Search

Purpose: To analyze associations between physical activity (PA) during school hours and fundamental movement skills (FMS) of young children with and without PE classes. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 201 children of both sexes (102 girls, 50.7%), aged 3-5 years old (4.51 ± 0.79), who were engaged (n = 129) or not (n = 72) in physical education (PE) classes weekly. Light (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were assessed by accelerometer during school hours over five consecutive days, and FMS was assessed using the TGMD-2. To verify the association between PA (LPA and MVPA) and FMS (locomotor and object control scores) in both PE and NPE groups, multiple linear regression analysis was used. n n Results: MVPA during school hours was significantly associated with object control performance in the PE group ([beta] = 0.14 p = 0.025). A model with LPA and MVPA explained 4% of the object control performance variability. Conclusion: The positive association observed between MVPA and object control skills on those preschoolers involved in PE classes highlight that opportunities in structured PE classes should be used as a central strategy to promote motor development in preschool settings.

Background: Preschool is a crucial period for developing motor skills. Objective: This study evaluated factors associated with motor competence in preschoolers from a Brazilian urban area. Methods: A total of 211 preschoolers (51.2% girls and 48.8% boys) were evaluated. Body mass index was calculated; the Brazilian Economic Research Criterion, the Mini-Mental Scale (MMC) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale®, Revised (ECERS-R™) were applied; the Habitual Physical Activity time was recorded; the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) was performed. Univariate analysis was performed using simple linear regression for the independent variables, considering the motor test subscales as dependent variables. Variables with p < 0.20 in the univariate analysis were considered for the multiple linear regression model and were entered into the stepwise method. Results: The independent variables remaining in the Standard Score Locomotor model were BMI, presence of park at school, and MMC (R[superscript 2] = 0.16). The independent variables remaining in the Standard Object Control score were MMC and gender (R[superscript 2] = 0.03). The variables associated with the highest scores of Gross Motor Quotient were MMC, body mass index, and presence of a park at school, respectively (R[superscript 2] = 0.11). Conclusions: Male eutrophic preschoolers who are physically active and attend schools with parks or courtyards in a Brazilian urban area have the highest scores for global cognitive function and motor competence.

To describe and analyze the changes in anthropometric parameters in children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) from birth to four years of age. This prospective study evaluated 117 children diagnosed with CZS. Anthropometric indices evaluated annually were classified with respect to presence of microcephaly and adequacy of weight-for-age, length/height for-age and body mass index-for-age (BMI-for-age). At birth, 69.6% of the children had microcephaly, 90.2% had adequate weight and 72.1% had adequate length. The following year, an increase occurred in the proportion of children with microcephaly, with a reduction of those with adequate weight. In the second year, the proportion of children with microcephaly increased again, while those with adequate BMI decreased. In the third to fourth years of life, a reduction was found in the proportion of children with adequate height. Anthropometric indices are affected in children with CZS over the first four years of life and appear to be potentiated over time.

To use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to investigate whether children with congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) show changes in their functioning and disability profile after nine months. This study included children with CZS recruited from a support centre for children with microcephaly in Brazil. The children's functional abilities and limitations were classified using ICF Core Set for children with cerebral palsy. Each ICF category was quantified in two moments with a mean interval of nine months. The study included 81 children (mean age = 38.4 ± 3.3mo). Most children showed changes between assessments. Categories that presented improvements were in body functions (five categories), environmental factors (two categories), and activity and participation (one category) sections. Most children with CZS evaluated improved their functioning and disability profile over time, mainly in body functions. These changes can be related to the course of the disease or to the health programmes that children had access.

