The classification of preschool children's sociometric status

Six sociometric measures were evaluated on a sample of 85 four-year-olds from three preschool and day care centers. Stability, intercorrelations, and accuracy of classifying rejected children were compared for measures of social preference, social impact, peer ratings, alternative status, and positive and negative nominations. Test-retest correlations were moderately high and quite similar for all measures except social impact. Children were classified as rejected or not rejected based on Z scores of −.50 on all measures except for negative nominations, which employed a Z of +.50. In comparison with the commonly used social preference measure, accurate classifications were obtained using negative nominations, peer ratings, and alternative status. Positive nominations were somewhat less accurate in identifying rejected children, and social impact was a poor index of social status. Results suggest that both nominations and peer ratings can be assessed reliably with preschool children and that the two sociometric techniques measure similar aspects of social status. The alternative status measure was demonstrated to be a reliable and accurate technique for identifying rejected children in the preschool years. Implications for social skills intervention are discussed.     

学龄前儿童的学习方式准备状况

对学龄前儿童进行了学习方式测验。结果发现:(1)学龄前儿童在问题解决灵活性任务中掌握最好的是上位范畴,最不理想的是联合;在规则学习任务上的表现较好。(2)公立幼儿园学龄前儿童在学习方式以及基本范畴和上位范畴上好于私立幼儿园的学龄前儿童。(3)朝鲜族和汉族学龄前儿童在学习方式的准备上不存在显著差异。(4)留守学龄前儿童学习方式和规则学习上显著低于非留守学龄前儿童。     

培养学前儿童学习儿歌兴趣的策略探究

儿歌对学前儿童的影响是长远和深刻的,但是,要想提高它的有效性,前提是要培养和激发学前儿童学习儿歌的兴趣,兴趣能使学前儿童对感兴趣的事物予以优先的注意和愉悦的情绪。因此,本文通过探究儿歌的特点,提出一些培养儿童学习儿歌兴趣的策略。     

The effect of a computer on preschool children's activities

Activity preferences of 29 preschool children were recorded over a 2-week period while children were engaged in self-selected activities. Subsequently a microcomputer was introduced into the classroom, and the children were given 3 weeks to accustom themselves to this new activity area. Another 2-week observation period followed, during which activity preferences were again recorded, this time including the computer as an activity choice. Analyses indicate that involvement in art activity decreased during the second observation, and that the same children who decreased this activity also switched to involvement with the computer. No sex or age difference in computer use was found, and the computer did not appear to affect socialization. The need for further study of the impact of the computer in preschool settings is discussed.     

Supporting young children's explanations through inquiry science in preschool

This study examines the ways in which preschool teachers support the development of children's explanatory language through science inquiry. Two classrooms in a preschool center using a science inquiry curriculum were videotaped during a 5-week unit on color mixing. Videotapes were analyzed for how teachers facilitated children's explanatory language. An assessment of explanatory language was administered to 47 children in the center before and after the color mixing unit. Analysis of discourse revealed that teachers engaged children as conversational partners and as scientific investigators responsible for their own learning. Explanations were dynamically co-constructed by adults and children within the context of participation in scientific inquiry. By the end of the unit, children produced more on-topic responses, more standard color-mixing terms, and more causal connectives in their responses to the assessment of explanatory language.     

学前音乐教育对学前期儿童能力发展价值初探

从上世纪80年代以来,众多的学前教育和音乐教育的学者、专家都大力开展关于学前音乐教育对儿童发展价值的研究。音乐教育的特殊育人功能是其他教育无可比拟的,特别是学前音乐教育对于儿童的身心健康发展具有积极意义,甚至会影响其一生的发展。本文从学前教育价值出发,详细阐述了学前教育对儿童发展方面的价值。     

Migrant preschool children's school readiness and early elementary school performance

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school records were used for longitudinal follow-up. Children improved on age-4 school readiness domains, and although some struggled with emergent English literacy, many performed well on school readiness measures and later coursework. Children quickly became proficient in oral English, and had above-average school attendance. Many scored low on high-stakes tests; however, typically well enough for grade promotion. Students in the sample were comparable to similar students in poverty. School teachers and administrators should have high expectations for students from migrant families because many of them do stay in the public school system, and appear to be quite resilient despite many challenges they face.     

