Preschool Science Environment: What Is Available in a Preschool Classroom?

This study investigated preschool science environments in 20 preschool classrooms (N=20) in 13 midwestern child care centers. By operationalizing Neuman’s concept of “sciencing,” this study used The Preschool Classroom Science Materials/Equipment Checklist, the Preschool Classroom Science Activities Checklist, and the Preschool Teacher Classroom/Sciencing Form to analyze the availability of science materials, equipment, and activities for preschoolers in the classroom. Each teacher was videotaped for two consecutive days during free play time. The study showed that half of the preschool classrooms had a science area. The activities that the preschool teachers engaged were mostly unrelated to science activities (86.8%), 4.5% of the activities were related to formal sciencing, and 8.8% of the activities were related to informal sciencing.     

Preschool behavior problems in classroom learning situations and literacy outcomes in kindergarten and first grade

Relations between classroom behavior problems early in the preschool year and elementary school literacy and language outcomes were examined for an entire cohort of four-year-old Head Start children (N = 2682). A cross-classified random effects model was used that controlled for the variance in literacy outcomes attributed to: (a) child-level demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), and end of the preschool year cognitive skills; (b) Head Start, kindergarten and first grade classrooms; and (c) kindergarten and first grade schools. Preschool behavior problems were assessed across structured learning situations, and during peer and teacher interactions at the beginning of Head Start. Preschool behavior problems in structured learning situations differentially predicted lower literacy outcomes across all time points. Findings extend previous research and underscore the importance of early identification of problem behavior using developmentally and ecologically valid tools within early childhood classrooms intentionally designed to foster literacy skills.     

学前教育专业“三学”受到的挑战与未来改革路径

三学是学前教育学、学前儿童心理学、学前儿童卫生学的简称,一直是学前教育专业课程体系的核心。然而,随着幼儿园教师教育的快速转型,学前教育专业培养幼儿园一线教师的目标更加明确,三学的传统核心地位受到挑战,急需变革。有必要将学前儿童心理学改为早期儿童发展科学,将学前教育学改为幼儿园教师的学前教育学,将学前儿童卫生学改为学前儿童保育学。改革的关键是思维方式的转换。     

Developmental trajectories of sex-typed behavior in boys and girls: a longitudinal general population study of children aged 2.5-8 years

The stability of sex-typed behavior from the preschool to the middle school years was examined. The Preschool Activities Inventory, a measure of within-sex variation in sex-typed behavior, was completed by the primary caregiver when the child was 2.5, 3.5, and 5 years, and a modified version, the Child Activities Inventory, was completed by the child at age 8. The investigation involved a general population sample of 2,726 boys and 2,775 girls. Sex-typed behavior increased through the preschool years, and those children who were the most sex typed at age 2.5 were still the most sex typed at age 5, with those children who showed the highest levels of sex-typed behavior during the preschool years continuing to do so at age 8.     

Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms and children's kindergarten and fourth-grade language and reading abilities

Indirect effects of preschool classroom indexes of teacher talk were tested on fourth-grade outcomes for 57 students from low-income families in a longitudinal study of classroom and home influences on reading. Detailed observations and audiotaped teacher and child language data were coded to measure content and quantity of verbal interactions in preschool classrooms. Preschool teachers' use of sophisticated vocabulary during free play predicted fourth-grade reading comprehension and word recognition (mean age=9; 7), with effects mediated by kindergarten child language measures (mean age=5; 6). In large group preschool settings, teachers' attention-getting utterances were directly related to later comprehension. Preschool teachers' correcting utterances and analytic talk about books, and early support in the home for literacy predicted fourth-grade vocabulary, as mediated by kindergarten receptive vocabulary.     

