Play is an important part of supporting social interactions with children, and these interactions are an imperative part of a child’s social development. Social development is a significant challenge for children with disabilities, making play an important component in helping with their development. Different play environments may be better than others in terms of supporting social interactions. In order to determine what types of play environments were best at supporting social interaction, children between 33 and 36 months of age were observed in three different settings. Children that were part of the Lil’ Aggies program—an early intervention program that helps children under the age of 3 with disabilities transition into community and district preschools—were observed on the playground, in the classroom, and in the gym. The social interactions in each of these environments were compared to see if one environment promoted more social interactions than another. A time-sampling procedure was used for the observations in each of the settings. Following the observations, the data were analyzed using an independent sample t-test procedure. It was found that children are more likely to interact with peers on the playground, and more likely to interact with adults in the classroom. It was also found that interactions on the playground were more likely to be positive.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if language delayed toddlers, 18 to 30 months of age, were at one end of the referential/expressive continuum. It was this researcher's hypothesis that due to the restricted vocabulary of children who use an expressive language style, that the delayed toddlers would tend to be more expressive speakers.

In the present study, the speech of twenty-four normally speaking toddlers and twenty-eight late talking toddlers was analyzed with respect to the syllable structures produced during a speech sample. The groups were matched with regard to age, sex, and socio-economic status, all passed a hearing screening, and all scored at least 85 on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.

This portfolio documents an investigation of the nature of giftedness during the early childhood period of birth to eight years. It provides an in-depth exploration of a number of developmental domains including social, emotional, spiritual and cognitive development. Aspects of play and learning for young gifted children are also investigated. The use of both child and parent voices provide insight to the realities of the lived experience of being young and gifted. The insights that emerged from the research are subsequently used to challenge aspects of early childhood pedagogy frequently evident within western approaches to early childhood education such as the developmentalist discourse traditionally used to inform early childhood policy and practice. The findings of the study suggest that to ensure responsive education for young gifted children early childhood educators need to reconceptualise the child and the relationship between the three protagonists of child, family and educator. Collaboration between the three protagonists can facilitate the provision of opportunities for in-depth investigation and abstraction within early childhood curricular that can empower young gifted children in their search for complexity and connection during the early childhood years. / Doctor of Education (D.Ed.)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-164). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-178).

The purpose of this study was to find out how young children are allowed to influence and affect their daily lives in preschools, as well as teachers’ views on the latter. My interest in this topic is born out of my experience of working with both younger and older preschool children. My view is that democratic work with older children is largely based on direct verbal communication while with toddlers it is based on an adult’s interpretation of a child’s often non-verbal expressions. Thus, I believe that young children’s opportunities to influence to a greater extent than older children are dependent on having teachers with a conscious child’s perspective. Based on the above-stated purpose I have found it particularly interesting to explore a specific teachers’ approach, that takes advantage of the youngest children’s competencies, but also to identify dilemmas related to this. For that reason, the research questions have partially been formulated in order to discover whether conflicts exist between a young child’s right to influence and their need for care. The study begins with a general historical survey followed by presentations of curriculum history with a focus on children's influence, selected developmental theories and definitions of concepts essential for this study. Developmental theories have been selected for their relevance to the study and focus on Daniel Stern's intersubjectivity theory, its conceptual determination and usefulness in studies such as this. Furthermore, the results of the survey’s qualitative empirical observational studies and interviews based on phenomenological grounds are presented. Its main results argue that young children have the opportunity to influence when teachers allow the child´s perspective to dominate over the adult perspective. In doing this, teachers often show an intuitive awareness of young children's competencies and therefore take a flexible and playful approach in their work. Conflicts between younger children's right to influence and their need for care can be largely avoided using this outlook on democratic work in preschool. Moreover, cultural differences between a teacher´s and toddler’s expressions can be overcome by an intercultural approach where both parties are seen as equal.

This study investigated the verbal interactions directed to toddlers within child care settings. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the quality of verbal interactions available to toddlers during natural, daily routines while attending child care; more specifically, to determine if a difference existed for toddlers developing typically versus those developing atypically. The participants included 36 toddlers (26 typical and 10 atypical) and 23 child care providers in four child care settings. Coded observations similar to those originally developed by Girolametto, Hoaken, Weitzman and Van Lieshout (2000a) in their work investigating patterns of adult-child interactions were utilized to gather the data. Data were gathered in naturally occurring daily routines such as free play, book sharing/reading, and gross motor/outdoor time. Data were organized into three broad categories – directives, interaction-promoting, and language modeling – based upon contribution to language development. These three dependent variables were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model. Results indicated no significant group differences of quality of verbal interactions used by care providers with toddlers developing typically versus toddlers developing atypically. The predominant form of verbal interaction available to all toddlers was directive in nature, contributing very little to language development. Interaction-promoting forms of verbal interaction which contribute most to language production occurred the least. Supplemental analysis was completed regarding providers’ degrees and years of experience related to utterance types used. This research, although based on a small sample size, supports a concern for quality of verbal interactions and language stimulation available to toddlers in child care settings and has implications for school readiness and academic success. / Department of Special Education

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.