Fundamental motor skills (FMSs) are building blocks for future movements and may vary according to cultural context. Moreover, network analysis can identify which skills contribute most to an overall set of skills. This study identified the most influential FMS in samples of U.S. and Brazil preschoolers that may contribute to a pattern of adequate motor skills. Participants were 101 Brazilian (55 boys; 47.52 ± 5.57 months of age) and 236 U.S. preschoolers (108 boys; 49.56 ± 8.27 months of age), who provided completed FMS assessments (Test of Gross Motor Development--third edition). Confirmatory factorial analysis was used to test alternative models. To quantify the importance of each variable in the network, the expected influence was calculated, using the network analysis Mplus, Rstudio, and JASP (version 0.14.1). Reduced models with nine and 11 FMS for Brazilian and U.S. preschoolers, respectively, showed adequate adjustment indexes. Jump (1.412) and one-hand strike (0.982) in the Brazilian sample, and hop (1.927) and dribble (0.858) in the U.S. sample, showed the highest expected influence values. This study presents a new perspective to report which are the most important FMS in preschoolers of different sociocultural contexts, which act as building blocks for the acquisition of more complex motor skills.

Non-adult-like linguistic behavior in children is sometimes taken as evidence for endogenous factors that drive selection of grammatical features from the child's hypothesis space of possible grammars. Analyses of English-acquiring children's productions of medial "wh"-phrases exemplify this trend in particular. We provide an alternative account of these productions as performance errors arising from underdeveloped cognitive inhibition. We offer experimental evidence in favor of our failure of inhibition account. The results argue against treating these errors as reflecting incomplete or non-target acquisition of grammatical features. Instead, the results support a theory of how these errors arise and are subsequently purged from children's productions that reduces to a theory of how cognitive inhibition develops during childhood.

In 2002, the Brazilian deaf communities' struggles against academic failure and deaf student dropout won a linguistic policy: the LIBRAS Federal Law. This official law, regulated by Decree N.5626 in 2005, recognises LIBRAS as a national language and requires inclusive educational practices in a bilingual model in order to promote meaningful learning, interaction and participation of deaf students in all educational domains. Nearly two decades later, the Law N. 14.191/2021 has been published, establishing bilingual education for deaf people as a teaching modality on Guidelines and Bases of National Education. Despite these political movements towards an effective inclusive education, the daily reality in Brazilian schools shows there are still challenges to adopting an additive bilingual and cultural approach using LIBRAS. There are also challenges in developing fluid communication between deaf and hearing class members that would enable inclusion, collaboration and understanding of cultural differences in the educational domain. Combining ethnographic perspectives and theoretical discussion of inclusive-bilingual education in Brazil, this article describes interactions in an intercultural dialogue between deaf trainee teachers, hearing children and their hearing teacher in a second-language learning context (LIBRAS). Focussing on the ways in which relationships and communication processes are re-constructed by the participants, this study reveals different ways of representing deaf people and the learning of LIBRAS, highlighting a deterritorialised perspective from the children which moves freely between the ideological boundaries and linguistic and cultural limitations of the deaf and hearing adults.

Evidence points to the possibility of promoting executive functions (EF) through school interventions. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of this type of intervention in situations of social vulnerability. This study investigated the effectiveness of an EF intervention program applied with a sample of preschool children, in a situation of socioeconomic vulnerability, assisted by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in northeastern Brazil. Participants were 46 children (mean age = 4.67 years; SD = 0.71), divided into experimental (EG = 25) and control (CG = 21) groups. The children were assessed before and after the intervention regarding measures of EF and behavior indices. The intervention was applied over 3 months by two professionals from the NGO. There was no group x moment interaction effect on the performance measure used, however, fewer difficulties were observed posttest in the EG in relation to the CG, according to the informant-based measures. From the parents' reports, difficulties in inhibitory control (IC) decreased in the EG. From the parents' and teachers' reports, difficulties in hyperactivity, conduct problems and behavior problems (BP) total indices also decreased in the EG. A simple mediation model suggested that gains in IC mediated the intervention impact on gains in BP as observed by the parents. Interventions in EF for socioeconomically vulnerable children can minimize the deleterious effects of poverty on neurocognitive development. This study shows the applicability and effects of this type of intervention in an educational context, within the scope of a community assistance social project, bringing neuropsychology and social requirements closer together.

