Used home observations and laboratory procedures with 85 Chilean mothers and infants to examine the association between infants' chronic undernutrition and maternal sensitivity, sociodemographic variables, and infants' play and problem solving. Found that maternal sensitivity was correlated with maternal education, maternal weight, marital…

Recommends identifying elements in the physical classroom and the daily schedule that may contribute to children's aggressive behaviors. Suggests observing the child and looking at the daily routine as the basis for creating a suitable environment. Lists ways to reduce stimulation and stress, and identifies benefits of extended play time. (DLH)

Asserts that reading a book to children lays a foundation for new adventures including retelling the story, interacting in dramatic play, writing, doing art projects, and having fun with music. Finds that by extending stories with activities, children refine their language skills, enhance their imagination, and foster self-esteem. (SD)

Graduates of Sudbury Valley School (Framingham, Massachusetts) relate their learning experiences, including the positive relationships they developed with adults, their active role in school administration, the importance of play to their learning, the values they acquired as a result of their schooling, and how their experiences prepared them for…

Evaluated the construct validity of the parent version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS) and compared this version with the teacher version. Findings support the use of the PIPPS parent version. Parent version replicated the three-factor solution found with the teacher version, supporting the following constructs of peer play: Play…

A study compared Euro-American and Taiwanese mothers' descriptions of the social competence benefits of early parent-child interaction and what they do during interactions to achieve these benefits. Visual analysis of probability patterns indicated that mothers in each group thought somewhat differently about their roles in developing different…

The co-founders of the Sudbury Valley School (Massachusetts) discuss how the school's philosophy is based on giving children respect, freedom, and support to find their own self-motivation; how play is one of the best learning tools; and the sustained public relations effort that has been required to establish and maintain the school's…

In developmental research, the family has mainly been studied through dyadic interaction. Three-way interactions have received less attention, partly because of their complexity. This difficulty may be overcome by distinguishing between four hierarchically embedded functions in three-way interactions: (1) participation (inclusion of all…

It has been well established that young children with communication disorders (CD) have considerable difficulties interacting socially with peers in free-play settings. The central purpose of this study was to determine whether behavioral adaptations of children with CD could contribute to their peer interaction problems. To accomplish this, the…

Research findings: Language development subcontexts within 20 Head Start classrooms were studied by observing teachers' child-directed talk during free play, mealtime, and book reading. In each context, observers coded all child-directed statements, directives, and questions, noted instances of pretend talk and decontextualized talk, and rated the…

This study describes the lived experience of Kevin, a young child with physical disabilities who is placed in an inclusive classroom, a classroom where children with and without disabilities are educated together, with extra support provided for the child with disabilities. Children with disabilities who are placed in inclusive early childhood…

Early childhood teachers' understandings of play were examined in a qualitative comparative study of 41 Japanese and 41 American participants. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five themes: the power of living, the opportunity to learn and to develop, fun activities, child's work, and the opportunity to explore nature. Two themes emerged in…

Storysack projects (in which sacks including books and artefacts to help children learn through play are made and distributed), are proliferating in the UK and beyond, often involving work with parents. However, little of this work has been reported. One way to find out about new storysack project ideas is to talk with those directly involved.…

Children and young people regard the external physical environment as important for their needs. Their use of space varies according to age and circumstance and includes designated play and leisure facilities as well as other informal areas within their neighbourhoods. However, children have little influence over the development of public space as…

This paper provides further evidence to challenge the scepticism of successful interprofessional working. It is a story of a project to support families and children, more specifically, isolated mothers, and the use of continuous quality improvement and action research methodologies to engage a community and change service provision. Based on…