Cartoon images have been widely applied in children's educational media. The study examined the effect of cartoon images in touchscreen media on young children's recognition of time. With a 2 (clock type: cartoon clock, non-cartoon clock) × 2 (media type: touchscreen, video) between-subjects design, ninety-two children aged 4-6 were randomly…

This study explored the patterns and predictors of code-switching (CS) in Singapore preschoolers by analyzing the data elicited from an existing early childhood corpus. Altogether 943 cases of CS produced by 111 children aged 2;6, 3;6, 4;6, 5;6, respectively, were analyzed. The results indicated that: (1) 'insertion', 'intersentential', and…

Research findings This study aimed to explore whether the fusion of constructivism and instructivism could be observed in the teaching dialogs during the Engineer Block Building (EBB) activities in Chinese kindergartens. Altogether 20 block building activities about the theme of architecture were videotaped and coded with the "Engineer Design…

This study examined the developmental trend of pretend play behaviour and the effect of partner's gender in Singaporean preschoolers. Peer dyadic play among 70 children, ranging in age from three to five years, was observed in a standardised toy play context. Videotaped recordings of the play were analysed using two scales--the Smilansky Scale for…

The Project Approach has been promoted in Hong Kong kindergartens since the 1990s. However, the dynamic processes and underlying mechanisms involved in the teachers' implementation of this pedagogical method there have not yet been fully investigated. This case study of one typical kindergarten in Hong Kong documented how and why eight teachers…

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between pedagogical continuity in literacy education and early literacy development by comparing Chinese children in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Stratified random sampling was used to select 24 preschool and Primary 1 classes in four communities catering to middle-class families in each city. The 24…