Abstract/Notes: During the preschool years, the socio-emotional responses children receive from interactions with teachers are incorporated into their own social behaviors. This is one of the key ways in which children acquire social and emotional skills. Based on field studies, it can be found that this learning process is not simple imitation of children, but of a more complex context of group interaction. To further clarify the impact of kindergarten teachers’ emotion on the sociometric status and behavior of 3–5 year-old children in their classes, the researchers chose a Montessori mixed-age kindergarten in Beijing as the field site and observed five classes within the kindergarten over a 2-month period in this ethnographic case study. The study found that the power gap between teacher and pupil spreads rapidly to all children in the classroom as a result of the teacher’s emotions, and even stimulates power stratification within the children. In addition, there are differences in the social behaviors between the children of different levels of power. As preschool children are in a critical developmental window when social knowledge is being accumulated and social skills are being acquired, using power relations within the kindergarten classroom as an entry point to analyze the impact of teachers’ emotions on children’s social behavior provides a new breakthrough for the professional development of early childhood education and the better achievement of educational goals.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.808847

ISSN: 1664-1078

Abstract/Notes: It was hypothesized that the Montessori curriculum accelerates the acquisition of a number of concrete operational skills. To test this, eighty 4-year-old children were given three Piagetian problems—seriation, classification, and conservation. Half of the subjects were from Montessori schools, and the other half were from more traditional nursery settings. Within each type of school, half of the children were first year and the other half were second year enrollees. Results showed that significantly more Montessori than traditional children seriated and classified objects like concrete thinkers but that there were no differences on the conservation problem. Year of enrollment did not influence performance on any of the tasks. It was concluded that the hypothesis was confirmed and that the failure to find acceleration of conservation performance was due to its advanced nature relative to the other problems and/or the tangential manner in which Montessori exercises deal with the critical concepts that underly it.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/0361-476X(76)90055-2

ISSN: 0361-476X

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: Review

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: I investigated the effect of introducing cooperative games during recess to reduce aggressive behaviors in preschool-age children. The action research was done at an intentionally culturally and socio-economically diverse Montessori school in St. Paul, Minnesota. The 23 children involved were all children from the three to six age group who take daily naps. I recorded every aggressive incident I saw before, during, and after the intervention. I also recorded what cooperative activities I introduced for the intervention. Once before and after the intervention I asked the children if they enjoyed recess. I recorded observational notes such as weather conditions, and what activities the children chose each day. The data did not show that the cooperative games had a significant effect on the number of aggressive incidents recorded. Many more boys than girls were involved in aggressive incidents. There was no significant change in how the children reported their enjoyment of recess. Aggressive behavior could possibly be reduced through another action research project with a longer intervention period, a conflict resolution plan, and more purposeful activities for the children outside.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2016

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: Three-quarters of 3-6 year-old children in the U.S. spend time in childcare; many spend most of their waking hours in these settings. Daily physical activity offers numerous health benefits, but activity levels vary widely across centers. This study was undertaken to explore reasons why physical activity levels may vary. The purpose of this paper is to summarize an unexpected finding that child-care providers cited was a key barrier to children's physical activity.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1186/1479-5868-6-74

ISSN: 1479-5868

Language: Italian

Published: Roma, Italy: Comitato italiano dell'OMEP, 1967

Language: English