Noting that peace concerns justice and respect for everyone's basic rights, this booklet examines how children, teachers, and parents understand peace, and how they can learn together to respect each other and create peaceful environments for young children. Following introductory remarks, it describes the visions of children, parents, and…

Changes in the preschool education system are provided for by a new federal law in Portugal, Law 5/97, Law for Preschool Education. This law calls for a new role for the State that involves fewer direct services, less bureaucracy, more efficient supervision, and a greater regulating and compensating role. The law requires parents to participate in…

This study analyzes human resources for kindergarten in Egypt, focusing on the provision of kindergarten programs as part of the public education system and as part of the private sector. The report is organized in 10 parts. Following an executive summary and introductory remarks, the report provides an inventory of public and private kindergarten…

Japanese preschool teachers and administrators watched and commented on videotapes of Japanese and U.S. preschools. In contrast to American notions of home-school continuity and the mothering role of the preschool teacher, Japanese educators saw their large preschool classes (of approximately 30 students) as teaching overly individualistic,…

The overarching aim of this research in the proposal was the following: In a number of early childhood centres and early years school classrooms that have already begun to explore in this area, to investigate effective pedagogy designed to develop five learning competencies over time. This project was developed in response to curriculum reform in…

This study examined kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the impact of changes in group-size policy on 3- and 4-year-old children in New Zealand's Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association. Data were collected through a series of interviews of Wellington kindergarten teachers from 54 kindergartens and focused mainly on the perceived effects…

This Swedish language report describes a preliminary study to test a retrospective life-history-inspired approach to studying children's experiences in a day care center, and whether children's experiences vary in different educational contexts and in relation to the teachers' experiences. The theoretical part of the study dealt with theories of…

In light of proposed changes in federal support for early childhood programs in the United States, this report provides an overview of the ways in which Denmark, France, and Italy provide early childhood programs to large numbers of children, promote high quality, and finance such programs. It reports that among 4-year-olds, 76 percent in Denmark…

Described are past and present changes in the preparation of kindergarten teachers in China, where kindergarten attendance is not compulsory and kindergarten programs are not universally available. Discussion focuses on (1) historical developments in, and current status of, Chinese kindergartens; (2) preparation of early childhood personnel,…

This paper discusses the results of a study of the relationships between teacher behaviour and the level of play engagement in two- and three-year-old children in Dutch childcare centres. We found that the continuous proximity of the teacher had the greatest impact on the level of play engagement, while the teacher's walking around and only brief…

This three-volume annotated bibliography cites 986 articles covering a variety of issues related to preschool education in several Eastern and Western countries, including England, France, Italy, Russia, Czechoslovakia, and Germany, as well as the United States. Entries are classified into 13 main categories: social and ideological basis of…

The purpose of this study was to explore the influencing and effective models of Chinese early childhood teachers' job satisfaction. Using a questionnaire of 317 teachers from 21 kindergartens in Shanghai, China, the present study established the influencing and effective structure model of teachers' job satisfaction. The results demonstrated that…

Drawing upon research carried out in a range of early years settings in the United Kingdom, this book informs early childhood professionals about the types of early literacy and numeracy experiences appropriate for young children and how professionals from early care and education backgrounds can provide an approach to young children's learning…

The International Symposium on Early Childhood Education and Care for the 21st Century was held in Ruschlikon, Switzerland in 1999. Attending were 83 early childhood education professionals from 28 nations to develop international guidelines for the education and care of young children. This document contains shortened versions of the guidelines…

Five articles explore ideas about the nature and kinds of courses dealing with language and education that should be developed in teacher education programs in the Australian school curriculum, specifically where English as mother tongue is used. They include: "Some Recent Developments in Mother Tongue English Teaching in Australia"…