This article sets out to look critically at the use of systematic reviews in the cross-disciplinary field of early childhood and international development. Systematic reviews--a specialist methodology involving the secondary analysis of existing knowledge on a particular topic--is prevalently used to address complex questions in social and…

The purpose of the review is to investigate various relations between the concepts of competence and participation found within child and youth research with the aim of identifying differences in practical reasoning of the various kinds of child research. The search identified 260 articles, and an in-depth analysis of 39 articles was conducted,…

How do topics such as race and ethnicity "play out" in the preschool classroom? Are conversations surrounding these topics celebrated or discouraged? Do teachers actively engage young children to facilitate exploration and discussion of such topics? Do children naturally do this of their own accord? My first foray into qualitative…

Conducting research on early education development at rural sites in South Africa is challenging. This is partly because it is difficult to capture the vast array of factors that impact on the lives of people in rural communities. In this article the author reports on some of the difficulties, showing how cultural historical and activity theory…

Research Findings: This essay offers a review of challenges that university laboratory preschools face in providing a site for research that fits with other components of the program mission. An argument is made to consider paradigm shifts in research questions and methods that move away from traditions within the fields that study children's…

Examines research concerning young children's ability to learn history without the appropriate developmental ability to understand time. Argues that much research is conducted within a narrow focus causing educators and researchers to ignore the development of the child. (KO)

Evidence is presented that the analogy between oral and written language development is misleading and that literacy has few of the characteristics of naturally acquired behaviors. It is contended that researchers should concentrate on the differences between oral and written language development. (SLD)

A brief review of the subject matter of Soviet investigations of upbringing which points out some of the problems encountered by Soviet research on upbrining and suggests potential areas for improvement. (EH)

The belief that gifted children are more likely to have personality problems than "normal" individuals is not supported by research, but the image of the disturbed gifted child persists. This paper reviews research from a life-span developmental perspective to examine why this image persists. The paper critically examines the research of L.…

Three major national longitudinal studies have been conducted in Great Britain, each based on a week's births in, respectively, 1946, 1958, and 1970. This paper focuses on the implications for educators of the findings of the 1958 study, which examined the development, over 23 years, of approximately 5,000 children born in Britain in one week of…

Discusses classroom literary practices related to teacher questioning, retelling, literalism, and figurative language for children in the concrete operational stage; concludes that recent research on response to literature may say as much about what children are taught to do as what they do developmentally. Offers suggestions about teaching…

Acknowledges that early-childhood education is a global practice and examines underlying images of the child. Questions the adequacy of current research to encompass global childhoods, how child development is conceptualized within early-childhood work, and children's status within early-education research and practice. Notes a current paradigm…

Describes issues which are common to all research methodologies and some that were unique to the assessment techniques used in the Child Development Project (CDP) in San Ramon, California. Looks at the limited amount of time given assessments and the "fluid" nature of measurements. Notes that CDP issues involved observations,…

This report, addressed to graduate students who intend to enter into field research in inner-city settings, details some of the personnel and community relations problems and logistical and financial challenges encountered by a research team, which undertook an evaluation of early education programs, basic research on child development, and social…

Research studies concerning how nutrition affects educational performance are examined. From a developmental perspective it seems likely that the earlier the onset and the longer the duration of the nutritional deficiency the higher the probabilities of a cognitive deficit and poor school achievement in childhood and adolescence. (RM)