This study examined the multicultural practice perspectives of 170 early interventionists serving African-American children and families in relation to requirements of Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Survey results indicated that respondents were positive about the multicultural nature of their individual and agency…

Surveyed staff in 38 Belfast preschools of various types regarding supports available for children with autistic spectrum disorder. Found that many had experience with children with autistic spectrum disorders and receive some advice and support from a range of professionals. Nearly all were committed to enrolling these children but felt that…

A two-year qualitative study evaluated use of assistive technology by 13 students. Excerpts from case studies illustrate the perspectives of parents, specialists (physical therapists and speech language pathologists), special and regular education teachers, instructional assistants, student users, and peers. Results demonstrate the complex…

Forty-nine day care center teachers rated the importance of certain behaviors/skills in the successful performance of handicapped young children in day care. Communication skills were rated as the most important, followed in order by independence, social interaction, compliance to rules/routines, and preacademic skills. (JDD)

Discusses activities of emergent preschool writers and editors involved in the Writing Table Project at the Child and Family Center of the University of Nevada at Reno. (BB)

Replicated Carlsson-Paige and Levin's studies on teachers and parents coping with children's war play in Greece. Found that teachers' and parents' opinions were comparable to Americans'. Most Greek teachers limited rather than banned war play and were satisfied with their approach to war play. Parents' approaches were similar to those of…

Investigates the impact of a university-public school partnership involving at-risk preschoolers and education students. Finds that the preservice teachers believed that their participation in a literacy rich preschool aided their understanding of the emergent literacy process and that amount of time spent on-site and degree of involvement in the…

Notes that, despite concerns from parents and caregivers, recent research suggests that major benefits result from multiage grouping. Examines the concept of multiage grouping and explores practical issues raised by parents, teachers, and administrators in the Early Childhood Research Center at the State University of New York at Buffalo as it…

Describes the changes that took place at a private nursery school when it decided to replace teacher-directed art activities, an early emphasis on academic skills, and other developmentally inappropriate activities with student-centered and student-directed art and play activities that are more developmentally appropriate. (MDM)

Constructed and tested for validity the Developmental Rating Scale (DRS), which uses teacher judgments about the academic development of children to evaluate student achievement. Teachers evaluated children at the pre-kindergarten, first-, and second-grade levels using the DRS and the Developmental Profile II (DPII). Found that the DRS, unlike the…

Examined links between theory-of-mind status among Singaporean and United Kingdom preschoolers and their social pretend play. Found that ratings by Singaporean and UK teachers yielded measures of facilitation, shared meaning, and thematic maintenance of interactive play. Rater nationality did not affect ranking patterns. Findings indicated a link…

This study examines high school students' attitudes toward mathematics and analyzes whether there were differences in attitude and its source that could be attributed to gender, class level, type of school, mathematics success, whether the students received preschool education, families' income level, and high school student's place of living.…

Austin Independent School District provided full-day prekindergarten to 5,196 4-year-olds in 2008-2009 at 66 schools. Seventy percent or more of students made measureable gains on a test of receptive vocabulary, and average gains showed growth about two times greater than that expected for 4-year-olds after a 7-month period.

This study examined New Zealand kindergarten teachers' perceptions or implicit theories of their role in children's learning, the nature of their curriculum, and how they perceived children as learners. Twelve head teachers of urban kindergartens were interviewed on the basis of Carr and Kemmis' (1983) seven categories of teacher knowledge: (1)…

This practicum was designed to provide expertise to five child development associates and ten teacher assistants working in two preschool programs for migrant children. Emphasis was on the enhancement of program-related planning, curriculum development, curriculum implementation, and reporting skills. Weekly inservice workshops were developed and…