A Review: Journal of Research in Childhood Education Vol. 15, No. 2, Spring/Summer 2001.

This biannual column informs Childhood Education readers about the practical contents of the Journal of Research in Childhood Education (see JRCE, Vol. 15, No. 2).

Preschoolers' Play Behaviors With Peers in Classroom and Playground Settings

-- Shim, Herwig, & Shelley

This study was designed to assess the features of indoor and outdoor play environments and to evaluate the quality of the child care center as it influences children's peer interactions. Children were videotaped and tape-recorded during free play and on the playground. Videotapes of play behaviors with peers were evaluated using a time-sampling procedure. The Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs described the activities, organization, and overall quality of each environment. The protocols presented by Kritchevsky, Prescott, and Walling evaluated outdoor play environment for complexity and variety of equipment and materials, and for the number of play spaces per child. Children's play behaviors were categorized using a modified form of the Parten-Smilansky Play Scale. Results indicated children were more likely to engage in the most complex form of peer play (i.e., interactive dramatic play) outdoors than indoors. The older age group was more likely than the younger age group to interact with peers outdoors. The outdoor playground offered older preschoolers more of particular types of play experiences (i.e., functional play and dramatic play) than the classroom.

Solitary-Active Play Behavior: A Marker Variable for Maladjustment in the Preschool?

-- Coplan, Wichmann, & Lagace-Seguin

This quantitative study explored the construct of solitary-active play as a behavioral marker for maladjustment in the preschool. Solitary-active behavior involves the exhibition of solitary-pretense activity in the presence of peers. Although occurring infrequently during free play, this form of nonsocial play appears to be highly negatively salient to teachers and peers. Preschoolers observed during free play over a two-week period. Additional measures included parental ratings of child temperament and attitude towards school, teacher ratings of behavior problems, and assessments of children's vocabulary and academic achievement drawn from interviews. The results indicated that children who frequently, as compared to their peers, engaged in solitary-active behaviors were less attentive, more difficult to soothe, and more shy; they displayed more externalizing problems, performed more poorly on assessments of early academic skills, and had a less positive attitude towards school. The authors discuss the results in terms of social and academic maladjustment.

Block Play Performance Among Preschoolers As a Predictor of Later School Achievement in Mathematics

-- Wolfgang, Stannard, & Jones

This correlational study explored the relationship between preschool-age children's levels of block play with later school achievement in mathematics. In 1982, a group of preschoolers attending a play-oriented preschool were tested using the Lunzer Five-Point Play Scale to obtain a block performance measure. To statistically control for IQ and gender, the McCarty Scales of Children's Abilities were given. In 1998, after these same participants had completed high school, their records were obtained; outcome measures for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades included standardized test scores in mathematics and report card grades in math. While controlling for IQ and gender, the block performance measure was analyzed against these outcome variables. No significance was found at the 3rd- and 5th-grade levels when evaluating report card grades and standardized math scores. At the 7th-grade level, there was significant correlation between blocks and standardized math scores, but not for report card grades. There was positive correlation with all high school outcome variables. At the beginning of middle school, 7th grade, and in high school, a positive correlation between preschool block performance and math achievement was demonstrated. There was no correlation between block performance and standardized math tests or grades at the elementary school levels.

Music Acquisition of Children in Rural Zimbabwe: A Longitudinal Observation

-- Kreutzer 

This study provides a qualitative description of the behaviors that bring children to musical competency. Children in sub-Saharan Africa have been observed to participate in their society's music as fully competent musicians by the age of 5. The author provides a case that the cognitive schemes for language and music develop simultaneously. Childhood music specialists concur that the optimal environment for early music acquisition is one in which personal music, as opposed to music recorded or performed for spectators, is as accessible as language. Music appeared to be functional in daily routines, performed by people instead of media, and occurring where there was a population large enough to provide a pool of children between birth and age 7. The researcher attended festivals and church services, and observed informal gatherings and classrooms. All the adults interviewed believed that everyone can sing and dance. The majority said that children can sing as well as adults by age 5.

Views of Effective Early Childhood Educators Regarding Systemic Constraints That Affect Their Teaching

-- Adcock & Patton

This study examined the views of teachers regarding curricular trends for young children, their teaching practices, and if and how systemic constraints affect their teaching. Participants had been recognized by their district and peers as effective and excellent educators. Data were collected in focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations. All 10 participants described their learning environments as they talked about their philosophies, which were grounded in developmentally appropriate practice. All of the teachers talked about the development of the whole child, and all agreed that young children learn best through active, hands-on activities. Three groups emerged: The Advocates' classroom practices directly aligned with the developmentally appropriate philosophies they had described earlier in focus groups and interviews. The Resistors were described as closing their doors and working as appropriately as they could within the system. The Traditionalists described appropriate philosophies in focus groups, but practiced a more teacher-directed approach.

