Abstract/Notes: The IEA Preprimary Project is a longitudinal, cross-national study of preprimary care and education designed to identify how process and structural characteristics of the settings children attended at age 4 are related to their age-7 cognitive and language performance. Investigators collaborated to develop common instruments to measure family background, teachers’ characteristics, setting structural characteristics, experiences of children in settings, and children’s developmental status. Data from 10 countries are included in the analysis; in most countries, the sample of settings is representative of preprimary settings in that country. For the analysis, a 3-level hierarchical linear model was employed that allowed decomposition of variation of child outcomes into three parts—variation among children within settings, among settings within countries, and among countries. Four findings are consistent across all of the countries included. Age-7 language improves as teachers’ number of years of full-time schooling increases and the predominant type of activity teachers propose in settings is free choice rather than personal/social. Age-7 cognitive performance improves as children spend less time in whole group activities and the variety of equipment and materials available increases. There were also a number of findings that varied across countries depending on particular country characteristics. The findings support child-initiated activities and small group activities and are consistent with developmentally appropriate practices promoting active learning.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.07.007

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706

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: Contextual influences on private speech were examined in two preschools differing in the learning environments they provide for children. Observations of 3- to 5-year-olds were made during free-choice periods in a Montessori and a traditional (play-oriented) program. Consistent with Vygotsky's theory that make-believe play serves as a vital context for the development of self-regulation, the incidence of private speech was much higher during open-ended activities, especially fantasy play, that require children to determine the goal of the task, than during closed-ended tasks with predetermined goals. In line with previous research, the more direct involvement, or external regulation, teachers displayed, the lower the rate of children's private speech. In addition, transitions (as opposed to involvement in activities) were linked to reduced private speech, whereas engagement with peers, in the form of associative play, predicted greater self-directed language. Diminished make-believe play, greater teacher direct involvement, and heightened time spent in transitions largely accounted for the lower incidence of private speech in the Montessori compared with the traditional preschool. Contextual factors also contributed to a drop in private speech at age 5. Implications for fostering children's verbal self-regulation during early childhood are considered.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/S0885-2006(99)80065-9

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706

Abstract/Notes: The question of whether early academic environments provide a challenge or a pressure for young children is being hotly debated, yet there is little empirical research on this topic. This paper presents a subset of data from a two-year comprehensive project designed to examine this question. Parental attitudes and behaviors along with school philosophy and practices comprised the predictor variables used to define "academic environments." This study then focused on how these family and school variables related to child outcome measures of academic competence, creativity, and emotional well-being for 90 prekindergarten children, and a follow-up sample of 56 kindergarten children. The results suggest no academic advantages for children from highly academic environments, and potential disadvantages in creative expression (measured as originality) and emotional well-being (measured as test anxiety and attitudes toward school). Possible interpretations and ramifications of these results are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1207/s15566935eed0106_1

ISSN: 1040-9289, 1556-6935

Abstract/Notes: Children’s media is replete with human-like portrayals of animals and objects that wear clothing, speak, drive cars, and experience human emotions. Recent research has shown that anthropomorphic portrayals of animals in books lead children to think anthropomorphically about real animals. Here we asked whether this is also the case for an inanimate object. Specifically, does exposure to an anthropomorphized train, as compared to a real train, increase children’s tendency to make anthropomorphic attributions to real trains? We also investigated whether this effect with books extends to another common medium of presentation: video. Chinese preschoolers (n = 258) ages 4–6 were randomly assigned to watch a video or listen to a book about either a real or an anthropomorphized train. Before and after this exposure, children completed a modified Anthropomorphism Questionnaire–Child Form (IDAQ-CF), which included questions about trains. Children who were exposed to the anthropomorphic book significantly increased in their tendency to view real trains as having human-like qualities, as compared to control children who had no exposure. Video exposure had no effect on the anthropomorphism of trains.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/17482798.2019.1570960

ISSN: 1748-2798

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/461336

ISSN: 1554-8279, 0013-5984

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

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: In contrast to intellectual giftedness reflected in high academic performance and often measured by IQ tests, there is growing recognition that other forms of giftedness exist. This paper focuses on creative giftedness, defined as high potential to produce work that is original and context appropriate. After a brief introduction to the psychological basis of creative giftedness, the role of school context in the development of creative potential is highlighted. Then an empirical study suggesting that creative potential is influenced by educational context is presented; pupils attending traditional and Montessori schools in France were compared on a set of creativity tasks in both the graphic and verbal domains. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted as children were seen at two measurement occasions, with approximately one year delay. Results indicated greater scores on measures of creative potential for children in the Montessori context. The discussion situates the results in a broader context of issues concerning the development of creative giftedness through education.

Language: English

ISSN: 2396-8702, 0267-1611

Abstract/Notes: Contiene: Cooperazione fra scuola e comunità nel Messico; Centro nazionale d'informazioni pedagogiche; Una pubblicazione del Bureau International d'Education; Tre convegni pediatrici; La denunzia della nascita dei bimbi deformi; Studenti di medicina e avanguardisti; Le nuove disposizioni per la protezione dell'infanzia in Spagna; La biblioteca dei ragazzi; Giorgio Kerschensteiner. [Contains: School-Community Cooperation in Mexico; National Center for Pedagogical Information; A publication of the Bureau International d'Education; Three pediatric conferences; The denunciation of the birth of deformed babies; Medical students and avant-garde; The new provisions for the protection of children in Spain; The children's library; Giorgio Kerschensteiner.]

Language: Italian