The problem of this investigation is to make a comparative study of first-grade children to determine, if possible, whether the child who attends kindergarten has any advantages over one who does not attend.

The present study was designed to provide data bearing on the question of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behavior. And, in particular, to see if it is possible to control human nonverbal behavior through the manipulation of verbal behavior.

The purpose of this study is to explore gender difference of kindergarten children in learning area choice and play behavior. The purposes of this study were: (1) Inquire relation between gender and learning centers choice of kindergarten children. (2) Analysis kindergarten children¡¦s play model of gender difference. (3) After gender course, exploration to young children¡¦s interaction and gender behavior. Participants were a kindergarten class ten boys and seven girls .This research is an ethnography methodology with participant observation, informal interview, formally interview and literature review to collect data. After gender course, observation young child behavior and attitude's development at play. Final findings direct to under several aspects make illustrate: (1) young children¡¦s gender difference of choosing learning centers; (2) gender difference of play development; (3) curriculum with gender and play correlation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-180). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-180). Also available on the Internet.

The role of gender in the social construction of literacy is investigated in some detail. Gender construction is examined by observing and analysing the literacy interactions of six kindergarten children (three boys and three girls) at school and in the home. The analysis shows the ways in which the girls and boys differ in attaining literacy skills, and also reveals the different interactions between the children and their families. The ways literacy is perceived in the home are also noted. The children responded in a much more uniform way in the classroom than they did in their individual home situations. The findings are significant for educational practice because they provide insight into how implicit structuring by teachers can affect the extent of participation of boys and girls in the classroom. The results indicate how analysis in the emergent state of literacy development is critical for a thorough understanding of gender construction. Significant theoretical insights are gained through a methodology using both a microanalysis and a macroanalysis. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study is of moral development in young children, with a focus on justice as fairness, a term appropriate to the life experience of three- and four-year-old children. The subjects were twenty-eight children attending two groups in a preschool centre (sessional kindergarten), eighteen female and ten male. The ages ranged from three years four months to four years eight months at the commencement of the study. The children were studied for one year at their kindergarten. Five problem areas were explored: (1) moral reasoning; (2) behaviour in peer conflict interactions; (3) relationship between moral reasoning in response to hypothetical dilemmas and behaviour in real-life conflicts;(4) construction of an instrument to describe and measure early moral reasoning and behaviour; (5) moral education within a preschool setting. Semi-structured interviews using Kohlberg-type dilemmas, and naturalistic observations of spontaneous social interactions in free play situations, were the methods used. Pretest and post-test interviews and observations were six months apart. Teachers of one group of children participated in a moral education project which included a process for using naturally-occurring peer conflict in the kindergarten to facilitate moral development.

Patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption begin in childhood and persist into adulthood. Educating parents regarding appropriate dietary requirements for preschoolers is critical to supporting their appropriate growth and development. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a parent health report (including information about the child's fruit and vegetable consumption and recommendations regarding how to increase fruit and vegetable consumption) resulted in a greater fruit and vegetable intake in preschoolers and kindergarteners. Results from both the open trial and the randomized-controlled trial suggest that the parent health report may be a beneficial tool to increase vegetable consumption in preschoolers and kindergarteners. Increases in vegetable consumption can lead to the establishment of lifelong habits of healthy vegetable intake and decrease risk for chronic diseases in the future.

The purpose of the evaluation was to test effectiveness of a visual, visual-motor, and auditory perceptual skills training program devised by Dr. Jerome Rosner, and to confirm or deny application of this training to improved classroom skills. Subjects were 38 kindergarten children, 20 in the Contrast Group, and 18 in the Experimental Group. Both groups received the same training in the basic curriculum of readiness skills. The Experimental Group also received training in the Visual Analysis and Auditory Analysis Skills programs. Pretests and posttests were administered, tabulated, and analyzed. Differences in raw score means were sufficient to indicate more than a chance factor and all tests demonstrated a plus factor for children in the Experimental Group.

Master of Philosophy in Education / Literacy skills include expressive language, oral and written, and receptive language, comprehension. This study explores both aspects of language in six Kindergarten children differing in early literacy development- three judged by teacher assessment to be 'at risk', and three acquiring Kindergarten skills as expected. Oral retellings of a familiar narrative and an unfamiliar story just heard, and a personal recount were taped and analysed using Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar. Comprehension responses to individually shared narratives were also collected and analysed. The children's use of language and comprehension responses varied significantly. Those 'at risk' were unable to retell narratives, needed high levels of support to comprehend texts and produced less cohesive personal recounts. The linguistic analysis revealed vocabulary and rhetorical organisation affected the reconstruction of oral narratives. These children also seemed to find comprehending difficult when questions or recall involved following reference, negotiating marked Theme or drawing inferences. The study was designed as a series of one to one literacy experiences. A listening comprehension test showed that all children except one benefitted from the experience. The findings underline the importance of oral language development and the value of interactive teaching experiences to the attainment of sophisticated literacy skills.