Pretend play is often hypothesized in a global sense to be an effective context for young children's learning, but there is much still to learn about whether all types of information can be learned equally and whether all types of pretend play are equally beneficial. The present study tests whether preschoolers can learn a simple, novel causal…

Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, was launched in Ireland in 2009. The framework is applicable in all settings where children in the 0-6-year range are present; this includes all early years settings and the first two years of primary schools, referred to as "infant classes" in the Irish context. This article shares the…

The study aimed at assessing Problems of Curriculum Relevance in Enhancing Children's Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Ethiopia. An explanatory sequential research design was employed through a multistage random sampling technique to collect primary data from the participants (N[subscript i]=260) through questionnaires…

Federal attention is focused currently on investing and improving the quality of early childhood education, so that children's potential and talent development can be used as a natural resource for the future of our country. This article engages readers in transitioning their thinking about early childhood gifted education from a traditional…

Reported is an evaluation of the Child-Structured Learning in Science (CSLS) Curriculum using the intellectual models of Piaget and Guilford. A cognitive test instrument was designed to measure cognition of figural classes (CFC), convergent production of figural classes (NFC), evaluation of figural classes (EFC), cognition of figural relations…

Responding to a Congressional request, the General Accounting Office examined Head Start programs' progress since January 1998 in meeting performance standards for cognitive and language development, their use of curricula since the performance standards for children's cognitive and language development were issued, and the use of teacher…

Piaget's concepts of knowledge seen as a result of active interaction between the child and his environment, and motivation, seen as intrinsic to intellectual functioning, have implications for the development of preschool programs. A preschool program must be action-oriented if the child is to learn to "know" and must offer an…

The educational objective of the Russian "Development" curriculum for children ages 3-7 is the development of creative and intellectual abilities. Theoretical foundations for the curriculum include the works of Vygotsky, Venger, Leontev, and Zaporozhets, which offer ideas such as: (1) child development is the unity of affective and…

Discusses the role of language development in educational achievement and the implications of this role for curriculum development. Children's preschool knowledge of language and its development in early school years is discussed. How their language experiences in school might enhance their language development also is outlined. Highlighted are…

Investigated whether 3- to 6-year-olds in a Montessori school created more symmetrical than asymmetrical designs when working with building materials. Found that symmetry occurred in designs of children as young as age 3, with the tendency increasing with age. Examined the need for increased use of building materials for teaching symmetry in the…

A Piagetian preschool emphasizes the child's active construction of mental images rather than passive association of words and pictures with real objects. The role of the teacher is neither to dictate good behavior nor to transmit ready-made predigested knowledge. Her role is to help the child to control his own behavior and to find things out as…

This report presents a description of the Structure-Process approach to cognition and literacy, suggests techniques for implementation of the model, and assesses the effects of the model on a specific population. The Structure-Process approach assumes that intelligence develops cumulatively. The model was used for curriculum development in four…

This study examined home and classroom support for early mathematical development. Teachers and parents of preschool children completed questionnaires evaluating young children's readiness for school mathematics. Teachers were selected from licensed preschool programs and Head Start programs. Findings indicated that a minority of teachers and…

The Durham Education Improvement Program (EIP) seeks to develop new organizational patterns and instructional systems in ongoing classrooms which would foster the educational and social development of disadvantaged North Carolina children. A small-scale model school system (consisting of three schools in target areas and a laboratory school) was…

National evaluation of Head Start bilingual curriculum development project indicated bilingual children receiving bilingual preschool services made greater preschool gains than comparison group children receiving regular English-language preschool services; English-preferring children placed in bilingual classrooms achieved similar preschool…