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Descriptors:
Instructional Materials; Kindergarten; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; Educational Change; Early Childhood Education; Local Government; Young Children; Qualitative Research; Rural Areas; Educational History; Educational Policy; Mentors; Faculty Development; Social Change; Economic Change; Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes

Abstract:
By far, literature regarding Chinese early childhood education and care (ECEC) has primarily focused on Youeryuan in urban settings. Youeryuan is the everyday Chinese term used for ECEC programs serving children ages three to six, which does include the U.S. version of the kindergarten year. This paper will refer to Youeryuan rather than the Western definitions of preschool or kindergarten so as to maintain authenticity. Furthermore, this paper will focus on the history and development of rural Youeryuan based on a qualitative study of the government-owned, privately operated Youeryuan that represent the current reform initiatives in early childhood in China. Through teacher and administrator interviews, onsite observations using ECERS-R, and school documents, the lead author immersed herself in rural Youeryuan as part of a larger ethnographic study in China in the midst of economic and educational transformations. The findings of this study revealed themes related to increased government investment, improved school policies, the lack of instructional materials, curriculum and instruction issues, local government support for professional development, administrative support for instruction, and the need for mentoring for teachers. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Outcomes of Education; Young Children; Brain; Educational Objectives; Educational Experience; Early Childhood Education; Child Care; Educational Quality; Violence; Child Abuse

Abstract:
The current paper highlights the few studies that examine the role of early care and education on the developmental and early academic outcomes of children who experience maltreatment. First, we argue that children who experience maltreatment are at significant risk for poor developmental outcomes as a result of the chronic exposure to stress that is typical of this population. Recent evidence emphasizing the effects of stress on brain development is discussed. Next, the role of quality early care and education (ECE) experiences for children receiving services from child protective agencies are explored, underscoring three particular studies that examine the early educational experiences of children who receive child protective services as a result of maltreatment or exposure to violence. Finally, we focus on current approaches to improve the outcomes of children who experience maltreatment, within the context of ECE, and the implications for future research. Overall, this review serves as a call for international research efforts to explore the role of ECE on the developmental and early educational outcomes of this vulnerable population of children. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
General Education; Autism; Young Children; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Behavior Problems; Communication Skills; Vignettes; Case Studies; Kindergarten

Abstract:
Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly being included in early childhood classrooms that include typically developing peers and in general education classrooms once they enter school. Many of these learners have the requisite academic skills to be successful, yet their social communication and behavioral challenges often impede their successful inclusion in general education settings. The challenges educators may experience when interpreting and responding to some behaviors exhibited by young students with ASD are explored and analyzed using an illustrative case vignette of a Kindergarten child with ASD. Recommendations for analyzing the communicative function of children's behavior and for embedding social communication opportunities in inclusive classroom settings are described. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Transitional Programs; Elementary Schools; Foreign Countries; Young Children; Elementary Education; Anxiety; Student Empowerment; Parents

Abstract:
The issue about when children should begin primary schooling continues to be an area for discussion amongst educators, parents, and children who indeed have some views about this. The compulsory entry age of children into formal schooling is different in many countries. It is not only the starting age that has invoked discussion, but also the types of practices that occur to facilitate transition and minimise stress in young children. In this regard the "ready school concept" has grown in acceptance and provides for the needs of children of diverse backgrounds, knowledge and experiences. This paper examines what is happening in transition experiences in Singapore and presents the voices of a small sample of children who wanted primary school to be a place for both work and play. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Brain Hemisphere Functions; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Child Behavior; Brain; Neurology; Inhibition; Executive Function; Infants; Check Lists; Short Term Memory; Diagnostic Tests; Correlation; Young Children; Cognitive Processes; Emotional Response; Planning; Age Differences; Predictor Variables; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Background: Neuroimaging findings have provided evidence for a relation between variations in brain structures and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, longitudinal neuroimaging studies are typically confined to children who have already been diagnosed with ADHD. In a population-based study, we aimed to characterize the prospective association between brain structures measured during infancy and executive function and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems assessed at preschool age. Methods: In the Generation R Study, the corpus callosum length, the gangliothalamic ovoid diameter (encompassing the basal ganglia and thalamus), and the ventricular volume were measured in 784 6-week-old children using cranial postnatal ultrasounds. Parents rated executive functioning at 4 years using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version in five dimensions: inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning/organizing. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems were assessed at ages 3 and 5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: A smaller corpus callosum length during infancy was associated with greater deficits in executive functioning at 4 years. This was accounted for by higher problem scores on inhibition and emotional control. The corpus callosum length during infancy did not predict Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem at 3 and 5 years, when controlling for the confounders. We did not find any relation between gangliothalamic ovoid diameter and executive function or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem. Conclusions: Variations in brain structures detectible in infants predicted subtle impairments in inhibition and emotional control. However, in this population-based study, we could not demonstrate that early structural brain variations precede symptoms of ADHD. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Factor Analysis; Cognitive Processes; Foreign Countries; Novelty (Stimulus Dimension); Creativity; Young Children; Preschool Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Problem Solving; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Education Programs; Preschool Education

