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…

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…

The article reports results from a Human Early Learning Partnership initiative that aims to address limitations within the literature concerning neighborhood effects on child development. Problems include the tendency for studies to (a) rely on small samples of children, (b) focus on high-risk populations, (c) define neighborhood by Census…

The state of the art of research on child development in New Zealand is reported in this paper. It is noted that while many courses in child development are taught in New Zealand, few incentives or resources for a viable and continuous child development research program are provided. Perhaps because of restricted opportunities for research and…

Argues that scientific results about immigration of adolescents into Germany are incomplete. Suggests that theories of adolescence under conditions of migration and immigration ought to be developed within an intercultural comparative perspective, include the concept of cultural space, consider interplay between gender and ethnicity, and…

Children's ability to recognize unfamiliar faces shows an unusual developmental trend: performance improves from 6 to 11 years, a temporary regression occurs at 12 years, and then recovery leads to adult-level performance. The first study described in this paper tested 80 children 5 to 11 years of age on a face-matching and recognition task.…

Reports findings of research into the conduct of in-depth assessments of families by social workers in child protection cases in Britain. Concludes that children are only partially represented in the assessments and that much of what is learned about them is mediated by adult perspectives and actions. (Author)

Investigates predictions derived from the Karmiloff Smith framework for understanding the process of cognitive development. Finds broad support for the model but also indicates that behavior for some tasks is more variable than expected; and, contrary to expectations, that more abstract tasks did not disrupt behavior to any large extent. (DSK)

This monograph, the third in a series of four volumes, descibes a study designed to discover and interpret the home conditions under which young children in the English-speaking Caribbean islands, especially the underprivileged, are nurtured. The main purpose of this volume is to document the process by which data have been collected in order to…

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…

Draws on research with Brazilian street children to present methodological and ethical challenges inherent in research with street children; provides suggestions for overcoming these challenges. Issues of concern include the following: definition and sampling, and lack of clarity in these areas; measurement aspects, including surveys,…

Uses a study about children's experience of asthma to show that qualitative research with children has inherent difficulties relating to access and ethical and developmental issues. Asserts that because of children's stage of development and the asymmetrical relationship between researcher and informants, adequate safeguards and awareness of these…

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)

Illustrates problems facing researchers trying to demonstrate causal relationships between types of nonparental care and differences between groups of Swedish children. Argues that efforts must be made to validate and interpret differences that are found. Indicates ways to avoid misinterpretation of differences that are attributable to…

At a time when crucial questions concerning the nature of early childhood and early childhood education are being increasingly examined worldwide, an exploration of the issues, priorities, and methodologies of research in early childhood education may provide valuable material for debate. This book focuses on research in early childhood education…