Previous research in laboratory settings has found that preschool girls show more interest in babies than do preschool boys. To validate these findings in natural settings, 71 children at 3 and 5 years of age were observed by their parents as the children interacted with babies in their daily lives. Each child was observed with three different…

The statistical analysis of data from a single-subject design is somewhat controversial. The procedure most often chosen to examine data from a single-subject design involves the visual inspection of the graphed outcome variable over time. Problems associated with this procedure are discussed, and questions about the use of traditional statistical…

The study examined the 2-year stability and validity of playroom observations of behaviors associated with hyperactivity in 48 boys who were evaluated originally as outpatients in a child psychiatry clinic, and seen again approximately 2 years later at follow-up. At both evaluations, the boys participated in two 15-minute playroom procedures: a…

Research approaches to studying classroom behavior management are reviewed. Examples of four types of research approaches (interaction analysis, ecological research, applied behavior analysis, and process-product correlational research are cited. Findings regarding immediate variables (positive attention for appropriate behavior, back-up…

There are 11 behavioral dimensions which parents and preschool teachers can use in assessing the development of preschool children. These dimensions are: (1) sleeping; (2) eating; (3) toilet habits; (4) range of affect or emotion; (5) variations in play; (6) curiosity; (7) acceptance of authority; (8) initiative; (9) interest; (10) spontaneous…

This article presents an innovative system for the evaluation of teaching performance. Assessment forms, developed in a research project, give a 3-dimensional view of a teacher's performance as seen by: (1) the supervisor, (2) the teacher him/herself, and (3) the students of the teacher. A review of the literature which served as background to…

Describes the fourth revision of the Observation Rating form used to systematically analyze what goes on in a classroom while a teacher works with children in the area of science, as well as directions for using the form. The instrument is used in teacher education programs as well. (EB)

Provides tentative support for Carter's postulates that a person stops all other activities to engage in the cognitive behaviors generally labeled as "thinking," that is, those behaviors requiring interpersonal or intrapersonal communication. (RB)

The Positive Reinforcement Observation Schedule was used to obtain data concerning expressed preference for and observed use of positive reinforcement in integrated classrooms taught by 30 black and 30 white female elementary school teachers. The results are related to previous research and implications are drawn. (Author/SE)

This paper illuminates how concepts of rationality developed by Diesing in l962 are reflected in parents' childrearing decisions. After examining technical (TR), economic (ER), social (SR), legal (LR), and political (PR) rationalities or decision-making styles, consideration is given to integrative effects and the influence of parents' friends and…

This essay is a history of the process of completing an ethnographic study in a child care setting. It presents reflections on entering the field site, keeping field notes, and analyzing data. An exploratory study of a group of preschool children led to the selection of qualitative methods and clarified the theoretical basis for research. In…

In research on equity and justice some investigators have reported that men and women use different allocation norms in distributing rewards; men using an equity rule and women an equality rule, while others conclude that such sex differences in reward allocation appear primarily when the allocator is also a co-recipient of the reward. The present…

Two studies investigated the effect of microcomputers on children's social behavior in preschool classrooms. The first study was conducted at a university nursery school; the second took place at a university day care center. Guided by a list of behaviors selected from the Friedrich and Stein Observation Scale, observations were made at both…

Basic qualitative research was conducted in classrooms of two teachers in order to examine the nature of their enacted curriculum. Hidden curriculum was investigated as one component of the enacted curriculum in the two classrooms. One teacher taught a regular first grade class, and the other taught a class of developmentally handicapped children…