The association between parents' work-family conflicts and children's academic outcomes is an understudied topic. The present research investigates the role of quadratic measures--parental working hours' scale, parental age, parental interaction quality, and learning materials at home--in children's cognitive outcomes. It employs a community…

Research Findings: The present study provides an initial descriptive comparison of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Third Edition (ECERS-3) in a relatively large sample in 1 state that uses the Environment Rating Scales within its Quality Rating and Improvement System…

A study examined the effects of play-group composition (segregated or integrated) and category of play materials (functional, constructive, or dramatic) on cognitive level of play and language use of 24 preschool children with developmental disabilities. There were no effects for play-group composition, but category of play materials significantly…

The physical, social, emotional, and cognitive gains derived from block building are examined in relation to learning needs of the pre-school child. (CS)

This study attempted to determine if 3-year-old low socioeconomic status children possessed a generalizable concept of circle/round, and examined two methods of teaching to those children who did not already possess it. Twenty 3-year-old children were first presented with training sets consisting of 12 pairs of stimuli: six pairs of objects…

This book is a guide to understanding the development and needs of the child from 0 to 5. There are three sections: General principles of learning and development; infant development and ways of caring for infants; and the preschool child, which concerns the young child's development and proposes teaching and developmental activities. An appendix…

A model for sequencing tasks in the area of visual perception was developed. This paper reports an attempt to validate the structure of the model. The performance of 50 normal preschool children on a 47 item test was studied. The results obtained support the use of the model as a framework for developing visual perception tasks. (Author)

Piaget's concepts of knowledge seen as a result of active interaction between the child and his environment, and motivation, seen as intrinsic to intellectual functioning, have implications for the development of preschool programs. A preschool program must be action-oriented if the child is to learn to "know" and must offer an…

This instructional booklet is part of Learning Package #2 on self concept development and child behavior used in conjunction with the Child Development Training Program at Bemidji, Minnesota. The booklet is divided into 15 brief sections which emphasize: (1) techniques of observation and experimentation; (2) measurement of the readiness concept;…

The guide was developed as part of Project Prepare, a demonstration program designed to teach disadvantaged parents adult basic education skills and to show these parents how and what to teach their preschool children. It contains activities, advice, and resources for parents. All materials pertain to creative play for preschoolers that develop…

This article elaborates on three principles which are the foundation of the developmental approach to early childhood education. These principles are multiage grouping, nongraded curricular materials, and interactive teaching. (IAH)

Research supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation.

This study investigated incidental learning in middle and lower class black and white preschool children. The study questioned whether (a) preschool children acquire learning incidentally; (b) there was a difference in the quantity of such learning between black and white children; (c) differences in learning was influenced by socioeconomic…

The Mother-Child Home Program was planned as a home-based, two-year cognitive intervention method. Women with varied incomes and education, both volunteer and paid, made 30-minute home visits twice weekly to help mothers become cognitive trainers of their own toddlers (starting at age two). Mother-child verbal interaction was stimulated with gifts…

This teaching manual for the Montessori method covers the following areas: (1) short survey of Maria Montessori's life and work; (2) beginning concepts of Dr. Montessori's approach; (3) pedagogical methods used in the "children's houses"; (4) reactions to Dr. Montessori's educational approach at the start of the 20th century; (5)…