Research Findings: Traditional peer sociometric nominations, even at early ages, are not replaceable by teachers' classifications of children's sociometric popularity. The association between reports from the two sources, although not independent, was weak, with teachers perceiving more children as popular and fewer children as rejected. Teacher…

In this study, the occurrence of preschool children's affectionate behavior did not appear to be gender typed. A considerable percentage of the children's affection was restricted to same-gender peers. Children expressed affections more frequently to individuals than to groups of individuals. (BB)

Observed engagement of children in 17 child care environments as a way to assess program quality. Found that children in centers that met only minimal licensing requirements had lower levels of engagement than other children, and that center quality was related to quality of experience. (LBT)

Examined toddlers attention to distress in a daycare setting. Found that crying and screaming, intensity level, caregiver responses in general, and moral causes of distress were related to higher levels of attention by the group. Results had implications in terms of the future of moral education at the preschool level. (SD)