Orientador: Suely Amaral Mello / Banca: Stela Miller / Banca: Cyntia Graziella Guizelim Simões Girotto / Banca: Marta Chaves / Banca: Acildo Leite da Silva / Resumo: Este estudo caracteriza-se por ser uma pesquisa bibliográfica com base na teoria histórico-cultural e tem por objetivo evidenciar o papel da professora no desenvolvimento humano da criança pré-escolar. Tal busca, revelou o desenvolvimento humano como categoria essencial à compreensão das explicações da teoria histórico-cultural acerca das funções psíquicas superiores que se manifestam por meio da linguagem, escrita, memória, atenção voluntária dentre outras habilidades tipicamente humanas. Neste sentido, evidenciou-se que as concepções de ser humano, humanização, apropriação e objetivação da cultura vão ao encontro do desenvolvimento em questão por afirmarem que o homem aprende a ser humano em decorrência do processo de humanização que visa à apropriação das objetivações genéricas para-si. Esta dimensão da humanização amplia a forma de conceber a criança como um ser dialético e concreto e a infância como um período essencial ao desenvolvimento humano. Desta forma são evidenciadas as especificidades do aprender da criança manifestas por meio de atividades dominantes que guiam o seu desenvolvimento psíquico caracterizado por viragens e saltos bruscos. A singularidade de tal processo revelou a importância do papel da professora na escola da infância que perpassa pela busca de sua identidade enquanto profissional que necessita apropriar-se de ferramentas conceituais que promovam a consciência de sua atividade voltada para o cuidar-ensinar às novas gerações / Abstract: This study is characterized as a literature research based in the historical cultural theory and it aims to highlight the role of teachers in the human development of preschool children. This research revealed human development as an essential category to understanding the explanations of the historical-cultural theory about the higher mental functions that are manifested through language, writing, memory, and voluntary attention among other skills typically human. In this sense, it became clear that the conceptions of the human being, humanized, appropriation and objectification of culture are in line with the development in question by affirming that man learns to be human as a result of the humanization process that seeks the appropriation of generic objectifications. This dimension of humanization amplifies the way of conceiving a child as a dialect and concrete being and the childhood as an essential stage to the human development. This way the specifications of the child's learning expressed by dominant activities that guide the psychic development characterized by psychological turns and sudden jumps are evidenced. The singularity of the process reveled the importance of the teacher's role in the childhood education that pervades through the search for their identity as a professional that needs to appropriate themselves with conceptual tools that promote the understanding of their activity focused on the taking care and teaching of new generations / Doutor

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of a linear relationship between kinesthetic sensitivity and balancing ability in pre-school children. Furthermore, the effects of age on kinesthetic sensitivity and balancing ability were investigated. Finally, the role of gender in kinesthetic sensitivity and balancing ability was examined. Fifty-one subjects, between the ages of three and six years, executed five trials on each of two kinesthetic sensitivity tests (an arm abduction test and a hip abduction test); two tests for static balance (on a balance board and on a balance stick) and two tests for dynamic balance (a beam walk test and a stepping stones test). Although the correlations between kinesthetic sensitivity and balancing ability were generally positive, they were very slight. These low correlations are probably an indication that different abilities are required for carrying out the different tasks. Generally, both balancing ability and kinesthetic sensitivity appeared to improve with age. From analysis of individual test results it was obvious that abilities varied from individual to individual (Appendix G). This could have been the result of developmental, motivational or experiential differences. Although the girls generally performed slightly better on most tests than the boys the correlations between test scores for boys were slightly higher than those for girls. At-test indicated that there were no significant differences between the mean scores of the boys and the girls on the balancing or the kinesthetic sensitivity tasks.

Fantasy play is when children explore and travel through time and space, to interpret experiences into stories and to act them out. Children love this kind of play and it is really important for developing skills which will be used later in life. Today, computers are increasingly present in children's lives, and the development of technology over recent decades has changed the way children play. This thesis explores the possibility of young children (aged 3-4) enacting their fantasy play in a virtual environment. Three different games were designed and implemented on a Mitsubishi DiamondTouch (DT) multi-touch interactive tabletop. Three evaluation studies were conducted and the performance of the children's fantasy play was examined. In each study, children were recruited from a local preschool class. The first study was designed to compare fantasy play in physical and virtual settings. Children from the preschool class in a state primary school were invited to play with both a real tree house and its virtual implementation on a Mitsubishi DiamondTouch (DT) multi-touch interactive tabletop. Overall, the children played quietly and alone. The results evinced several problems in the interaction with the tabletop as children struggled to drag the objects displayed on the table surface. Therefore, the study did not provide conclusive evidence of a distinction in fantasy in physical and virtual environments. The second study was concentrated on testing solutions for the interaction difficulties evinced in the first study. A new application named The Magic House was developed and implemented on a Mitsubishi DT multi-touch interactive tabletop and tested twice with the preschool children. The results showed that most of the interaction problems from Study 1 were eliminated; evidence of more fantasy play was captured, and children played more confidently in the second evaluation session. The third study was designed to investigate and to compare children's fantasy play in physical and virtual settings. A new physical setting and the virtual implementation on the Mitsubishi DT multi-touch interactive tabletop of materials named The Farm were designed and examined with a group of preschool children. The results revealed that high occurrence of fantasy play was observed in the virtual setting and several similarities and dissimilarities between the two settings was also highlighted. Overall, this thesis produced knowledge on how the application on the multi-touch interactive tabletop environment was designed and evaluated with preschool children. The thesis results demonstrate that appropriate interaction design of virtual environments could stimulate preschool children's fantasy play and the tabletop can be operated by children as young as three. This thesis also specified requirements for designing and facilitating tabletop environments for preschool children's fantasy play.