Abstract:
The study aimed to uncover the conceptions of creativity among early childhood teachers in Hong Kong. The sample comprised 563 early childhood teachers. Factor analysis supported the multidimensional hypothesis of teachers' conceptions of creativity. Five dimensions were found: novelty, product, problem solving, cognitive processes and personal attributes. Early childhood teachers in Hong Kong ascribed high importance to these dimensions as defining characteristics of creativity, with a person's cognitive processes and personal attributes being ascribed relatively more important while product as relatively less importance. In particular, imagination, multiple perspectives and curiosity were perceived as very important concepts of creativity. Teachers with different teaching backgrounds shared very similar conceptions of creativity. Significant results were found with regard to product only. The findings have implications for early childhood teacher education programmes and professional development in Hong Kong. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Discourse; Critical Literacy; Ethnography; Play; Nonfiction; Young Children; History; History Instruction; Reader Text Relationship; Imagination; Creativity; Emergent Literacy; Literacy; Writing Instruction

Abstract:
This article examines the relationship between literacy and play in six- and seven-year-olds' engagement with non-fiction writing. I draw from a year-long ethnographic study (Erickson, 1986) of a US classroom's "writing time", intentionally structured on children's own interests and enquiries. Rather than strict adherence to monolithic models described in the school region's mandated curriculum and assessments, the children treated genres as porous and used writing as a tool for multi-modal play. In authoring and interacting with non-fiction texts, they blended "real" and "imaginary" worlds as they communed with historical figures on their own terms. Children used play to enquire into and manipulate the parameters of non-fiction, authoring their relationships with knowledge in the process. Through their exchanges with one another, children became familiar with non-fiction topics. At the same time, their play positioned conventional academic discourses as being open to transformation. This article makes an argument for a more synergistic conception of "serious" and "playful" authoring practices, and for the role of play as a component of critical literacy. (Contains 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Adolescents; Young Adults; Video Games; Schemata (Cognition); Cognitive Ability; Correlation; Young Children; Transfer of Training; Academic Achievement; Skill Development

Abstract:
Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognitive skills, primarily among young adults. However, consideration of this linkage among children and adolescents is sparse. Thus, discussions about facilitating transfer of cognitive skills from video game play to academic tasks among children and adolescents remains largely uninformed by research. To inform this discussion, we review available research concerning the cognitive benefits of video game play among children and adolescents and their impressions of video games as learning tools as these impressions may impact their application of cognitive skills used during game play to academic tasks. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Literacy; Foreign Countries; Control Groups; Phonemes; Rhyme; Reading Instruction; Computer Assisted Instruction; Reading; Intervention; Comparative Analysis; Reading Difficulties; Young Children; Literacy Education; Spelling; Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence; Phonics; Phonemic Awareness; Phonological Awareness; Effect Size; Pretests Posttests; Grade 2; Elementary School Students

Abstract:
We report an empirical comparison of the effectiveness of two theoretically motivated computer-assisted reading interventions (CARI) based on the Finnish GraphoGame CARI: English GraphoGame Rime (GG Rime) and English GraphoGame Phoneme (GG Phoneme). Participants were 6-7-year-old students who had been identified by their teachers as being relatively poor at reading. The students were divided into three groups. Two of the groups played one of the games as a supplement to normal classroom literacy instruction for five sessions per week for a period of 12 weeks. The third group formed an untreated control. Both games led to gains in reading, spelling, and phonological skills in comparison with the untreated control group. The two interventions also had some differential effects. The intervention gains were maintained at a four-month follow-up. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Stakeholders; Elementary Education; Foreign Countries; Principals; Case Studies; Early Childhood Education; Young Children; Economically Disadvantaged; Grade 1; Educational Policy; Interviews; Teacher Attitudes; Administrator Attitudes; Parent Attitudes; School Readiness; Educational Quality; Access to Education; Equal Education; Family Environment

Abstract:
In South Africa, the development of the 2001 White Paper No. 5 on Early Childhood Development (ECD) has been an instrumental policy in the development of changes to assist in preparing children for formal schooling, along with a strong focus on early childhood education. However the extent to which these are being enacted is relatively unknown. This study investigated understandings and practices of stakeholders involved in the transition of children moving from preschool or home into primary school in South Africa. A case study approach was adopted focusing on two schools situated in economically disadvantaged provinces of South Africa. School principals and teachers were interviewed to determine their knowledge of, and relationships with preschools, and practices around school transition. Grade 1 teachers were also asked about the factors influencing children's transition to school. Parents were asked about their views of transition and how their children were supported as they started school. Taking note of the children's own voices was imperative in determining how they experienced transition to school. While case study findings cannot be generalised, the results suggest that much needs to be done to increase awareness of early childhood education and for the government to move beyond universal accessibility to ensuring the quality of provision at the local level. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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