This study examined the strategies teachers use to promote social play in a mainstreamed early childhood program that included five children with special needs and five nonhandicapped peers. Results indicated that teachers can successfully facilitate peer play through initiation of play, participation in group play, elaboration of group play, and…

Argues for an understanding of play as a flux between the imagination and attempts to test consequences of "what if" questions. Discusses leading educational theorists' views of the role of play. Suggests that school authority which reduces creative play closes off children's means of finding answers to some vocational questions. (SG)

Compared social interactions of persuasive preschoolers to those of dominant and less persuasive peers. In comparison to other children, persuasive children made more attempts to persuade, used a moderate number of extremely friendly or aggressive strategies, and had a lower rate of compliance. (GLR)

Examined the possibility that relations in the family system are affected when infants begin to crawl. Parents' expressions of prohibition and anger, and their use of physical punishment, increased after infants began to crawl. (BG)

Examined the question of whether the child-rearing beliefs and strategies of mothers predict their preschoolers' social competence with peers. Mothers of children rejected by peers were less likely to teach their children about social skills, spent less time in child-centered activities, and used more punishment than did other mothers. (GLR)

Forty preschool children were observed in outdoor play areas and interviewed about their perceptions of the observed play. The children's teachers were also interviewed. It was found that a significant negative correlation existed between physical play and creative play and that the majority of children perceived that outdoor play was independent…

Discusses the need for those involved in the education of young children to adopt a reflective stance toward their work. Considers the value, in research done by practitioners, of making observations and keeping records, studying unfamiliar topics, doing background reading, and interpreting and communicating research results. Applies these…

Reports results from a study of 45 playgroups and interviews with 435 mothers in England. Extent and nature of parent involvement, including that of fathers, and relations between involvement and socioeconomic characteristics of parents were studied. Involvement by mothers is substantial but not universal, and participation by fathers is rare.…

Reviews five books: (1) "Language Acquisition: A Linguistic Introduction" (Helen Goodluck); (2) "Pathways to Number: Children's Developing Numerical Abilities" (Jacqueline Bideaud and others); (3) "The Collaborative Construction of Pretend" (Carolee Howes); (4) "The Role of Parents in the Development of Child's Peer Acceptance" (Maja Dekovic); and…

Investigated the types of social issues that produce conflicts; the extent to which children respond positively to protests from others; and the ways in which conflicts are resolved. Results indicated that preschoolers' conflicts were not solely negative or aggressive and that their social interaction and social contexts were multidimensional.…

Examined communication strategies that 68 preschoolers used to negotiate themes and roles in social pretend play. A major finding was that children in the disliked group used higher proportions of suggestions and demands than did children in the liked and low-impact groups. Disliked girls used the highest proportion of suggestions. (LB)

This article reviews research on child development relevant to the question of the veracity of mistreatment allegations made by children ages two to five years. The article covers research on thought and language, memory and learning, fears, fantasy, play, and television's effects. It is concluded that preschoolers base their play on the reality…

This article describes an intervention in which three parents were taught to use facilitative strategies when interacting with their children with profound mental retardation. The intervention consisted of reinforcing appropriate parent behavior as it was being observed by them on prerecorded videotapes. Facilitative strategies included the use of…

This study, involving 40 young siblings of either handicapped or nonhandicapped children, found that siblings of handicapped children engaged in more parallel and social play and were more nurturing with their siblings than were control children. Mothers were more likely to deliver commands, directives, and reprimands to siblings of handicapped…

This article reports a study of the communication development (especially concerning effect of context on content and mean length of utterance) within a family consisting of hearing parents, two hearing daughters, and a newly adopted deaf daughter (aged 2:8-3:0). Findings suggested that play contexts were more conducive to language acquisition…