In a world increasingly attentive to the educational needs of preschool children, the French "ecole maternelle" occupies a position of special eminence. This research compares preschool provision in England and France and simultaneously examines the degree that the "ecole maternelle" is open and informal in its ethos.…

A study using the It Scale for Children to measure sex role preferences indicated the presence of powerful male teachers appeared to foster the development of masculinity among preschool boys; powerful female teachers appeared to impede it. Girls' femininity did not appear to be influenced by the teacher's sex. (EC)

Throughout the field of early care and education, it has been generally recognized that the quality of services, and their benefits for young children, are closely intertwined with the qualifications, stability and compensation of the teaching and caregiving workforce. But in the absence of substantial gains in compensation for this profession,…

Notes the limited usefulness of Mulligan's book for student care-providers; its strengths lie in usability for students and instructors; its encouragement of care providers to be reflective, responsive professionals; and in the scope of topics discussed. Examines each book chapter in terms of usefulness for assisting care providers in assuming…

Reviews strategies to help children cope with fear. Notes a study in which children reported responses to fears different from what parents and teachers reported observing in them. Discusses six ways preschool teachers can empower children to deal with the frightening things in their lives. (ET)

Discusses how bulletin boards can include children's own work as well as items placed there by teachers and can serve as evidence of the real learning, including literacy learning, that children are doing. (BB)

Children's relationships with their teachers were examined in a three-year longitudinal study beginning in their next-to-last year of preschool and continuing through kindergarten. Results show that perceptions of teacher-child relationship quality were consistent from preschool to kindergarten. Teachers reported greater closeness and more…

Teachers of young children are concerned about biting. While it is unusual for a preschooler to bite, biting is still within the range of normal behaviors a 3- or 4-year-old may exhibit. Children at this young age have neither sophisticated language nor refined social skills, so they tend to express their wants physically. This article discusses…

This article discusses how to work with a child who uses inappropriate language. The words inappropriately used by young children are grouped into five categories: (1) names of body parts considered as private, and their nicknames; (2) bathroom words and body products; (3) religion-related words; (4) sexually charged words overheard when adults…

Four preschool supervisors were individually trained in a collaborative team approach in which classroom and resource teachers together developed a plan to increase the peer interactions of the entire class, including children with disabilities. The purpose of the research was to assess the generalization of effects to a new program target…

In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

While the majority of preschool classrooms have at least one child with a disability, teachers often have little or no training in educating and caring for these children. A survey of those overseeing early childhood teacher preparation programs reveals that even though early intervention and special education is part of many programs' missions,…

Some educators experience difficulty documenting young children's work in early childhood settings because of a limited understanding of the importance of documentation, what or how to document, and the effective use of documentation; limited resources (time, tools, and assistance); or predetermined curricular guidelines. Some teachers, especially…

It is widely recognized that there is a relationship between vocabulary development and children's reading ability. This article will focus on the strategies employed by 24 adults (12 mothers and 12 qualified preschool teachers) when introducing new and unusual vocabulary to four-year-old children during shared reading. The mothers differed in…

The author presents the results of a study conducted to determine the extent of public-school-district-financed, prekindergarten programs; the types of children enrolled in these programs; and the types of teaching certificates required of teachers for these programs. (MB)