Background: Brazilians are a growing immigrant population in the United States and there is a lack of interventions to promote healthful energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) and prevent obesity among Brazilian preschool-age children. To develop needed interventions, information is required about parents' perceptions of the importance of EBRBs and where they obtain information about these behaviors. Purpose: To assess Brazilian immigrant parents' perception of the importance of EBRBs and information sources they use to support their preschool-age children's healthful EBRBs. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Results: Fifty-two immigrant parents, most classified as having low acculturation, participated. In total, about 20-50% of parents perceived the six examined EBRBs as being extremely important. Parents reported that pediatricians, nurses, and WIC professionals were their primary sources for information about EBRBs. Discussion: Increased health education on the importance of EBRBs is needed. Health educators can facilitate linguistic and culturally sensitive communication, education, and provide guidance to parents on how to foster the development and maintenance of their preschool-age children's healthful EBRBs. Translation to Health Education Practice: Bicultural, bilingual health educators can help raise awareness, facilitate communication, provide education and guidance to Brazilian immigrant parents about the importance of children's healthful EBRBs in the prevention of obesity. A AJHE Self-Study quiz is online for this article via the SHAPE America Online Institute (SAOI) http://portal.shapeamerica.org/trn-Webinars/

Aims: To describe typical phonological development of Brazilian Portuguese (BP)-speaking children, considering the following parameters: age of customary production, acquisition and mastery. Methods & Procedures: Data were collected from 857 children aged between 3 years and 8 years 11 months with typical language and speech development. The sample was grouped into 6-month age bands. The data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Games-Howell post-hoc tests. Outcomes & Results: Stops (/p, b, t, d, k, g/), nasals (/m, n, [voiced palatal nasal]/) and some fricatives (/f, v, s, z/) were mastered before the age of 3 years (age of mastery). The age of acquisition for phonemes /[voiceless palato-alveolar fricative], [voiced postalveolar fricative]/ was 3;6, though both were only mastered at 4;0 years. The liquid /l/ was acquired at 3;0 and mastered at age 3;6, while /x/ was acquired and mastered at age 3;6. The phoneme /[voiced palatal lateral approximant] / was acquired at 7;0 and mastered at age 8;6. The tap /[voiced alveolar tap or flap]/ was acquired between the ages of 4;0 and 4;6, and mastered at 4;6. In coda position, /n, l/ were acquired at 3;0, while /s/ was mastered at 4;6 and /[voiced alveolar tap or flap]/ between 4;6 and 5;0 years. Clusters involving /[voiced alveolar tap or flap]/ were acquired at 6;0, while those with /l/ were acquired between the ages of 6;6 and 7;0. Conclusions & Implications: This study presented acquisition for consonants in BP and can be used as a reference for the assessment of developmental speech disorders. In this study, stops and nasals were acquired first, followed by fricatives and, lastly, liquids. This finding is corroborated by previous studies in BP and other languages.

Children have a basic knowledge of birds that they observe during their everyday life either in their garden, other gardens, round the house, walking in the local area or in the yard on school gardens. A total of 515 children, aged 3 to 16 (249 girls and 266 boys) enrolled in southern Brazilian public preschools, primary school and secondary schools, were invited to participate in this exploratory study. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 206 pupils asking to name which birds they knew, where they had seen these birds, which ones live around home, which they had seen further away. Additionally, they were asked which birds they knew from a list and the source of this knowledge where they had learned about the birds. They were asked to draw on a sheet of paper a representation of what the word "bird" meant to them. Results show the importance of everyday observations rather than beyond formal education in the children knowledge. Children from the earliest years notice birds in their everyday lives and build a bank of knowledge, gradually acquiring an understanding of adaptation to a variety of habitats. Children notice birds in their lives to differing extent and sources according to the culture in which they are immersed. Experiences of seeing or finding out about birds are encapsulated for many children in the form of narratives and contribute to their mental models of birds and their habitats on which they will drew in formal science later (Biology and Environmental Education). Educational implications are discussed.