地方残疾儿童学前教育立法的问题与对策——基于部分省份学前教育条例的分析

地方学前教育条例中残疾儿童教育相关条款是残疾儿童学前教育政策体系的重要组成部分。分析发现,部分省份出台的学前教育条例在残疾儿童入园、资助、特殊教育教师津贴、生均经费、资源教室等方面对残疾儿童学前教育相关上位法进行了具体化,体现出一定的创新性,但也存在部分条款贯彻上位法不到位的情形。建议加快《学前教育法》出台进程,完善地方残疾儿童学前教育相关立法,为残疾儿童平等接受学前教育进一步提供法治保障。     

坚持政府主导的内涵、原则与可能的风险

《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要(2010～2020年)》与《国务院关于当前发展学前教育的若干意见》(国发〔2010〕41号)都强调了政府主导相对于社会参与的优先性、必须性。所谓政府主导是指政府以较高的政府强度和较强的政府能力,保障学前教育各项政策的有效落实,以推动学前教育的健康发展。坚持政府主导要遵循保底与底线均等原则、区域性原则、阶段性原则和多元化原则。在坚持政府主导的过程中还要防范可能的风险。     

The Impact of the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on School Performance in 3rd and 6th Grades

A post hoc matching design was used to compare children who participated in the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) throughout Arkansas to children from the same classrooms who had no preschool experience and children who had other preschool experiences in the third and sixth grades. The program showed modest positive impact on school suspensions, grades, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores at both grade levels.     

Effectiveness of ontology-based learning content generation for preschool cognitive skills learning

During early childhood, children start developing their cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioural skills, laying the foundation for life-long learning. Cognitive skills are usually taught in traditional classrooms through the use of textbooks and worksheets. The learning content in these textbooks and worksheets is static pre-authored content that is repeatedly used for teaching and learning. This repetition jeopardises the child's learning of individualised and cognitive skills. Preschool cognitive skills learning content comprises facts of everyday life. Similarly, the Semantic Web attempts to model these facts through ontologies. From this, a relationship appears between preschool cognitive skills learning content and the ontologies. The present work focuses on the stated problem and presents the theoretical and development details of a child-friendly tutoring application that dynamically generates cognitive skills learning content using ontologies as domain knowledge. The proposed application was evaluated in a preschool environment for its learning effectiveness and the correctness of the generated content. Three groups of preschool children participated in the study for preschool cognitive skills learning through the use of the proposed application. The first group learned the cognitive skills through the traditional method with textbooks and the teacher's teaching. The second group learned the skills through the proposed application at school in classroom sessions. The third group experienced the proposed application both at school and at home, along with regular classroom sessions. The results show significant gains by the third group over the other two groups, and hence support the use of the proposed application in practice. However, the enhanced learning by the third group disappears if the additional application usage time is removed. Moreover, the results of the expert evaluation show that a great deal of the learning content was correctly generated, thus justifying the true modelling of the domain ontology.     

The Impact of the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on School Performance in 3rd and 6th Grades

A post hoc matching design was used to compare children who participated in the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) throughout Arkansas to children from the same classrooms who had no preschool experience and children who had other preschool experiences in the third and sixth grades. The program showed modest positive impact on school suspensions, grades, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores at both grade levels.     

从《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要(2010-2020年)》看农村学前教育的发展

《国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要(2010～2020年)》提出要重点发展农村学前教育,组织实施推进农村学前教育重大项目,开展改革试点,这对全面促进我国农村学前教育的发展具有重要意义。参照国外有关经验,我们认为,要切实发展我国农村学前教育,必须正确认识农村学前教育的价值和意义;必须尽快立法,以确立学前教育的性质和地位;必须明确政府责任,加强对农村学前教育的管理;必须加大中央财政投入力度,以真正实现学前教育公平。     

Multidimensional assessment of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems of low-income preschool children: development and initial validation

The Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) was developed and tested for use in preschool programs serving low-income children. The ASPI is a measure of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems observed within routine classroom situations. Principal components analyses revealed five reliable behavioral dimensions: Aggressive, Withdrawn-Low Energy, Socially Reticent, Oppositional, and Inattentive/Hyperactive and two higher-order dimensions: Overactive and Underactive problem behaviors. Concurrent criterion validity of these dimensions was supported by multivariate indicators of peer social competence and classroom behavior problems. Age and gender analyses indicated that boys showed higher levels of overactive behavior than girls and that younger preschool children evidenced more underactive and inattentive behavior than older preschool children. Situational analyses indicated that situations requiring more initiation and self-regulation were associated with more problematic behaviors.     

