The importance of listening to children's perspectives has been emphasised in a wide range of recent research, using a variety of strategies. This paper explores the use of drawing as a strategy to engage with young children around the topic of starting school. It describes the approaches we have used, examines the benefits and challenges we have…

Examines the debate on the role of the state in relation to families with young children. Discusses the meaning of parental involvement in the preschool field and the implication of this growng emphasis on parent involvement for the relationship between parents and professionals. (AS)

Examined school attitudes of 101 mothers of preschoolers who were immigrants to Australia from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, mainland China, and the Philippines; also examined views of 100 early childhood teachers. Found differences in views regarding the importance of maintaining family culture and first language, and the importance of sharing…

Interviewed 311 four- to 9-year-olds of various cultures to explore how they perceived and experienced activities, roles, responsibilities, and relationships with peers and teachers in school. Found that school created conflict in terms of competing demands of pleasing teachers versus pleasing oneself. Liking school was associated with enjoying…

Deals with the vulnerable position of nursery education in 1990s Britain, given the changing nature of the family in society and particularly in view of nursery education's weakly articulated justification in the face of government intervention in education. Discusses current standards of evaluation (OFSTED inspections) and achievement and the…

This literature review on the effects of multiage groupings (MAGs) in the primary grades supports their use and argues that children in MAGs perform as well academically as children in single-age groupings (SAGs) and develop better self-concept and school attitudes than children in SAGs. Expresses concerns over lack of training and support for…