The present study compares the fit of two- and three-parameter logistic (2PL and 3PL) models of item response theory in the performance of preschool children on the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. The test of Raven is widely used for evaluating nonverbal intelligence of factor g. Studies comparing models with real data are scarce on the literature and this is the first to compare models of two and three parameters for the test of Raven, evaluating the informational gain of considering guessing probability. Participants were 582 Brazilian's preschool children (M[subscript age] = 57 months; SD = 7 months; 46% female) who responded individually to the instrument. The model fit indices suggested that the 2PL fit better to the data. The difficulty and ability parameters were similar between the models, with almost perfect correlations. Differences were observed in terms of discrimination and test information. The principle of parsimony must be called for comparing models.

The present study was the first to investigate the ability to selectively trust reliable informants in a sample of Brazilian preschool children from two different socioeconomic backgrounds. Ninety-three 3- and 4-year-old children, equally distributed across a low- and medium-SES group, participated. A standard selective trust task was used. Participants also completed the Scale of Theory-of Mind Tasks and a vocabulary test (PPVT). Children from the mid-SES group showed higher vocabulary and theory-of-mind scores, but surprisingly, their performance in the selective trust task was significantly worse than the low-SES group. No age effect was found, but results suggest a significant main effect of condition, with participants performing better when an accurate informant was pitted against a neutral informant in comparison to when an inaccurate informant was pitted against a neutral informant. This pattern of results contrasts with previous evidence with 3-year-old children in the U.S., who showed more selective performance in the presence of inaccurate informants. These findings are the first to demonstrate the influence of family SES on selective learning in childhood and point to promising lines of investigation on how mechanisms of selective trust may vary across socioeconomic contexts.

To expand our understanding of script-general and script-specific principles in the learning of letter names, we examined how three characteristics of alphabet letters -- their frequency in printed materials, order in the alphabet, and visual similarity to other letters -- relate to children's letter-name knowledge in four languages with three distinct scripts (English [N = 318; M age = 4.90], Portuguese [N = 366; M age = 5.80], Korean [N = 168; M age = 5.48], and Hebrew [N = 645; M age = 5.42]). Explanatory item response modeling analysis showed that the frequency of letters in printed materials was consistently related to letter difficulty across the four languages. There were also moderation effects for letter difficulty in English and Korean, and for discriminatory power of letters in Korean. The results suggest that exposure to letters as measured by letter frequency is a language-general mechanism in the learning of alphabet letters. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED609249.]

We examined the association of maternal depression and anxiety symptoms with the weight status of children at preschool age. The current study is a cross-sectional study, which was carried out in the homes of the participants between July 2016 and August 2017. Maternal depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Of the 216 children included in the study, 69.4%, 21.3% and 9.3% were classified as [less than or equal to]85th, >85th and <97th and >85th percentile, respectively. The prevalence of moderate/severe maternal depression and anxiety symptoms was 20.1% and 19.5%, respectively. Children whose mothers had moderate/severe symptoms of depression and minimal/mild symptoms of anxiety were more likely to have excess body weight at preschool age than children whose mothers had both minimal/mild symptoms of depression and anxiety. We found that maternal depression symptoms are associated with excess body weight in children at preschool age.

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the neurological/psychomotor development of children aged 0-5 years attending Child Education Centers in Brazil. Method: This developmental assessment included a screening test to identify which variables could be associated with risks for developmental delays. A total of 444 children were evaluated using the Denver II, which examines the personal-social, language, fine motor-adaptive, and gross motor domains. To demonstrate associations between variables, the chi-square test for k-proportions was used, followed by a logistic regression model. Results: The evaluation indicated a risk for developmental delay in 45.9% of the children, with the personal-social and language domains being the most affected. The influence of the school environment and age group on child development was noted. Conclusions: These data are of great importance in that they serve to provide a basis for the identification and monitoring of the achievements of children.

