Physical activity--including outdoor motor play--has been associated with learning and brain-related functions and abilities in elementary school children and adolescence. Few studies have been conducted on the relationships between active play and these cognitive processes in preschool aged children. Several investigations have revealed that…

Background: The nature and characteristics of the peer social networks of young children with Down syndrome (DS) in classroom settings were examined within a developmental framework. Method: Comparisons were made with younger typically developing children matched on mental age and typically developing children matched on chronological age.…

This study compared Chinese mothers' and teachers' scaffolding of preschool children in different problem solving tasks. Participants were 57 children (including 29 girls) from seven kindergartens in Beijing, their mothers and teachers. Mothers varied in educational levels while all teachers were professionally qualified. Children solved four…

Based on the observations of teachers and other adults in the framework of our school concept, this study follows the development of a young boy during his first three school years. Jerry is gifted in many fields and shows a complex range of interests. Although he was among the youngest in his class coming into the school, Jerry was more…

This study explores educators' reflections on professional childcare practice in different national contexts. The data were collected by showing video clips of classroom activities in Japanese, Dutch and German pre-schools to experienced German and Dutch pre-school teachers. The clips were used to elicit their opinions on playing and learning in…

A survey of the yearbooks published by the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) in the twentieth century indicates that philosophers of education changed the direction of their work. In the nineteenth century, educators turned to philosophers for answers to questions about the aim of education. As the twentieth century advanced,…

The "enrichment" and the "instruction" orientations are compared with respect to views on readiness, expectations for children, the "whole child" concept, and the concept of teacher role. (Author/MLF)

This study compared parent and teacher beliefs regarding the relative importance of a set of child care and education tasks, and assessed the degree to which the responsibility for these tasks was perceived to be shared between home and school. The questionnaires of the Perception of Parental Role Scales were administered to three groups of…

In Hawaii, state agencies and foundations are poised to support readiness efforts to improve educational outcomes for children. Developing a shared understanding of the construct of readiness is key to these efforts. The purposes of this research were to (a) discover the perceptions and beliefs held by Hawaii parents, teachers and administrators…

An observer's views of open-informal education and its central issues are presented in view of increasing interest in opening up classroom procedures and activities. The problems in defining Open Education are noted, but, in general, the events, relationships, activities and materials in the classroom are seen as being neither standardized nor…