Increasingly, children today are becoming disconnected from the natural environments resulting in a diminished sense of self, place and community. In an attempt to find out their perceptions, attitudes and values about the natural world, twenty-five Year 6 and 7 students from a northern Adelaide primary school participated in a nature-play case…

Research Findings: Environmental print provides children with their earliest print experiences. This observational study investigated the frequency of mother-child environmental print referencing and its relationship with emergent literacy. A total of 35 mothers and their children (ages 3-4 years) were videotaped interacting in an environmental…

This study examined connections among couple relationship quality, coparenting, and mother and father involvement in 100 families from urban Central Taiwan. Fathers and mothers with at least one school-age child completed questionnaires regarding their couple satisfaction and consensus, coparenting techniques and consistency, and involvement in…

This study surveyed 98 teachers of 4-year-olds about dramatic play in their classrooms and about their attitudes and practices about rough-and-tumble play. Gender differences emerged in the nature of dramatic play reported and in the ways in which teachers interacted with children engaged in different forms of dramatic play. Teachers also reported…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism (Patti Hartigan); (2) The Family Model of Schooling Revisited: Few Teachers,…

This study investigated how a child with early cochlear implantation interacted with peers in his inclusive preschool setting. A qualitative case-study framed in a socio-linguistic framework guided the data collection and analysis. Data collection included detailed field notes, classroom free play observations, informal student interviews, teacher…

The CPB-PBS Ready To Learn initiative, funded by the U. S. Department of Education, brings engaging, high-quality media to young children who may be at risk for academic difficulties due to economic and social disadvantages. The initiative aims to deliver early mathematics and literacy resources on new and emerging digital platforms such as tablet…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether parents and therapists have similar perceptions of therapy services provided to young children with cerebral palsy (CP), reflecting collaboration and provision of family-centered care. Forty-six parents of young children with CP and 40 therapists providing services for those children participated.…

Participation in activities provides the means for young children to learn, play, develop skills, and develop a sense of personal identity. The Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP) is a newly developed measure to capture the participation of children aged 2 to 5 years and 11 months in the areas of play, skill development, active…

This exploratory study investigates the linguistic and social interaction of four intermediate EFL learners during game play in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Twelve illustrative episodes drawn from the participants' text chat, collected in four 70-minute sessions held over a one-month period, are analyzed from a…

This study sets out to examine Finnish and Russian children's representations of intellectual competence as contextualised in the hierarchies of abilities, age and gender. Finnish and Russian pupils, aged 11-12 years, were asked to draw pictures of an intelligent person and an ordinary person. It was found that gender appearance of intelligent men…

The aim of this paper is to decipher the essence of the joy of learning and the ways to enhance it at school. In the field of educational psychology, research on feelings is lacking, and the little that does exist has focused more on negative rather than positive feelings. The present paper is based on ethnographic and observational research of a…

This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of offering Playworks--a program in which full-time coaches provide opportunities for organized play during recess and class time--on school climate, student behavior, and other disciplinary and developmental outcomes. Using data from about 2,000 students and 250 teachers in 25 urban,…

Since 1992 C. J. Rogers has lived with wolves and studied their societies at Raised by Wolves, a licensed, nonprofit research sanctuary situated in a high valley of New Mexico's Zuni Mountains, not far from the Four Corners. Rogers, who has taught at Northeastern Illinois University and Western New Mexico University, holds doctorates in both…

This study is a qualitative investigation of the role that social networks play in the adjustment and academic success of international students. With large numbers of international students enrolled on US campuses, it is important for practitioners to prepare, understand and address their dynamic needs. Based on social network, social capital and…