When available in multiple languages, educational apps can deliver the same mathematics instruction in the child's first language or different language of instruction. This pilot study examined the feasibility of a maths app intervention compared to standard mathematical practice with 61 children aged 5-6 years attending a bilingual immersion school in Brazil. The apps were delivered in either the child's first (L1, Brazilian Portuguese) or second (L2, English) language, while app content, time on task, and school setting were consistent across the two treatment groups. Time on task in the comparison group was less. After 10 weeks, results showed children made significant mathematical learning gains with the apps, for both languages of instruction, compared to standard practice: the finding is discussed in relation to the threat of time spent on task. Children using the apps in Brazilian Portuguese (L1) completed more app topics than children using the apps in English (L2) and proficiency in language of instruction correlated positively with app progress. As children's L1 was significantly stronger than their L2 proficiency, this suggests the apps were most effectively implemented in their L1. This study advances the conjoining of bilingual educational theories to educational apps in a controlled, real-world, bilingual immersion setting and highlights important directions for improving app-based mathematics instruction for bilingual children.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a screening questionnaire for the early identification of language difficulties in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking preschool children. Method: The article is divided into two studies. In the first study, we reported the theoretical principles that guided the development of the Screening for Identification of Oral Language Difficulties by Preschool Teachers (SIOLD) and tested the validity of its structure. The psychometric properties of the SIOLD were tested using a sample of 754 children attending Year 1 of preschool. Thirty-two teachers coming from eight different schools completed individual questionnaires for all their students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the validity of the SIOLD. In the second study, we investigated the accuracy of the questionnaire for identifying children with oral language difficulties using a different sample of 100 preschool children. Using receiver operating characteristic and precision recall curves, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the SIOLD to identify children who showed impaired language performance in a short battery of tests. Results: The SIOLD has been shown to be a valid and accurate questionnaire for assessing the form and content of oral language in preschool children. It showed good accuracy, with sensitivity ranging between 0.750 and 0.857 and specificity of 0.946 for the identification of language difficulties. Among the cases positively identified by the SIOLD as having language difficulties, 54.5% were true cases of language disorders, while 45.5% were false alarms. The combination of these findings shows that the SIOLD overpredicts positive cases but identifies most children with true language disorders and passes most children without language disorders, as required of a good screening test. Conclusions: The questionnaire provides a useful tool for enabling Brazilian teachers to refer children with language difficulties to the speech-language services. The theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

The increased use of smartphones and tablets sets the stage for new mobile-based educational programs that seek to increase student learning and engagement in school and at home. This study examines the effectiveness of Escribo Play, a game-enhanced educational program, on preschool students' phonological awareness, word reading, and writing skills. The randomized controlled trial was conducted with 749 students from 62 classrooms from 17 schools located in five cities. Quantitative pretesting and posttesting procedures using standardized instruments were employed. The results indicate that the experimental classrooms that used the 20 games for 3 months gained 68% in their reading scores compared to control classrooms (d = 0.40). They also gained 48% more in writing scores (d = 0.20). Multilevel analysis indicated that these findings were statistically significant.

This article describes the goals, practices and underlying values of parents raising children in the violent context of Brazilian slums. The results show that mothers act within a multivocal moral framework, combining 'street cultural logic' with 'middle-class' perspectives. Survival and a strong sense of morality are taught through both adaptation to and dissociation from the neighbourhood context. The analyses challenge the idea of a homogeneous 'street' culture in these communities and show that various cultural repertoires and multiple interconnected perspectives on morality are cultivated in response to violence. The study provides ways to interpret parental strategies to organise a moral counteroffensive as a lever for change.

This article presents the results of a comprehensive survey, carried out with 520 early childhood teachers from 68 Early Childhood Education (ECE) institutions located in the western region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The research aimed to verify the effects of the National School Library Program- PNBE -- in the formation of readers. The PNBE was a government public policy to promote reading practice with young children from the beginning of the basic schooling stage (0--5 year-olds). Contradicting the intentions of the proposers of this policy, which was intended to distribute books and encourage reading, the research data indicate minimal circulation of Children's Literature texts in institutions and the lack of knowledge of this material among educational managers. The outcome also points to the weaknesses in the initial and continued training of teachers as mediators of early childhood literary reading practices. The reflection presented in this paper points out the existing gap between what is proposed by public reading policies and actual practices implemented in schools concerning Literary Education in Early Childhood.

