Maintains that the Italian concept of "l'inserimento" suggests a different way of thinking about children's entry to out-of-home care and challenges American practitioners to rethink current interpretations of quality care, teachers' professional responsibilities, and the role of child-development theory. Concludes that cultural…

Describes research on the development of chronic conduct problems in childhood and adolescence, examining a multiple risk-factor model that includes biological predispositions, ecological context, family processes, peer influences, academic performance, and social information processing as factors leading to conduct problems. The paper describes a…

Presents a broad discussion on developing concepts of peace education, noting the importance of including peace education in children's education. Examines peace education and assumptions about child development, the child as creator of a better world, the child and the group (in the classroom and in society), peace education for life, and the…

Compared children in a home-based Head Start Family Child Care Program with those in regular Head Start classrooms over a three-year period. The home-based group received the same comprehensive Head Start services as the classroom group, with a curriculum built around the children, family life, and the culture and geography of Minnesota. Found no…

Compared Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles of 1- to 6-month olds during weekly videotapes of mother/infant interaction for clues regarding emotional significance. Correlated levels of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiling within sessions; found that they had similar developmental trajectories. Duchenne smiles were typically preceded by non-Duchenne…

Studies the employment of collage by young children as a symbolic activity in organized educational settings. Establishes a taxonomy of collage types and observes their development in two kindergarten classes. Concludes that collage promotes the acquisition of a flexible sequence of skills and reflects a range of abilities and approaches. (DSK)

Notes that as more young children with disabilities are included in classrooms for children who are developing typically, practitioners must continue to identify and refine strategies for making inclusion successful. Discusses a successful inclusion program that is observation based and child initiated. Discusses a procedure that facilitates the…

Examines the change in family structure together with the various pressures that now inhibit, inform, or constrain modern child rearing. Argues for educators of vision and compassion, who are articulate and well read. Concludes that without effective, knowledgeable early years professionals and appropriate institutions for the very young,…

Reviews various studies on childs play and its relation to young childrens development in music learning processes and explores the role that cognitive and social play categories have in studying childrens play with music. Provides strategies for initiating music-play opportunities in a preschool classroom. (CMK)

Describes how the author uses numerous books of biography and autobiography in her primary classroom. Demonstrates how these genres engage students in critical discussions focusing on issues of human experience, historical significance, and social concern. Offers a list of 47 recommended children's biographies and autobiographies. (SR)

Describes the history, curriculum, and methodology of elementary school foreign-language (FL) learning within Waldorf schools, using information from Waldorf FL teachers, class observations, and research readings. Waldorf students study two FLs. An oral/choral method is used in the early years. Reading, writing, and formal grammar are introduced…

Examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and later conflict management with close friends. Found that argument used by mothers and siblings that considered children's needs was positively associated with children's later constructive argument and resolution techniques. Mothers' use of argument predicted…

Explored different kinds of participation in play and development of joint role play. Observed games and play sessions of a 2-year-old girl in a day care group. Found that the girl proceeded from a feeling of togetherness in a shared space through parallel and successive play actions to reciprocity and equal exchange of play actions. (JPB)

Investigated the influence of child intellectual/adaptive functioning and maternal sensitivity on attachment security, using a sample of children with Down syndrome. Found a relationship between attachment security in DS related to the interaction of maternal sensitivity and cognitive competence. (JPB)

A study tested the relationship between prelinguistic pragmatic functions and later expressive vocabulary of 58 toddlers with mild to moderate developmental delays. Results indicate that rate of joint attention and rate of communication were statistically significant predictors of later expressive vocabulary. Rate of behavior regulation was not a…