Object exploration is considered a driver of motor, cognitive, and social development. However, little is known about how early childhood education and care settings facilitate object exploration. This study examined if children's exploration of objects during free play was facilitated by the use of particular spatial components (floor, tables,…

This field note presents findings from an assessment conducted on the Little Ripples program, which was piloted with Burundian refugee children ages three to five in Tanzania. The aim of the assessment was to understand the general progress of the program, attitudes and perceptions about the use of mindfulness in the classroom, and the perceived…

Investigated continuities and discontinuities in the use of learning strategies by Western Australian preschoolers. A follow-up study was conducted a year later. Findings showed that children who were characterized by active strategic approaches to learning in preschool maintained these approaches in the first year of school. (SH)

The study sought to examine developmental processes of substitution in the pretend play of Down's syndrome children and to clarify the onset mechanism of subskills in decontextualization, which refers to the progress from imitation to substitution and then to invention. Eighteen Japanese children, aged 29-55 months, with Down's syndrome were given…

Analyzed records of Slovene children's speech from a linguistic point of view and established differences in communication patterns with regard to the children's ages and the type of symbolic play. Found a shift in play from make-believe with regard to objects to roleplay related to social context. The older the child, the more language functions…

Discusses the societal values and behavior patterns that Chinese preschools reinforce and instill in children. (HOD)

Questioned day care center children during free play about their collective activity to determine how the representation of cooperation is structured and what kind of transformation appears during development. Found a developmental trend of representation of group activity after age 2. Results highlight the importance of group and day care center…

This study examined the functions of structured modeling and mother-child play settings upon the development of pretend actions in young Down Syndrome children. Subjects were 30 pairs of Japanese children, with a developmental age range of 12-35 months, and their mothers. The children were individually administered five phases of premodeling,…

This report presents comparative data on standards and regulations for child care programs in Europe, Canada, Israel. Three models of child care systems are identified, and their implementation in eleven countries is described. Model I, the "anglo-American" model implemented in the United Kingdom and Canada, includes two or more parallel…

Examined the concordance between mother-infant attachment behavior and patterns of mother-child reunion responses when the children were age six. Found that concordance between four types of attachment status was 82%. Also found a correlation between children's observed social competence at age five and their reunion patterns at age six. (MDM)

Preschool Swedish children were observed with their mothers in situations designed to allow assessment of their compliance with maternal demands. Children were more compliant in the task situation at 40 months when they had experienced high quality care at home, when they were older, and when they had experienced less out-of-home care prior to 24…

Language acquisition and other developmental processes in children do not occur haphazardly, but rather follow a sequence that is well-established, and though subject to a moderate variation in detail from child to child, surprisingly uniform. This book provides information to parents concerning their children's development levels and attainments…

This book is the result of a nationwide collaborative effort in Canada to draft national goals on healthy child and youth development. Following a brief introduction, the book is divided into three main sections. Section one examines how children develop in the following four chapters: (1) "The Mind Matters: A Child's Developing Brain";…