The recently reported i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery (May et al., 2015) found an effect size of +0.69 in favor of Reading Recovery compared to the control group. We discuss four issues: (a) many of the lowest achieving students were excluded from participation in Reading Recovery; (b) the control group received a range of different experiences;…

This comparative study investigated the experiences of starting childcare of three immigrant children in three different learning environments in New Zealand. The notion of learning environment was explored as a way of thinking about how different people, places, and approaches to learning have interacted to create a particular site for the…

A total of 659 photographs of text in early childhood environments were gathered by student teachers in New Zealand and Sweden, replicating an earlier Swedish study [Gustafsson, K., & Mellgren, E. (2002)." Using text in pre-school: A Learning Environment." "Early Child Development and Care", 172(6), 603-624]. The findings…

This study compared father-son and mother-son involvement in two-parent families from early to middle childhood. Ninety-four families were recruited for a three-year follow-up study that began when the children were four years old. At each time point, in comparison to mothers, fathers were less accessible to their son on weekdays, and spent more…

Background: Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is associated with phonological awareness, reading, and spelling deficits. Comparing literacy skills in CAS with other developmental speech disorders is critical for understanding the complexity of the disorder. Aims: This study compared the phonological awareness and reading development of children…

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of two pairs of boys (one pair typically developing, one pair with Down Syndrome) during their transitions to school. The boys were observed using continuous narrative recordings, during all aspects of the curriculum. Their teachers, parents and peers were also interviewed. Results indicated that…

From a large sample of seven-year-olds in Dunedin, New Zealand, a group of 52 boys and 32 girls with stable behavior problems was selected and compared with the remainder of the sample. Content concerns perinatal histories, family background characteristics, and developmental status, with particular reference to cognitive development. (RH)

Examined children's play in indoor and outdoor environments at a New Zealand child care center. Identified four dimensions of difference illuminating the relationship between outdoor and indoor playspaces and the play occurring there: physical versus constructive play, change and stability continuum, freedom and control dimension, and differences…

This article presents an outline history of early childhood programs for indigenous children through a comparative study of initiatives in three countries--Canada, Australia and New Zealand--with the aim being to identify common and distinct developments in the three nations. Formal early childhood education programs for indigenous children based…

Results from 197 elementary school students (97 males and 100 females) aged 6, 7, and 8 years from New Zealand suggest that only poor and younger average readers clearly read better in context than in lists. Good readers, even when younger, seem to be less reliant on context clues. (SLD)