One hundred sixty-four children (ages 3-7) with mild to moderate disabilities participated in a Mediated Learning or Direct Instruction early intervention program. No main effect intergroup differences were found on cognitive, language, and motor measures. Higher performing students gained more from Direct Instruction whereas lower performing…

A progressive time delay procedure in individual instructional sessions using massed-trial presentation was compared to distributed trials presented during transitions from one activity to another. Results with four preschool children with developmental delays indicated that both procedures were implemented reliably, were comparable in efficiency,…

Teachers' ratings of children's constructive coping and attentional control were positively related to boys' social skills and peer status. Children's emotional intensity and their coping behavior that involved acting out were negatively related to girls' and boys' social skills and boys' peer status. Mothers' reports of boys' low emotional…

Assesses whether preschool children learn new vocabulary from a single reading of a storybook and whether certain conversational devices used by parents during joint book reading facilitate vocabulary growth. Finds that, although receptive vocabulary learning was robust, there was no evidence of differential learning of vocabulary under different…

Videotaped 12 breastfeeding mothers and their babies during breastfeeding sessions to investigate maternal-infant interactions occurring during breastfeeding sessions. Presents four case studies to examine differences in breastfeeding interactions, as well as benefits and disadvantages that breastfeeding provided different mother-child pairs. (MM)

Examines the conditions of children under 5 years of age in British schools in the early and late twentieth century, and compares the findings and recommendations of government reports in both eras. At both times, nursery education is put forward as the most appropriate form of education for preschoolers. Recommends compulsory nursery school…

Even Start Family Literacy Program is a three-part program serving thousands of children from birth to age seven. The federal program supplies parents with the training to be their child's first teacher; allows them to gain needed literacy skills and complete their own formal education; and provides a preschool for young children. Children gain at…

Eight teachers' interaction with their preschool students with deafness, while sharing selected books, revealed that story-reading was more successful when children became involved, teachers followed the text closely in their own words, children had more than one exposure to the text, and when the confusing use of simultaneous communication was…

Finds that students in prekindergarten classes who received sign instruction tested significantly higher on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test than students in prekindergarten classes who did not receive sign instruction. Suggests that simultaneously presenting words visually, kinesically, and orally enhances a child's vocabulary development. (SR)

Five special needs children were placed in an integrated preschool program as their first preschool/group care experience. A preentry visit was found to be predictive of the children's adjustment to preschool. Some of the children exhibited separation problems, aggression, self-stimulation, loud vocal behavior, and high rates of unoccupied…

The article examines reasons to send young children to preschool or keep them home, discussing populations that are unable to send their children at all. It notes characteristics of a good preschool, lists things to look for, and suggests selection criteria. (SM)

Data from standardization sample (n=1,700) of Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) were used to develop table that gives Full Scale intelligence quotients (IQs) for four-subtest (Comprehension, Arithmetic, Picture Completion, Block Design) abbreviated form of scale. Reports reliability and validity coefficients…

A total of 12 professional caregivers and 35 2- and 3-year olds participated in a study to determine caregivers' influence on the competence of preschoolers. Caregivers assisted children while the children performed classification tasks. Found that the sex of the children and the working conditions of the caregivers influenced children's task…

This article discusses ways that early intervention team members can improve their communication, qualities of effective teams, roles that members assume on teams, a step-by-step process for creating a transdisciplinary team, verbal and nonverbal skills necessary for successful communicative interaction, and behaviors that serve as barriers to…

Suggests ways parents can prepare their children for becoming literate. (SR)