Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01291.x

ISSN: 0009-3920, 1467-8624

Abstract/Notes: This paper presents perspectives from early childhood practitioners of pre-school children’s (n = 100) social and emotional competencies upon entering pre-school and again after term three of the pre-school year. This research reports findings from five pre-school settings within rural and urban locations. A quantitative approach is used with pre-school practitioners completing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and an Emotional Regulation Questionnaire to rate the children’s social and emotional competencies. Our findings indicate that many of the social and emotional competencies increase by the end of term three of the pre-school year. We report higher proficiencies in emotional competencies in comparison to their social competencies. Overall the findings suggest that children can transform their competencies during the pre-school year.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/09669760.2020.1865134

ISSN: 0966-9760

Abstract/Notes: The main purpose of this research is to examine the effect of Montessori education approach on 4-6-year-old children’s concept acquisition such as school readiness, direction/position, self/social awareness, texture/material, quantity and time/sequence. The method of this research was pre-test/post-test, experimental and control group. Pre-test/post-test was carried out to examine the effect of the Montessori education on 4-6 year-old children who are the experimental group and the control group was formed to compare the effect of Montessori education on the experimental group. Sample of research consisted of 24 children who were educated with Montessori education at Gazi University Faculty of Vocational Education Department of Child Development and Education Application Preschool and 24 children who were educated at Ankara University Application Preschool and Child Club, where MoNE’s curriculum was carried out. For children’s acquisition of concepts such as school readiness, direction/position, self/social awareness, texture/material, quantity and time/sequence Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised was used as data collecting instruments. Comparing both groups for pre-test and post-test mean score obtained from Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised results show that statistical differences were found between the experimental and the control group and these differences were in favor of the experimental group. There are differences between children who got education through Montessori approach and MoNE’s curriculum in school readiness, direction/position, self/social awareness, texture/material, quantity and time/sequence areas.

Language: English

ISSN: 1305-3515

Language: Italian

ISSN: 2037-7975

Abstract/Notes: Executive functions (EFs) in childhood predict important life outcomes. Thus, there is great interest in attempts to improve EFs early in life. Many interventions are led by trained adults, including structured training activities in the lab, and less-structured activities implemented in schools. Such programs have yielded gains in children's externally-driven executive functioning, where they are instructed on what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. However, it is less clear how children's experiences relate to their development of self-directed executive functioning, where they must determine on their own what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. We hypothesized that time spent in less-structured activities would give children opportunities to practice self-directed executive functioning, and lead to benefits. To investigate this possibility, we collected information from parents about their 6-7 year-old children's daily, annual, and typical schedules. We categorized children's activities as "structured" or "less-structured" based on categorization schemes from prior studies on child leisure time use. We assessed children's self-directed executive functioning using a well-established verbal fluency task, in which children generate members of a category and can decide on their own when to switch from one subcategory to another. The more time that children spent in less-structured activities, the better their self-directed executive functioning. The opposite was true of structured activities, which predicted poorer self-directed executive functioning. These relationships were robust (holding across increasingly strict classifications of structured and less-structured time) and specific (time use did not predict externally-driven executive functioning). We discuss implications, caveats, and ways in which potential interpretations can be distinguished in future work, to advance an understanding of this fundamental aspect of growing up.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00593

ISSN: 1664-1078

Abstract/Notes: The relationships among school adjustment, victimisation, and gender were investigated with 284 Turkish children aged between five and six years. Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment, The Preschool Behaviour Questionnaire, and Peer Victimisation Scale were used in this study. Analyses indicated that children's behaviour problems and victimisation variables were significant predictors of the school adjustment of children while controlling for gender.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/03004279.2013.848915

ISSN: 0300-4279, 1475-7575

Abstract/Notes: This study tested the hypothesis that curriculum type (Montessori and constructivist) moderates the impact of temperament (specifically activity level and attention-persistence) on the classroom behavior of 3- to 5-year-old children. Mothers enrolled in Montessori and constructivist preschools filled out the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory. The children’s teachers filled out the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire and the Preschool Adjustment Questionnaire. A near-significant trend suggested that temperamentally active boys were more likely to be perceived by their teachers as having behavior problems if they were enrolled in Montessori programs than if they were enrolled in constructivist programs. There was no such trend for girls. There was no evidence that temperamental attention span persistence moderated the impact of curriculum type on either boys’ or girls’ behavior. The findings thus give modest support to the notion that parents should be advised to select constructivist early childhood programs especially for boys who are temperamentally predisposed to be highly modifying their teaching practices to better accommodate the needs of these children active. In addition, directors and teachers in Montessori programs may consider

Language: English

DOI: 10.1207/s15566935eed1102_3

ISSN: 1040-9289, 1556-6935

Abstract/Notes: Examines the relationship between two preschool program directors' and teachers' beliefs, instructional decisions, and preschool children's conceptions of reading and writing. Results show that preschool children's conceptions of reading and writing reflected the practices of the two programs. (Author/BB) Directors of two preschool programs were interviewed regarding their orientations toward reading and writing instruction. Ten children from each program were interviewed regarding their conceptions of reading and writing. One school was found to have a “mastery of specific skills/text-based” orientation, and the other was found to have a “holistic/reader-based” orientation. A relationship was found between preschool program's orientations toward reading and writing instruction and children's ideas about reading and writing. The relationships between preschool practices and children's conceptions are examined. Implications for the influence of preschool teacher's beliefs and instructional decisions on children's conceptions of reading and writing are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/S0885-2006(89)90077-X

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706

Abstract/Notes: Many researchers have investigated the cooperative problem solving (CPS) of children during play; however, there is a lack of studies focused on teachers’ beliefs about how to support the development of children’s CPS in classrooms. This study aims to investigate the pedagogical beliefs of Chinese (n = 3) and US (n = 3) teachers about the CPS of children during play and their decision-making capabilities in supporting children to advance this skill in classrooms. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the integration of video-stimulated recall approach in order to achieve this aim. Results confirm that the Chinese and US teachers believe that children are competent and have the autonomy to decide how to solve problems with their peers. The beliefs are similar across the teachers, whereas their execution of these beliefs varies, which reflects their cultural uniqueness in scaffolding and creating classroom environments.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10643-020-01087-9

ISSN: 1082-3301, 1573-1707

Abstract/Notes: The main purpose of this article is to describe the nature of imaginary play in Montessori classrooms. A transcript from a train ride shows how young children imagine and recreate ideas from their real world experiences and weave them into original new accounts. The author discusses how the play-like action of dramatizing The Caboose Who Got Loose is highly motivating for young children. An informal analysis provides the reader with important insights into the way children see and think about the world. The play episode observed in this study appears as a microcosm of the larger Montessori culture, reflecting the spirit of kindness and respect that permeates Montessori Schools.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10643-008-0282-z

ISSN: 1082-3301, 1573-1707