This study describes the results of an evaluation of the Individualized Learning Intervention, a mentoring program for early childhood educators. This mentoring program includes 3 components: Mentor Teacher Seminar, Mentor teachers supporting professional development of Protege teachers throughout the school year, and Mentor coordinator meetings…

The process of early intervention is a critical component of Early Childhood Special Music Education. Early intervention is the process of providing services, education, and support to young children who have disabilities or to children who are at-risk of developing needs that may affect their physical, cognitive, or emotional development. The…

We aimed to identify positive parenting practices that set children on differential weight-trajectories. Parenting practices studied were cognitively stimulating activities, limit-setting, disciplinary practices, and parent warmth. Data from two U.S. national longitudinal data sets and linear and logistic regression were used to examine…

Emotional and cognitive factors were examined in 18 children with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD), compared with 18 normally achieving children, matched for chronological age, school level, gender and verbal IQ. Working memory, short-term memory, inhibitory processes, speed of processing and level of anxiety in mathematics were assessed…

This dissertation examines the relationship between teacher educational background, teacher experience, and student achievement in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The first essay of this dissertation, "Effects of Teacher Degree Level, Coursework, and Certification on Student Achievement in Math and Reading in Kindergarten,"…

The study developed multiple independent scales of early childhood teacher experiences (ECTES). ECTES was co-constructed with preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers in a large urban school district. Demographic, ECTES, and teaching practices data were collected from 584 teachers. Factor analyses documented three teacher experience…

Children's participation in cultural activities within the community, and the particular cognitive and socioemotional skills that they gain as a result of their participation, have been thoroughly studied (Cole, 1990; Gallimore & Tharp, 1990; Moll et al., 2005; Scribner & Cole, 1981). However, the connection of these skills to school learning or…

Movement-based gaming technologies, such as the Nintendo Wii, are becoming more visible within the physical education. As research on movement-based technologies develops, an aspect that has gained interest is the potential educational value for the physical education student. The purpose of this study was to examine movement-based sport games and…

This study investigated the geometric cognitive growth of pre-service mathematics teachers in terms of the Van Hiele levels in a technology-enriched environment, as opposed to that of students in a learning environment without any technological enhancements. In order to investigate this, a quasi-experimental non-equivalent comparison group design…

In this working paper, Wendy Russell and Stuart Lester of the UK's University of Gloucestershire discuss why play is fundamental to the health and well-being of children. They argue that both state signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31 of which enshrines the right to play) and adults generally should…

Research on physical activity and cognition is based on the existing theoretical and empirical evidence which indicates that engaging in cardiovascular exercise improves cognitive capabilities, by increasing neural functioning which improves learning (cognitive development). The question this research sought to answer was to determine whether or…

Objective: Deficits in cognitive flexibility and response inhibition have been linked to perturbations in cortico-striatal-thalamic circuitry in adult obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although similar cognitive deficits have been identified in pediatric OCD, few neuroimaging studies have been conducted to examine its neural correlates in the…

Introduction: Relation between constructing complex mental structures and language skills cause delays in development of executive functions of deaf children. When the importance of language skills in development of executive functions and frequency of aggressive behaviours of deaf children are considered, investigation of executive functions of…

This study assessed children's graphic flexibility and their ability to report on their use of drawing strategies when drawing characterized figures. 253 children (129 boys, 124 girls) aged between 4 years 3 months and 11 year 10 months formed three groups, either drawing a man, a dog or a tree. Each group was asked to draw three emotionally…

Although the transparency of a writing system is hypothesized to systematically influence the cognitive skills associated with reading development, results of cross-language investigations are inconsistent and usually do not address this issue in a developmental context. We therefore investigated the cognitive dynamics of reading fluency of…