The Complex and Dynamic Nature of Quality in Early Care and Educational Programs: A Case for Chaos

-- Buell & Cassidy

The authors review how Chaos theory can be used as a guide in developing policy aimed at improving the quality of early care and education settings. They begin by reviewing past research that examines the factors used to develop policy aimed at increasing quality. These factors included: staff-to-child ratios, staff education, teacher turnover, administrators' experience, and effectiveness in curriculum planning. Teachers' wages, education, and specialized training were described as the most important factors in determining among poor, mediocre, and good child care centers. The authors describe how these initiatives are too narrow and how early care and education programs reflect many characteristics of Chaotic systems, including: 1) decomposability, 2) nonlinearity / nonpredictability, 3) sensitivity to initial conditions, 4) recursive symmetries between scales, 5) feedback mechanisms, and 6) the existence of attractors. The authors contend that if one wants to ensure a consistent range of quality in a complex system, the parameters that need controlling must be identified.

Standardized Entrance Assessment in Kindergarten: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Teachers, Administrators, and Parents

-- Dever & Barta

In order to assist early childhood educators in responding to mandated standardized assessment, this qualitative study intended to acquire an in-depth understanding of the experiences of teachers, parents, and administrators. Researchers were interested in two stated purposes of the standardized kindergarten entrance assessment: 1) to provide assistance for planning curriculum, and 2) to provide information for parents to support literacy learning at home. Purposeful sampling was used to identify demographically diverse groups of informants. Next, focus group interviews were conducted over six months. Participants sharing similar roles were interviewed in groups of three or four (i.e., all parents; all teachers). Transcripts from the open-ended focus group interviews served as the data source. The authors were able to generalize about the strengths and weaknesses of standardized testing in kindergarten. Strengths include: 1) some immediate information at a glance; 2) consistency of information with the core curriculum and across districts; 3) time and opportunity for one-on-one interactions among teachers, parents, and children; 4) time and opportunity to begin parent and teacher dialogue; and 5) easing the transition to the first day of school. The weaknesses include: 1) the narrow scope of information gleaned; 2) lack of validity of the results; 3) the potential for placing undue importance on the assessment, thereby resulting in inappropriate practice; 4) limited changes in the curriculum; 5) misuse of instructional time; and 6) anxiety for teachers, parents, and children.

The Views of Teachers on Assessment: A Comparison of Lower and Upper Elementary Teachers

-- Trepanier-Street, McNair, & Donegan

This quantitative inquiry compared the views and reported practices of lower-grade and upper-grade teachers regarding: the use and the amount of trust placed in standardized and classroom assessment measures, the factors that influenced their assessment choices, and their beliefs about the role of parents in the assessment process. Survey responses of lower-grade (kindergarten, 1st, 2nd) were compared to upper-grade teachers (3rd, 4th, 5th). The teacher survey used in this study was the same survey used in a large statewide study, but only those questions from the survey consistent with the identified purposes were examined. Findings indicated that both lower- and upper-grade teachers used and valued a variety of assessment measures, but that they did not value or use scores from mandated standardized tests. Differences between grade levels on the uses of some measures emerged. While both groups used the approaches, more lower elementary teachers used one-on-one assessment of specific skills, observations and written notes, and rating scales and checklists than did upper elementary teachers. More upper elementary teachers used teacher-made tests and tests from reading series and textbooks than did lower elementary teachers. All teachers believed that parents should be involved.

Taiwan's Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Professional Beliefs

-- Lin, Gorrell, & Silvern 

This qualitative study examined Taiwanese early childhood preservice teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning. The six open-ended questions asked were: 1) What will be your most important roles as a teacher? 2) Imagine that you are in your first teaching job. Describe what will be going on in your classroom. 3) What are the best ways that children learn? 4) What are the most important reasons for children to go to school? 5) What will your pupils need most from you as a teacher? 6) What relationships do you expect to have with your pupils? Content analysis and the grounded theory method were used. The data suggest that preservice teachers' beliefs can be categorized and organized systematically to construct useful patterns of interrelationships among belief components. These include: teachers' roles, images of classroom practice, ways children learn, the reasons for schooling, children's needs, and student-teacher relationships.

Through the Eyes of Preservice Teachers: Implications for the Multicultural Journey From Teacher Education

-- Neuharth-Pritchett, Reiff, & Pearson

This qualitative study investigated preservice early childhood education students': 1) definitions of multicultural education, 2) sources of information from which to construct their definitions, 3) multicultural education in schools, and 4) perceptions of ways to implement multicultural education. Participants completed an open-ended, four-item questionnaire. Level I coursework of the program focused on preprofessional experiences and emerging philosophies. In Level II, students discussed diversity and multicultural issues. Level III exposed students to the planning and assessment aspects of teaching, including a four-week field experience. Level IV constituted a 10-week-long teaching internship. Students' understandings of multicultural education were categorized as either minimal, moderate, or strong. Findings indicate that a large number of students had a minimal understanding and conceptualization of multicultural education. Students found incongruencies between the university diversity perspective and their field experiences. Multicultural education could be implemented through: exposure or knowledge of other cultures, anti-bias curriculum, inclusion / integration, respect / tolerance, stereotyping, and segregated enrichment.