Increasing numbers of individuals are simultaneously members of two or more social categories. To investigate the effects of single- versus dual-identity status on children's group views and intergroup attitudes, elementary-school-age children (N = 91) attending a summer school program were assigned to novel color groups that included single-identity ("blue" and "red") and dual-identity ("bicolored," or half red and half blue) members. The degree to which dual-identity status was verified by the authority members was also manipulated: teachers in some classrooms were instructed to label and make use of three social groups ("blues," "reds," "bicolors") to organize their classrooms, whereas teachers in other classrooms were instructed to label and make use of only the two "mono-colored" groups ("blues" and "reds"). After several weeks in their classrooms, children's (a) views of group membership (i.e., importance, satisfaction, perceived similarity, group preference), (b) intergroup attitudes (i.e., traits ratings, group evaluations, peer preferences), and (c) categorization complexity (i.e., tendency to sort individuals along multiple dimensions simultaneously) were assessed. Results varied across measures but, in general, indicated that dual-identity status affected children's views of their ingroup. Specifically, dual-identity children in classrooms in which their status was not verified were more likely to (a) perceive themselves as similar to other ingroup members (i.e., bicolored children), (b) want to keep their shirt color, and (c) assume that a new student would want their shirt color more than their single-identity peers. They also showed higher levels of ingroup bias in their competency ratings of groups than their single-identity peers, and demonstrated greater cognitive flexibility when thinking about social categories than their single-identity peers. Overall, these results suggest that dual-identity children experience identity issues differently than their single-identity peers and that additional theories are needed to address the complexities of social membership and bias among children with dual memberships. / text

This report is a qualitative study on children aged three to five years who are in the Swedish preschool. The purpose of the study is to investigate how five experienced preschool teachers view the way children between three and five years acquire basic mathematical concepts, basic numeracy and geometry. The aim is also to find out whether teachers feel that the size of the group of children affects their learning. The study contains information about what preschool teachers think about the way children learn mathematics and how the size of the group of children affects this learning. From the results it can be seen that children learn Mathematics, both in everyday situations and when playing. Moreover, the group size does not seem to affect the mathematical learning of the child. It is rather a matter of competence of the preschool teachers and the way they clarify Mathematics to the child in everyday life. Adequate laboratory material as well as meaningful and fun activities based on the child's point of view will lead to the child gaining a deeper comprehension of Mathematics. Organization and structure of the preschool also play a role according to the teachers.

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-94).

Children around the world need care outside their families for a variety of reasons including poverty, war and epidemics such as HIV/AIDS. The majority of these children live in developing countries where there are limited resources to care for them. As a result of concerns about the effects of institutional care on children, and following trends in the developed world, there is a movement in developing countries to replace large residential institutions with a system of adoption, foster care and small group homes. The aim of this study is to examine the experience of orphan, abandoned, and neglected or abused children who grew up in residential institutions in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, to learn the positives and negatives of residential care in order to contribute to developing a model of care suited for high need, low resource countries. Oral history methodology was used to collect the stories of 24 alumni (12 men and 12 women) from seven homes in Trinidad and Tobago. The homes were categorized as 1) state— partially funded by the state but managed by the Anglican and Catholic dioceses, 2) faith-based— run by religious communities, and 3) community homes run by individuals in the community. The findings of the study show that overall experiences were positive. For poor and working-class children, life in the home was better than their life would have been if they had remained with their families. However, discharge and transition from the homes were less favourable. Alumni from the state-funded homes experienced more difficulties than the faith-based and community homes as a result of poor planning and a lack of post-departure supports. Women suffered more hardships than men, often leading to sexual exploitation. The findings also show that being admitted with siblings and staying at the same home over the duration of care—as was the norm—correlated positively with educational outcomes for the majority of alumni. Some life-long relationships were maintained with volunteers and with friends made among peers at the homes. The study concludes that large group care is not necessarily harmful for children. It may be even beneficial and may be cost effective—a factor that is very important for low resource countries. An aftercare plan, with planning beginning at admission might ease the transition process and gender must be considered in discharge and transition policies. / October 2016

The topic of this work is "Playing in Heterogeneous Classes - Comparative Study on Kindergartens of Common versus Waldorf Type". The theoretical part deals with the definition of the pre-school aged children's need of playing, the development of playing, the need of a playing partner and the function of toys. Then it focuses on playing in the General Educational Plan for Pre-School Education, playing integration into the daily routine of a kindergarten and benefit of playing for a child and a teacher. It describes the specific features of a heterogeneous group of children and their relationship to playing. It also discusses the characteristics of a Waldorf kindergarten. In the end of the part the School Educational Plan of the studied schools is shown. The practical part of this work is based on monitoring children during their free playing time in the chosen kindergartens. The time daily devoted to free playing, the ways the teachers react to free playing and which types of playing are most common were the objectives of the research. The work then names toys recommended for a heterogeneous class by the teachers, toys chosen by children, how younger children are integrated into the older children's playing and vice versa. Then, by using a questionnaire, following data will be obtained from parents...