Explores the notion that some social interactions are more conducive to the construction of knowledge than others. Describes the use of argumentation as a learning tool during play by analyzing transcripts of the interactions of four-and-a-half year olds. Derives implications for early childhood education from these examples and from a theoretical…

Notes that developmental theories are a resource for developing early-childhood curricula; reviews a variety of current theories and research, including maturationist, behaviorist and psychoanalytic theories, and constructivist theories of cognitive development. Presents suggestions for translating theory into curriculum, as well as conceptions of…

Explores young children's mark-making in a domestic play setting. Suggests mark-making indicates aspects of the relationship between semiotic and conceptual development. Focuses on contexts in which mark-making occurs and on the authenticity of the learning events in which children participate. (DLH)