The views of teachers and directors in four Christian preschools and four Buddhist preschools are examined in this qualitative study of early childhood education in Japan. In Christian preschools, the guiding principle was that each child was a precious gift of God. This belief resulted in a play-oriented curriculum that maximized the choices…

Effects of instructional level, teacher's knowledge of children's ability, amount of teacher-initiated activity, and age on language ability were investigated. The subjects were 597 three- to six-and-a-half- year old Head Start children--40 percent White, 38 percent Black, and 20 percent Hispanic. All variables assessed had a direct effect on…

Describes a five-step process by which preschool teachers can meet the individual needs of all children, including those with disabilities, while maintaining a group instructional format. The process links assessment to curriculum, has planned teacher-directed individualized group instruction, implements behavior management techniques, and…

Contends that implications of Fantuzzo et al's study go beyond Head Start and pertains to other programs serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Suggests that when considering policy implications of the study, two issues should not be ignored: (1) the child within the context of a broader society; and (2) the importance of collaboration in…

This article provides information for early childhood educators so that they will understand what goes into the task of building positive relationships with children. Having a warm and open relationship with his or her teacher or child care provider is identified as an important protective factor for young children. Empirical evidence for the…

This practicum report describes an intervention designed to increase opportunities for children in a day care center and preschool to practice gross motor skills, and to help teachers gain confidence in their ability to foster children's maturation. It was expected that as a result of the intervention, 50 of 70 children would participate in gross…

This study examined 50 kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the success of students who were labeled "developmentally delayed," and of students who had not been so labeled. The term "developmentally delayed" is used to identify young children in need of early intervention. Teachers' perceptions about the teaching skills they…

This study examined the role of public preschool teachers in the construction of classroom literacy environments. Using qualitative methods for data collection and analysis, the research was intended to generate knowledge of teacher thinking and decision making for social and cultural phenomena taking place in a classroom. The study included ten…

The influence of informal literacy learning during the preschool years was studied. Preschool teachers in 4 low-income areas read to their classes regularly in an effort to make students enthusiastic about reading. Teachers were also asked to visit families in particular need of help. Three books were sent home with each child twice a week, and…

The term "scaffolding" refers to adult behaviors that support and guide children's participation in activities, including speech events, enabling the children to extend the range of what they are able to do without assistance. A study examined how scaffolding behavior in support of expository discourse differed among preschool teachers in…

This text, the second of two volumes that describe results of a 1988 study of mobile preschool units in New Zealand, presents a series of descriptive case studies of the nine mobile preschool units operating in New Zealand. A major purpose of the case studies is to show similarities of and differences between the units. Factors accounting for…

The Center for Child Development facility on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa was opened in 1990. The facility includes three classrooms, a playground, and a room called "the Exploratorium." The exploratorium is 2,304 square feet in size and contains three built-in areas: a kitchenette, a water/science/arts center, and an…

This publication describes the work of the Servol program in Trinidad and Tobago. The Servol organization was started in Port of Spain in 1970 by Gerry Pantin. Servol's approach to helping disadvantaged people implies that one should never presume to know the needs of people; rather, one should ask them what their needs are. This approach produces…

It is an undeniable fact that storytelling makes a remarkable contribution to the domains of child development at an early age since it is stated that storytelling is the original form of teaching. Firstly, the contributions and effects of storytelling techniques to the cultural, cognitive, linguistic, socio-emotional and psychological domains of…

Questionnaire responses suggest although educators know the learning value of problem solving, they rarely use it. Twenty-one educators were introduced to learning through problem solving. They were read a story and asked to overcome an associated problem. The questionnaire assessed children's literacy learning through problem solving, and…