破解当前难题,为长远发展奠基——解读《国务院关于当前发展学前教育的若干意见》

《国务院关于当前发展学前教育的若干意见》(国发〔2010〕41号)就当前我国学前教育事业的发展提出了十条意见。《若干意见》着力解决当前的入园难,致力于推进我国学前教育事业的长远科学发展以及和各级各类教育的协调发展。对《若干意见》的出台背景、核心精神、主要内容等进行解读,有利于我们深刻领会《若干意见》精神,以求实的态度,坚定地朝着既定目标努力,推动学前教育发展。     

西北穆斯林民族学前教育发展研究——以撒拉族为例

文章以国家中长期教育改革和发展规划纲要为重要理论依据,分析了西北穆斯林民族学前教育发展的现状,以我省循化撒拉族为例,提出了如何更好发展民族地区学前教育的研究内容与对策,为推进少数民族地区学前教育的发展提供一些理论探索。     

主体性教育理念在幼儿教育中的应用

幼儿教育是基础教育的组成部分,是学校教育和终身教育的起始阶段。幼儿教育应为幼儿的近期和终身发展奠定良好的素质基础。主体性是个体全面发展素质的核心。幼儿主体性的发展需要有与之相适应的主体性教育。文章首先阐述主体性教育的内涵,然后从教学形式的主体性和幼儿的主体性生成两个角度来论述主体性教育理念在幼儿教育中的应用。     

Exploring factors related to preschool teachers’ self-efficacy

This study examined how teacher (teaching experience, perceptions of teacher collaboration and teacher influence) and classroom (children’s engagement) characteristics predicted teacher self-efficacy for 48 preschool teachers in the U.S. Results showed a significant interaction effect between teachers’ perceptions of collaboration and children’s engagement in predicting teachers’ reported self-efficacy. Specifically, a higher level of children’s engagement was associated with a higher level of teacher self-efficacy when teachers worked in preschool with high levels of staff collaboration. Teacher experience and influence in decision-making were not related to teacher self-efficacy. Implications for early childhood teacher education and professional development are discussed.     

Classroom age composition and rates of change in school readiness for children enrolled in Head Start

Despite policy and theoretical support for mixed-age classrooms in early childhood, research examining associations between age-mixing and children's outcomes is inconclusive and warrants further investigation, particularly in preschools serving children who are at risk for poor adjustment to formal schooling. One recent study conducted in preschool classrooms serving low-income children found negative associations between age-mixing and children's social and cognitive development. The current study extended this research by examining associations between classroom age composition (variability in ages of children in the classroom) and low-income preschool children's rates of change in school readiness. The sample consisted of 4417 preschool children enrolled in 207 classrooms in a large, diverse urban Head Start program. Multilevel modeling was employed to examine the main effect of classroom age composition, as well as the interaction between classroom age composition and children's age, as predictors of children's rates of change in emergent literacy, emergent numeracy, social and emotional skills, and approaches to learning. In contrast to previous research, classroom age composition was not associated with school readiness outcomes. This study contributes to the conflicting literature examining the associations between age mixing and children's school readiness and calls for a future research agenda to examine age mixing in context that is focused on sorting out these conflicting results. In the meantime, policymakers should consider other relevant factors when making decisions regarding mixed-age classrooms, such as family preference or the capability for teachers to individualize instruction to children based on their individual needs.     

当前日本幼儿教育改革的新动向

进入新世纪,日本中央教育审议会和文部科学省发布了《幼儿教育振兴计划》等三份文件。本文以这三份文件为主要根据,探讨当前日本幼儿教育改革的新动向,并总结它对我国幼儿教育改革的启示。