This paper describes the development of the Beliefs About Overt and Relational Aggression Scale. The Beliefs About Overt and Relational Aggression Scale was designed to assess preschoolers' normative beliefs about these two types of aggression. Findings about the scale's internal reliability and test-retest reliability are presented. Findings about similarities and differences between beliefs about relational and overt aggression and gender are also discussed. Discussions about correlates of aggression, measuring aggression, and measuring beliefs are included.

The differences in the language labeling of Head Start or lower socioeconomic- class children and nursery school or middle-socioeconomic class children were studied in this research. Also studied were the differences among children within the two classes in their ability to label concrete objects and actions compared with pictures of the same things or actions. Forty-eight children (24 Head Start and 24 nursery school) matched in sex and as closely as possible in age, were given a verbal labeling test which included questions in four areas: foods, animals, action words, and positional words. There were 40 questions, and half were of a real or concrete nature, and the other half were items in the form of picture questions. The results indicate that there is a difference in the language labeling of the middle-class child compared with the language labeling of the lower-social-class child. Also, when responding incorrectly, the middle-class child more often than the lower-social-class child made a response that more closely resembled the correct response either in appearance or semantically. The other finding was that there is no difference among children within each social class in this study in the labeling of real things or actions compared to pictures of the same things. In t he area of positional words there was a difference among the children within the two groups: in this group the middle- class children had more correct responses on the picture questions while the lower-social-class children had more correct responses on the concrete questions.

Stimulus overselectivity is said to occur when behavior is under the control of a restricted set of stimuli from a stimulus complex. Three studies investigated the effects of specific multiple-stimulus training histories upon the overselective responding of normal preschool children. In Experiment 1, eight children 3 to 5 years of age, were trained to discriminate forms presented on cards. Each form was labelled with a nonsense syllable, and each card (multiple stimulus) consisted of two forms. A time-delay training procedure was used. Four subjects were trained using Concurrent training in which two of the three S- response choices contained components of the S+. Four subjects were trained using Sequential training in which the choices did not contain S+ components, but S+s were trained in order such that one component of a previously- trained S+ was present in the next S+. Subjects trained using Concurrent training acquired the discriminations in fewer trials, and had fewer errors during training. However, they responded to single components at chance level, whereas subjects trained using Sequential training recognized components and were able to recombine them into novel combinations. Experiment 2 was designed to investigate the effects of interspersing component probes among review trials of previously learned S+s that contained those components. Responses of two subjects to components were probed with interspersed review trials. Subjects with a Sequential training history demonstrated higher levels of correct responding to recombinations of components, whereas subjects with a Concurrent history continued to respond at chance level. In Experiment 3, two subjects with a history of Concurrent training were trained using Sequential training. The subjects learned to respond to recombinations and components at criterion level. It was concluded that multiple-stimulus training, in which S+ components are presented sequentially, is an effective method for training subjects to respond to components as well as to the total multiple stimulus. Findings are discussed in relation to: (a) attention theory and implications for related areas, such as stimulus salience and functionality; (b) a reassessment of the definition of overselectivity; and (c) implications for research with other populations.

The purpose of this study was to determine if an experimental group of children would make significant improvements in their ability to discriminate and order alphabet letters after a systematic reinforcement program of sensorimotor experiences with letters. The study involved tactual manipulation in learning the discrimination of, the order of, and the position of the alphabet letters in the child's own name. The hypotheses were made: l. There will be a significant difference between the experimental population and the control population with respect to the ability to order and place in sequence the letters in each child's name , after the completion of a systematic program of sensori-motor experience. 2. There will be a significant difference between the experimen tal population and the control population with respect to visual-perceptual discrimination, or positioning, after the completion of a systematic program of sensori -experience. Twenty four children , 12 in an experiemntal group , 12 in a control group, six boys and six girls , between the ages of three years and six months and four years and six months were selected at random from the Utah State University Laboratories . Preceeding the actual collection of data a pilot study was conducted on a similar group of 12 children using the proposed pretest. During the free-play in the Laboratory , each child was asked to go with the author to play a game. The first time with the author , and prior to the pretest , the child was given a brightly colored stacking cone to manipulate for the purpose of establishing rapport and self-confidence within the child. Each child in the experimenta l and control groups was given a pretest to test the ability to discriminate and order letters from in !heir own first name . The experimental group received a systematic sensori-motor experience twice a week dealing with letter discrimination. The control group received no experience in letter manipulation after the pretest. Each child set his own pace and was given the post-test only when he stated he was ready. At the time the majority of the experimental group was receiving their post-test the control group receivee! theirs. The findings support both hypotheses with the difference of the experimental group and the control group showing significance at the . 05 level for hypothesis one and between . 05-. 01 level for hypothesis two .

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