Young children's expected social behaviors develop within particular cultural contexts and contribute to their academic experience in large part through their relationships with their teachers. Commonly used measures focus on children's problem behaviors, developed from psychopathology traditions, and rarely situate normative and positive…

It is developmentally normative for preschoolers (aged four to five years) to have self-perceptions that are typically positive and even over-inflated. However, because not all children have positive self-perceptions in early childhood it is important to understand factors that influence the development of self-perceptions, especially low…

Establishing positive peer relationships is integral to children's social development and is linked to a variety of long-term outcomes and life skills. The present study provides an in-depth examination of the ways in which child care providers guide young children in their early social experiences with peers during infancy, when social competence…

This study uses data collected in the intervention classrooms (N = 22) of Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed), a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a comprehensive preschool curriculum targeting children's social-emotional competence, language, and emergent literacy skills delivered by teachers who received…

Using data from the National Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation Project (N = 1851), the current study examined relations among cumulative family and social risk, assessed during infancy and the preschool years, and children's prekindergarten achievement, self-regulatory skills, and problematic social behavior, testing if these…

This study examined teachers' reports of early teacher-child relationships by focusing on their assessments of the severity and the causes of children's social behaviors. Eighty-one kindergarten teachers filled out questionnaires about socially inhibited, hyperactive, and average children (n = 237) selected from their own classes. Multilevel…

The effectiveness of the "Tools of the Mind (Tools)" curriculum in improving the education of 3- and 4-year-old children was evaluated by means of a randomized trial. The "Tools" curriculum, based on the work of Vygotsky, focuses on the development of self-regulation at the same time as teaching literacy and mathematics skills…

The purpose of the current study is to describe the development and validation of a new measure of temperament, the Preschool Temperament Classification System (PTCS). The PTCS was developed as a typological measure that identifies children's temperament styles as undercontrolled, resilient, or overcontrolled. The PTCS is a time efficient…

This study examined the influence of parenting styles, parent-child academic involvement at home, and parent-school contact on academic skills and social behaviors among kindergarten-age children of Caribbean immigrants. Seventy immigrant mothers and fathers participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that fathers'…

Examined the stability and circumstances of helping behaviors of 51 children of 41-69 months in a preschool classroom. Frequency of helping behaviors was not correlated with age or sex and was not stable over four 10-minute observation periods. Most helping acts were performed during nonimaginary play. (RJC)

Classified 61 children in day care, 13 to 24 months of age, into one of four social orientation groups, based upon frequency of contact with adults and peers relative to the total sample. Groups were compared with respect to behaviors in child care, adult responses, and child care history. (NH)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of otitis media (OM) and the quality of child care on the social and communicative behaviors of toddlers, using a cumulative risk framework that included moderation. The study followed 72 children who began child care in infancy. Both process and structural aspects of the quality of 11 child…

Explored the simultaneous sequential transition patterns of preschoolers' social play within classroom settings. Found that the proportion of social-play states did not vary during play episodes even when accounting for type of activity center, gender, and SES. Found a reciprocal relationship between parallel-aware and other social-play states…

Analyzes preschool class circle time from an ethnographic perspective. Findings suggest that rules, guidelines, expectations, and roles in the event change over time. (RJC)

Used traditional housekeeping and novel dramatic play centers to compare the effects of theme, novelty, and duration on the social and cognitive play of two- to five-year olds. More dramatic play was observed in centers that used familiar rather than unfamiliar themes. Girls preferred traditional to novel centers; boys preferred novel to…