The effect of parents' presence on children's social interactions in preschool

Preschool children's social behavior was observed in the presence and absence of their parents in parent-cooperative preschools. When their parents were working in the preschool, children engaged in less high-level peer play and more low-level peer play than in their parent's absence. They also initiated play with peers less often in their parent's presence than in their parent's absence. In addition, children expressed more negative emotion and spent much less time in proximity to adults when their parents were at school than when they were not. These findings are discussed in relation to attachment theory and their implications for practitioners.     

Modeling the impacts of child care quality on children's preschool cognitive development

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care compared 3 statistical methods that adjust for family selection bias to test whether child care type and quality relate to cognitive and academic skills. The methods included: multiple regression models of 54-month outcomes, change models of differences in 24- and 54-month outcomes, and residualized change models of 54-month outcomes adjusting for the 24-month outcome. The study was unable to establish empirically which model best adjusted for selection and omitted-variable bias. Nevertheless, results suggested that child care quality predicted cognitive outcomes at 54 months, with effect sizes of .04 to .08 for both infant and preschool ages. Center care during preschool years also predicted outcomes across all models.     

Young children's understanding of perception, desire, and emotion

Very young children seem to know that people experience several mental states: desires, perceptions, emotions. In three studies, we investigated 2- and young 3-year-olds' judgments and communications about how these states connect together in people's lives and minds. Two experimental studies with 56 participants demonstrated young children's understanding of at least one set of connections: In appropriate circumstances, a person's perception of desirable or undesirable objects leads to related emotional experiences. A complementary investigation of four young children's everyday conversations demonstrated their awareness of and expression of several additional connections between people's desires, perceptions, and emotions.     

An eco-behavioral analysis of children's engagement in urban public school preschool classrooms

The primary aim of this study was to identify particular group configurations and teacher behaviors that co-occurred with children's active engagement in public school early childhood classrooms for 4-year-olds. Children (N = 138, 52% boys) were observed using a time sampling method in 12 classrooms in 12 urban schools serving students from predominantly lower-income, minority families. Children were involved in whole group settings for 52% of observations. The most common teacher behavior in any setting was providing direction/instruction. Logistic regression analyses indicated that, during academic activities, children were more likely to be actively engaged when involved in a peer group and when teachers were providing affirmations or were monitoring, and least likely to be actively engaged in a whole group and when teachers were providing directions. During play activities, children were more likely to be actively engaged when they were alone and least likely to be engaged in a whole group and in a child–teacher setting.     

国学教育与幼儿社会性发展的研究

当今的国学教育从幸福生活与全面发展出发,着眼于中华民族文化传承和普及教育。幼儿阶段的成长为人一生的发展奠定基础,而国学教育和幼儿社会性发展之间有必然的联系。从幼儿的人际关系和道德品质两个方面来看,国学教育促进亲子关系、同伴关系和师幼关系的发展,有利于幼儿建立养成良好的行为规范、培养积极的道德情感。在实践过程中应树立正确的教育理念、选择合适的教育内容、采用灵活的教育方式,让国学教育在幼儿阶段发挥其应有的价值。     

Classroom Emotional Support predicts differences in preschool children's cortisol and alpha-amylase levels

Accumulating evidence suggests children enrolled in full-time child care often display afternoon elevations of the hormone cortisol, which is an indicator of stress. Recent advances in immunoassays allow for measurement of activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the autonomic sympathetic nervous system from saliva, and measurement of both systems provides a more complete understanding of activity in the stress response system. This study is the first to examine both cortisol and alpha-amylase in children attending child care and focuses on the influences of specific indicators of classroom process quality. A diverse sample of 63 preschool children nested in 14 classrooms of varying quality participated in this study; child salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected at six times over 2 days. Results indicate that children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support displayed a greater decline in cortisol from morning to afternoon. Further, children in classrooms with higher Emotional Support exhibited lower total alpha-amylase output while attending child care. Implications for professional development for early childhood teachers and measurement of classroom quality are discussed.