The Parent as a Teacher Inventory can provide data for designing a parenting curriculum geared to a specific target group. Used to examine childrearing expectations held by Navajo and Hopi Indians, the Inventory reveals pervasive differences based on tribal affiliation, parent's sex, child's sex, and parent's educational experience. (SB)

Discusses the creative use of television broadcasts, computers for interactive play, electronic instruments for musical expression, and interactive books in Japanese early childhood education. Considers how television can be used more effectively and how computers enhance interaction between children, describes how electronic instruments during…

Presents suggestions for getting infants and toddlers dressed for outdoor winter activities, an opportunity to build self-help, social, and vocabulary skills. Suggested outdoor activities include using sand toys, riding in buggies or on sleds, and building paths, caves, and benches. Also provides suggestions for making homemade toys and for…

Profiles Sherry Stidolph and her ongoing efforts to bring Shakespeare to children. Stidolph uses her knowledge of child development to decide which plays to choose and which elements to emphasize. Includes drawings by the children illustrating scenes from the plays. (MJP)

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…

Used a case study of boys' and girls' block play in Australian early childhood centers to critically appraise current approaches to gender equity in the early childhood curriculum. Investigated how patriarchal gender relations were created and maintained, how teachers responded to these relationships (feminisation, separatism, fusion, or…

Highlights the importance of outdoor play as a space for active learning, discovery, and development of motor skills. Provides suggestions for creating an outdoor curriculum, including how to get started, important materials, and activity ideas. Encourages teachers and caregivers to devote plenty of time and energy to outdoor learning. (SD)

Examines the role of play as a composing strategy for the development of children's writing abilities. Finds that boys use play more extensively than girls, and that boys balance their use of play and marked control (gisting and evaluating) while girls rely on a marked control strategy more than on play. (KEH)

Discussed are reasons why games should be included in the mathematics curriculum at all levels. Presented are arguments for this position and ways of enhancing the use of games in the learning of mathematics. Included are a definition of a mathematical game and types of mathematical games. (KR)

Discusses ways in which a teacher's sensitivity to and understanding of separation anxiety can help young children deal successfully with their feelings. (BB)

This paper describes the ongoing action research program at a residential school for students with emotional and behavior disorders in England. Structured "cooperative play" is used to improve language and behavior skills of students, train adults, and provide a research setting in which changes can be observed, recorded, and…

The University of California at Santa Barbara Reader's Theater program educates students about the prevention of alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and HIV through a live, dramatic script reading. Peer educators serve as both actors and follow-up workshop discussion facilitators. (SM)

Comments on the articles presented in this issue with respect to their implications for classroom practices. Stresses that in this issue, the researchers describe how social context factors (such as adult viewpoints and adult-child interaction patterns) and physical context factors (such as variations in classroom space-time organization and…

A questionnaire on attitudes toward war play was given to 316 Italian and 84 English parents of children aged 2 to 6 years. In both cultures, boys were significantly more likely than girls to engage in solitary and social war play. Parental attitudes, television, and peers were the major sources of influence on war play. (Author/LB)