This research set out to enhance instruction for early education and child development majors in a community college setting in a manner that allows them to gain content knowledge while becoming more prepared to practice effective pedagogy in early learning classrooms. This study examined how metacognitive awareness changes throughout a semester…

"Early Childhood Development in Tonga: Baseline Results from the Tongan Early Human Capability Index" offers a comprehensive assessment of early child development across Tonga. This book reports on a census of child development using the Tongan Early Human Capability Index. The data includes information on more than 6,600 children ages 3…

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of televised children programs in the linguistic development of kindergarten children from the viewpoint of teachers. To achieve this, the researchers prepared the study instrument which is represented in a thirty-part questionnaire that was distributed to the study sample. The teachers'…

Four tasks (N = 191, 3- to 6-year-olds) examined the effect of instrumental versus conventional language cues on children's imitative fidelity of a necklace-making activity, their memory and transmission of the activity, and their perceptions of functional fixedness. Children in the conventional condition imitated with higher fidelity, transmitted…

Research suggests that young children transgress conventional rules in every culture and society. In this article, the argument is made that rule teaching and learning provide insight into how children learn to be part of a group. The research question addressed is, "Why do some children transgress the rules if their actions risk jeopardising…

One of the most powerful ways to boost the payoff from school sports lays in helping coaches build developmental relationships with student-athletes. Developmental relationships are close connections through which young people develop character skills to discover who they are, gain the ability to shape their own lives, and learn how to interact…

Reading difficulties are found in children with both high and low IQ and it is now clear that both groups exhibit difficulties in phonological processing. Here, we apply the developmental trajectories approach, a new methodology developed for studying language and cognitive impairments in developmental disorders, to both poor reader groups. The…

This study tested whether maternal responsiveness may buffer the child to the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on DNA methylation of "NR3C1," "11ß-HSD2," and neuroendocrine functioning. DNA was derived from buccal epithelial cells and prestress cortisol was obtained from the saliva of 128 infants. Mothers with depressive…

The construct of social competence encompasses a set of discrete skills considered important for the formation of positive relationships with others (Raver & Zigler, 1997). Despite the importance of social competence, little is known about its developmental course through early childhood. In addition, little is known about the influence of…

School readiness skills in kindergarten have been linked with later academic and social achievement; promoting these skills may be a way to help prevent later concerns. A first step is to define school readiness and identify those skills that are most important for later school success. The current dissertation took a two-study approach to…

The research entitled, "An Exploratory Study of Parental Involvement and Technology: Their place in Early Childhood Education," is an exploratory study of the impact of parental involvement and technology on student readiness for and success in early childhood education. Early home life and parental experiences play a very important role…

How do toddlers learn the names of geometric forms? Previous work suggests that preschoolers have fragmentary knowledge and that defining properties are not understood until well into elementary school. The current study investigated when children first begin to understand shape names and how they apply those labels to unusual instances. We tested…

This abbreviated literature review features studies regarding elementary mathematics instruction and the mathematics teachers that act in ways that lend to and further cultural responsiveness. Teachers presented in the review utilized a pedagogical style referred to as responsive teaching (Empson, 2074) and studies were re-read and analyzed with a…

Preschool teachers' beliefs relating to the importance of social-emotional competence and teacher practices that support children's competence were investigated through surveys and focus groups. Survey results indicated that Head Start and public school pre-K teachers placed higher importance on social-emotional behaviours and skills than on early…

Increasing attention is being given to the role of a positive school interpersonal climate in children's school functioning and social-emotional development. Children's perceptions are commonly used to measure the interpersonal school climate, but the individual and contextual characteristics that contribute to variation in children's perceptions…