Oversimplification or inappropriate interpretation of complex neuroscience research is widespread among curricula claiming that brain-based approaches are effective for improved learning and retention. We examine recent curricula claiming to be based on neuroscience research, discuss the implications of such misinterpretation for special…

This study provided preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of "Teaching Strategies GOLD", a recently developed observational system for assessing young children's development and learning. The measurement properties of "Teaching Strategies GOLD" were compared with those of an older instrument, "The Creative…

If we want the best academic outcomes, the most efficient and cost-effective route to achieve that is, counterintuitively, "not" to narrowly focus on academics, but to also address children's social, emotional, and physical development. Similarly, the best and most efficient route to physical health is through also addressing emotional, social,…

In this article, the authors focus on issues of instruction in classrooms. Initially, a brief definitional and historic section is presented. This is followed by a discussion of four assumptions about the current state of affairs: (a) evidence-based practices should be identified and used, (b) children's phase of performance should dictate…

Case analysis is often used in early childhood teacher education as a constructivist method for developing students' professional skills and knowledge. Although case-based instruction is popular, the professional literature contains little empirical evidence that it effectively helps students develop professional knowledge. Indeed, some empirical…

The present project studied the relationship between the use of developmentally appropriate practices and children's perception of self-competence in Head Start classrooms. Self-competence is defined as children's confidence in succeeding in certain tasks. Developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as proposed by the National Association for the…

Action research can be understood as a complex interplay between local circumstances and local research traditions, embedded in their turn in local intellectual-philosophical traditions, national as well as international. Because of this interplay it is questionable whether it would be particularly fruitful to look for 'typical local forms of…

This article reviews studies evaluating the effectiveness of two types of early intervention programmes for babies with Down's syndrome (DS). Evaluation of self-help early intervention programmes was done with two types of training with the parents: in the first the parents learned the training programme from observing the clinician, and in the…

This study aimed to identify the age of emergence and subsequent order of preverbal social behaviors, which have not yet been fully clarified. This was accomplished using 16 items of social behaviors extracted from the Modified Checklist for Toddlers with Autism (M-CHAT). The Japanese version of the M-CHAT was completed voluntarily by the parents…

The Cambridge Primary Review is a monumental achievement, a comprehensive and far-sighted review of the primary school system in England. What possible relevance could a major report on primary education hold for the post-compulsory sector? In this article, the author shares his four answers to this question. Furthermore, he describes briefly the…

Every person in his lifetime has many times experienced the miraculous impact of the fairy-tale on his imagination, mind and feelings. But we seldom reflect upon the content not only in the ethical aspect of fairy-tales but also as a source of different kinds of knowledge, among them the knowledge of mathematics. The use of fairy-tales in lessons…

In the first decades of the twentieth century, it was the turn of the reformist movements themselves to become institutionalised to make their voices better heard, to test their theories, to promote their pedagogic doctrines: through editorial vehicles, social and scientific events, associative networks and movements. Beyond this diversity there…

Despite the vast literature on Dewey and his laboratory school, most scholars have failed to contextualize Dewey's pedagogical ideas in the intellectual currents of the period, particularly the historicist concept of social development known as recapitulation and/or correspondence theory. In this article, the author explores how and why history…

Many students encounter difficulty in their transition to advanced mathematical thinking. Such difficulty may be explained by a lack of understanding of many concepts taught in early school years, especially multiplicative reasoning. Advanced mathematical thinking depends on the development of multiplicative reasoning. The purpose of this study…

This article gives an account of the results from an assessment of an early childhood education programme, conducted over the course of two academic years (1999-2000 and 2000-2001), in a centre in northeastern Spain. The purpose of the assessment was to discover how a particular educational programme contributed to the short-term competency levels…