Teaching Young Children to Make Picture Books

Teaching young children to make picture books provides the opportunity to both record and to share personal experiences in a unique format. Two powerful modes of thought and expression, the linguistic and the visual, are naturally integrated in the process of picture bookmaking. The public recognition of picture bookmaking efforts empowers young children who are struggling to master the reading and writing processes as they gain an understanding of how text and image work together to tell the story. The increased self-confidence which comes from mastery of both bookmaking and illustrating techniques is beneficial for all children.     

Before,During, and After Examination: Development of Prospective Preschool Teachers’ Mathematics-Related Enjoyment and Self-Efficacy

This article examines the stability of Norwegian prospective preschool teachers’ enjoyment of mathematics and their mathematics-related self-efficacy before, during, and after a teacher-education examination. In addition, the stability of the two constructs across countries was examined through a comparison with Germany. The data revealed partial stability (technically speaking, metric invariance) of enjoyment but not of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy increased significantly before and after the examination without decreasing enjoyment, which may be a result of increased learning time. Prior mathematical knowledge predicted the level and development of enjoyment and self-efficacy in both countries. Many Norwegian students reported low mathematics-related enjoyment and self-efficacy, including negative developments. It may be important to provide positive experiences of mathematical activities during preschool teacher education.     

Language Development at Home and School: Gains and losses in young bilinguals

In this paper we examine the topic of the language development of three young bilingual children at both home and school. Our aim is to consider the language issues that arise in such children, taking into account their parents' language background and experience of school systems, language practices and 'policy' in the home, and the children's experience of a year of nursery school as reported by their teachers. We try to show how different strands of the children's experience fit together; their 'mother tongue', their mothers' aspirations for them, their teachers' view of their progression, and their competence in English, all considered against the background of current curriculum guidance. We conclude with an examination of the gains and losses these children have made in the school system so far, and with an analysis of what the roles of 'mother tongue' might be for children in these and similar circumstances.     

大学生父母教养方式、自尊与攻击行为关系研究

通过问卷法对江西省某大学的大学生进行调查,综合考察父母教养方式、自尊水平对大学生攻击行为的影响,发现:(1)大学生的父母教养方式存在不同程度的差异;(2)自尊水平存在性别和城镇与乡村差异;(3)总攻击行为存在性别差异;(4)大学生的父母教养方式、自尊水平、攻击之间密切相关。通过父亲惩罚、父亲拒绝、父亲偏爱、母亲拒绝四个因子和自尊水平可以预测大学生的攻击行为。     

浅析邓小平“先富共富论”的哲学思想

邓小平“先富共富论”蕴涵着丰富的哲学思想,体现了马克思主义唯物论、辩证法和唯物史观的精神实质和重要原则。     

构建和谐社会下农村父母教育观念之探索

采用半结构访谈法,在河南省农村选取114名被试,研究农村父母的教育观念及其特点。研究发现:(1)农村父母在教育观念上明显重男轻女,文化程度越低表现得越严重,母亲比父亲有更多的重男倾向。(2)仍然强调传统的孝道教育。(3)认为影响学业成就的因素有三个:遗传素质、环境教育和个人的主观努力,其中遗传素质起主要作用。(4)对子女学历的追求不高,对子女职业选择抱有较高的希望。(5)对好父母、好孩子标准的认识比较清楚一致。     

Longitudinal Genetic Analysis of Early Reading: The Western Reserve Reading Project

We examined the genetic and environmental contribution to the stability and instability of reading outcomes in early elementary school using a sample of 283 twin pairs drawn from the Western Reserve Reading Project. Twins were assessed across two measurement occasions. In Wave 1, children were either in kindergarten or first grade. Wave 2 assessments were conducted one year later. Results suggested substantial genetic stability across measurement occasions. Additionally, shared environmental influences also accounted for stability, particularly for variables more closely tied to direct instruction such as phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and word knowledge. There was also evidence for independent genetic and shared environmental effects, suggesting that new sources of variance may emerge as the demands of school change and children begin to acquire early reading skills.     

The role of maternal mediation of writing to kindergartners in promoting literacy in school: A longitudinal perspective

The current study follows up on Aram andLevin's (2001, Cognitive Development, 16, 831–852)analysis of the role of maternalwriting mediation among low SES Israelikindergartners. That study's main findingindicated that the quality of maternal writingmediation correlated concurrently withkindergartners' literacy skills aftercontrolling for socio-cultural measures. Thepresent study followed up the participants tothe second grade in school, and evaluated theirlevel of Spelling, Reading Comprehension, andLinguistic Knowledge two and a half years later. Theresults indicate that the children's literacymeasures in school were predicted by maternalwriting mediation in kindergarten beyond SESand the early literacy measures assessed in thekindergarten (Word Writing and LinguisticKnowledge). These results highlight thesignificance of early maternal writingmediation as a major factor in literacydevelopment.     

Comparing beliefs about appropriate practice among early childhood education and care professionals from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Korea and Turkey

The purpose of this study was to examine what, if anything, caregivers and teachers of 3- to 5-year-old children from the U.S. (n = 412), China (n = 244), Taiwan (n = 222), Korea (n = 574), and Turkey (n = 214), had in common in terms of self-reported beliefs and self-reported practices related to the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) policy statement for developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). DAP is widely endorsed by early childhood education and care professionals in the U.S. and is assumed to have far reaching impact on curricular beliefs and practices throughout the world. Pearson correlations and one-way ANOVA were used to compare overall mean scores for beliefs measured by the Teachers Beliefs Scale (TBS) to those of practices measured by the Instructional Activities Scale (IAS) [Charlesworth, R., Hart, C. H., Burts, D. C., & Hernandez, S. (1991). Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and practices. Early Child Development and Care, 70, 17–35]. Item-by-item analyses were conducted using factor analysis and χ² analyses within and across countries. Similarities emerged related to, in particular, those beliefs and teaching practices associated with integrating across the curriculum, promoting social/emotional development, providing concrete/hands-on materials, and allowing play/choice in the curriculum.     

The persistence of preschool effects: Do subsequent classroom experiences matter?

Using rich longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K), we find that children who attended preschool enter public schools with higher levels of academic skills than their peers who experienced other types of child care (effect size of .14). This study considers the circumstances under which the preschool advantage persists, that is, the types of classrooms in which students who did not attend preschool “catch up” to their counterparts who did. Specifically, we focus on two dimensions of the early school environment—class size and the level of academic instruction provided. The findings suggest that most of the preschool-related gap in academic skills at school entry is quickly eliminated for children placed in small classrooms and classrooms providing high levels of reading instruction. Conversely, the initial disparities persist for children experiencing large classes and lower levels of reading instruction. These results point out that the longer-term effects of early childhood experience partly depend on classroom experiences during at least the first years of school.