In order to explore the development mechanism of construction theory in the field of moral judgment, this study investigated the influence of age and social distance on such moral expectations in positive moral context and negative moral context. In both positive and negative moral contexts, 5-6-year-old children had the highest moral expectations…

Fifty-one 23-to-55-month-old-infants faced two apparatuses that required the use of a rigid (box apparatus) or flexible (hose apparatus) stick-like tool to retrieve a toy stuck inside. Before attempting the extraction, however, they had to pick the only one tool (of three) on display that had the appropriate rigidity/flexibility to be effective.…

This research focuses on young children's understandings about economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Participants were 43 children, aged from 3 to 7 years of age, recruited from two kindergartens in Croatia. Children's ideas were discussed through semi-structured interviews that focused on saving, spending, recycling, justice,…

Food practices are culturally and historically situated, and so are conceptions of 'risk'. Comparative studies of food practices can highlight these cultural norms and conceptions. In this article we will present results from a study that investigated food practices in Norwegian and French kindergartens with a particular focus on constructions of…

Children's estimation skills on a bounded and unbounded number line task were assessed in the light of their familiarity with numbers. Kindergartners, first graders, and second graders (N = 120) estimated the position of numbers on a 1--100 number line, marked with either two reference points (i.e., 1 and 10: unbounded condition) or three…

This study investigated Hong Kong and German children's perceptions of play and learning and their relationships. Forty-eight children (24 German and 24 Chinese) playing and learning in the classroom were observed and videotaped for five consecutive days. They were interviewed 3 times about their kindergarten experiences by using free- and…

Becoming familiar with "the field" location and its inhabitants is a natural and important part of ethnographic research. However, little has been written about how operationalising a "familiarisation period" within an ethnography can form the foundation on which fieldwork can be built. By reflecting on the experience of…

This project focused on the transition between early childhood and school and explored ways to understand and enhance children's learning journeys as they move between the two sectors. Transitions can be seen as an intrinsic component of life, with individuals in any society experiencing a series of passages "from one age to another and from…

This study was designed to explore how Korean preschool and kindergarten teachers understand teacher research and utilize it in professional development. Two teachers, two site directors, and one district supervisor were interviewed in South Korea. Data were collected in multiple ways: (1) open-ended individual interviews; (2) participants'…

Research on territorial behavior has focused on animal populations, and relatively little has dealt with territoriality in humans, except in the area of human sports. This study was an investigation of the prior-residence effect on children's behavior in social dilemmas. The analysis was carried out by means of research designed for preschool…

Hong Kong launched the "Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme" (PEVS) in 2007 to promote the "3A's" of early childhood education (ECE): affordability, accessibility, and accountability. The PEVS has three unique features: discriminating against profit kindergartens, promoting teacher professional development, and limiting…

Primary school pupils in the UK today may be less familiar with natural objects, less exposed to formal natural history teaching and have less time given to school-based observation and discussion of natural objects. This study of children's responses to a "Nature Table" of displayed natural objects was designed to assess pupils'…

This study examined young children's cognitive engagement during classroom book reading with different types of books in Greek kindergarten schools. Twenty teachers read four books--two fiction (familiar/unfamiliar story format) and two information books (expository/narrative text). As expected, children's and teachers' cognitive engagement was…

In this study, we examined relations between kindergartner's emotional security, task involvement and achievement and teacher's supportive presence in a cognitive training setting, in which the familiarity of the teacher was varied. Participants were 48 kindergarten children (mean age = 51.65 months); 16 children were trained by their regular…