Stereotypes are social representations that help us understand the world around us, and yet endanger our conception of the world. Indeed, using stereotypes can lead to generalisations; in other words, it can lead to neglecting the personal characteristics of individuals. This article studies gender stereotypes and their part in the French early…

In Slovenia there is a unitary system of early education for all preschool-aged children. Since the vast majority of children attend full-day programmes, the daily routine represents a significant part of life for children in kindergarten. When systemic and curricular reform of preschools was introduced at the end of the twentieth century, lot of…

This work describes a survey conducted in Syros Island in Greece. The intention was to ascertain kindergarten teachers' perceptions about early literacy and the skills and knowledge they consider as important for pre-school aged children. The participants were all the kindergarten teachers of the island (N = 19) and the data were collected during…

Authors in this paper present the design and implementation of daily routines in Slovenian kindergartens. Slovenian national document for preschool education, "Curriculum for Kindergartens" (1999), describes daily kindergarten activities (communication and interaction with and among children, use of compliment and reprehension, and rules…

As part of a research project, the author spent several months in a child care program talking with and listening to young children-and one in particular, Jeff. Her central focus was on children's indirect learning-the "hidden curriculum." She discusses the insights and false assumptions that came to light during her time with Jeff, and tells…

There is debate among early years experts about the appropriate degree of emotional engagement between nursery nurses and the children in their care. Through research into the learning cultures of further education (in the Economic and Social Research Council's Teaching and Learning Research Programme), the author considers how prospective nursery…