 14-year-olds' imagination of the unknown within a storytelling context. Performed phenomenological analysis of the two youngest groups' drawings and the oldest group's story on the "heffalump" theme. Derived eight categories providing an image-analysis of the concept of the "unknown" structured as "something-otherwise," that…

Argues that the area in which the artistic development of young children can be helped immediately, without awaiting teacher retraining in the various arts, is story telling: if children are continually asked to tell stories, and if delight is shown in their stories, then the stories improve; eventually children want to write them down. (Author/JM)

Interviews with fourth graders who had not yet received systematic instruction in U.S. history revealed that these students are interested in the past, concerned about human intentionality and cause-effect relationships, and able to construct coherent narrative accounts of historical events as they understand them. However, they lack an…

The author examines the psychological attraction of stories for children, psychological mechanisms involved in the reception of story literature, and effects this literature has on personality development. (MS)

This study represents the integration of several smaller studies and articles on how the fantasies of children between age 5 and 7 become structured by the socialization pressures of the media and the school and how this helps or hinders the growth of children's own imaginative processes. Paper 1 is a research review and theoretical overview of…