The effects of an extra-year transition program after kindergarten on fourth grade students' achievement and self-esteem levels were examined in this study using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and the Stanford Achievement Test. Fourth grade students from a school district in central Alabama who had participated in the extra-year…

This case study explored how social interaction during science lessons leads to the development of planning skills in students. An analysis of group discussions was conducted. Questions addressed were: (1) What is the nature of planning discourse during science problem-solving activities with young children?; and (2) How is collaborative planning…

Part of the series "Early Childhood Development: Practice and Reflections," this report details the Kushanda Project, an early childhood education program in Zimbabwe. The Kushanda Project is a 16-person organization that has helped parents in rural Zimbabwe communities to understand the value of early childhood education and…

These two 1995 issues of the journal "Offspring," a publication of the Michigan Council of Cooperative Nursery Schools, cover a variety of topics familiar to nursery school and day care providers including the mission of the publication. Articles are short pieces useful to practitioners and are frequently accompanied by classroom activities.…

Drawing from the experiences of two early childhood educators, this book offers hundreds of fun and inexpensive ideas for grandparents to use in making memories with their grandchildren. Tips are geared for each stage of child development and include ways to grandparent, from next door or across many miles. The book contains anecdotes on…

This paper outlines 22 principles of practice that serve as criteria by which to judge the developmental appropriateness of an early childhood curriculum. The principles lead to the assertion that young children as learners are greatly supported when a "project approach" is used--e.g., when their early childhood education experience…

This study explored the priorities of kindergarten teachers in Austria along with the factors determining implementation of their educational objectives. A large-scale empirical survey of the conditions fostering and hindering child development in the kindergarten environment was conducted by the Charlotte Buhler Institute in 1994. A total of…

This paper describes the design of a new Maori, early childhood, immersion teaching diploma program at the University of Waikato (New Zealand). The program incorporates a strong focus on developing both the adult students' fluency in Maori, as a second language, and their skills for facilitating fluency in young children, many of whom will also be…

This study examined cultural differences in the amount and type of maternal scaffolding of children's learning and their effects of scaffolding on children's independent performance across two distinct activities: goal-directed versus free play. Twenty Iranian-American and 20 Anglo-American mothers with their preschool children participated in…

The Workshop on Integrating Federal Statistics on Children provided a forum for assessing strengths and shortcomings of existing and proposed federal statistical data sources for children and families. In particular, these data sources were assessed with respect to their capacity to fill the most pressing information needs of those who formulate,…

This paper synthesizes research, theories, and practical knowledge from developmental psychology and sociology to provide a basis for understanding, planning, and implementing effective and supportive partnerships between human-services providers and families. A family-centered approach is a process for delivering services to families, a…

Most large schools have many types of programs serving many types of students, but smaller schools, serving fewer students, may be able to have a more defined "personality," or focus. Focus schools are becoming more popular because their students tend to be high achievers and because many districts are allowing families to choose the schools they…

Children constitute nearly 40% of India's population, a significant portion of whom suffer mental ailments. Ways to sensitize those who work with children to various aspects associated with child mental health are explored in this book. The focus is not on mental handicap but on the internal or external distress which warps the psychosocial…

"Scaffolding" refers to the temporary support that parents and others give a child to perform a task. In narrative contexts, children's speech is guided and scaffolded by mothers who initiate and elicit children's contributions about past experiences. Unfortunately, data on this phenomenon from languages other than English are very…

One approach to promote partnerships between parents and schools and parents' involvement in a child's literacy development is to instruct parents through a workshop about literacy development and how to develop a portfolio of their child's literacy development reflecting literacy behavior at home. Parents of prekindergarten students in one public…