Reflecting upon and learning from one's working experiences in order to inform future practice is a mark of any professional. The dynamic structure of the early childhood classroom with its focus on the child within the broader context of the family and community makes the reflective process essential for all staff. This paper reports the outcomes…

Although opportunities for sharing information about early childhood education increased with the disbanding of the Soviet Union in 1991, knowledge about how young children are cared for and educated in countries of the former Soviet Union remains limited. This report presents observations of a kindergarten class in Minsk, Belarus conducted…

This guide is designed to help staff working in a range of early childhood settings to assess the progress of children from 3 to 5 years, particularly those working with "A Curriculum Framework for Children in the Pre-School Year" issued by the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department. Following an introduction, the guide is…

Describes four Norwegian kindergarten/day care programs: (1) Tislegard kindergarten and day care center, using community sculptures as the basis for art activities; (2) Bjerkeallen Barnehage, examining the impact on activities and staff relationships when half the staff are men; (3) Labakken, using nature as a central arena for play; and (4)…

This study explores the relationship between cognitive, motor, social and personality development of 3-year-old children and the age of their entry into preschool, which ranged from 10 to 45 months. 247 children from 17 preschools in different regions of Slovenia, all implementing the same National Curriculum, participated. Preschool teachers…

The necessity for parents and teachers to work together collaboratively to optimize children's learning and development in early childhood education is well recognized. Yet, ways in which initial teacher education programs might prepare teachers for professional relationships with parents are rare in the literature. This paper reports on the use…

This paper reviews four studies about the nature of professional thinking among teachers, and its relationship to parents' thinking about children and education. The main question addressed in the literature was when and why individual diversity of views appears more strongly in some individuals, but uniformity appears more strongly in others. The…

This document consists of the first 39 consecutive issues of the newsletter, "E.C.E. Connection," published monthly (except August) to offer information and support to early childhood practitioners. Articles from the 1994 issues include: "Some 'Affordable' Ideas To Brighten Your Classroom"; "A Notice Board: A Way To Keep…

The career intentions of a group of students enrolled in the first year of the Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood) at Palmerston North College of Education in New Zealand were studied. The research was prompted by a concern that most students aspired to work in kindergartens and few students were choosing to enter child care occupations. A…

This handbook for kindergarten teachers attempts to provide a foundation on which teachers can build dynamic kindergartens at the community level. The physical, social, and cultural characteristics of 5-year-olds are described. A philosophy for kindergarten is stated, and goals of kindergarten education are listed. Goals involve physical, social,…

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…

During the last five years one of the main goals of Educational Departments in Greece has been to prepare teachers who, amongst other tasks, must be able to apply New Technologies to their everyday teaching and use Information and Communication Technologies to retrieve information about many classroom activities. This study refers to the courses…

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are often criticised for not putting early childhood education theory into practice after their in-service training. It appears that they may be too concerned about academic work and discipline in the classroom and neglect to create a coherent vision of early childhood education. It might be suggested that…

A workshop on "Curriculum for Early Childhood Education," held in the summer of 1979 at the Kenya Institute of Education, aimed to familiarize participants with the problems facing early childhood education in Africa. Specific workshop objectives were (1) to familiarize participants with the psychological, social, political, and economic…

Serving as a vehicle for raising the profile of and thereby gaining recognition for the important research and development work being conducted in Canada in support of children and families, the "Research Connections Canada" series compiles research and/or development papers as well as background papers, analytical literature reviews,…