The school environment adapted to the diversity of students is an important goal, but it is a challenge when it comes to the diversity of students with disabilities. The aim of this study was to describe the use of graphic systems in the routine of a preschool classroom through a collaborative program. The study included a teacher, 22 children of a preschool classroom in a school located in a large city southeastern Brazil, the mother of a child with disabilities and a special education teacher. A program of collaborative action was carried out among the researcher, the teacher and the students to insert the graphic system in the routine of educational activities for four months. The activities were recorded through a log book, filming and digital recording of interviews. The results obtained from the analysis of the themes identified that the children used the graphic system in the routine of the school tasks, the graphic system helped children in reading the words, the teacher facilitated the insertion of the graphic system from the mediation of the researcher, and the routine of educational activities planned by the teacher facilitated the insertion of the graphic system in the classroom among the students. The study reinforced the need for a training program aimed at school partners to include students with disabilities.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate whether preschool- and early school-age children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) have difficulties with speech perception. Method: Systematic searching of 8 electronic databases identified 73 eligible studies across 71 articles examining the speech perception skills of children with SSDs. The findings and methodological characteristics of each study were reviewed, and the reporting of methodological information in each article was rated. A meta-analysis was conducted with studies that used the most common type of speech perception assessment task--lexical and/or phonetic judgment tasks. Results: Across 60 of 73 studies, some or all children with SSDs were reported to have difficulties with speech perception. The meta-analysis showed a significant difference between children with SSDs and children with typically developing speech on lexical and/or phonetic judgment tasks. Conclusion: Results from the meta-analysis demonstrate that children with SSDs have difficulties with speech perception. This appears to be the case for some but not all children with SSDs. The findings from this systematic review and meta-analysis also provide insight into the complex range of methodological issues involved in the study of speech perception in children with SSDs and the need for further research.

Research Findings: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale--Revised (ECERS-R) is widely used to evaluate the quality of early childhood education and its association with child development. However, the psychometric properties of the ECERS-R are not well established. Consequently, in this study we tested 3 different factor solutions of the ECERS-R using models sourced from the existing literature (featuring 1-, 2-, and 3-correlated-factor solutions) and applying confirmatory factor analysis to data from the epidemiological sample of the Embu Pre-school Mental Health Study (n = 1,292 children). Alternative measures of child education quality (such as teacher-to-child ratio) were also analyzed. The confirmatory factor analysis returned good fit indices for both the unidimensional and 3-correlated-factor solution models. Practice or Policy: This study showcases different applications of the ECERS-R, both the full and shortened versions. These findings are particularly important for improving ECERS-R guidelines for researchers, professionals, and policymakers.

The article presents a review of research that has sought to capture the perspectives of poor children on their experience in Brazilian public childhood education institutions, emphasising two themes: interactions and play. The voices of the children heard in these studies indicate the predominance of the transmissive teaching model, centred on values and objectives defined only by adults, marked by discipline, authoritarian relations, and not particularly sensitive to the children' interests and needs. In this scenario, boys and girls develop a hostile relationship with school, especially with the preschool teacher. This panorama indicates an urgent need for participatory professional development that will allow educators to reconstruct the child' image, their own role and the educational environment so that they embrace and respond to the needs and rights of children and their competence.

The activation relationship is an emotional bond between caregiver and child that encourages child openness to the world through stimulation and discipline. This study aimed to analyse the father-child activation relationship in the Brazilian context through the Risky Situation. Twelve dyads have been observed: six father-boy and six father-girl dyads at preschool age. The results showed greater activation of boys compared to girls. Such results are analysed according to the Activation Relationship Theory. Despite sample size limitation, results consistently support the findings of other studies conducted in other contexts.

The article discusses the production of children's cultures based on the experiences of 3-5-year-old children with the language of comic books, focusing on gender relations. It is part of a doctoral research project conducted at FE / UNICAMP and investigates a case study in a municipal pre-school in the Greater ABC region in São Paulo, Brazil. It assumes that comic books viewed as media production interfere with children's ways of life, often reinforcing stereotypes found in sex differences. Combining philosophy, sociology and childhood education, it discusses how small children interact with comic books and what they reproduce, invent or reinvent when inspired by such materials. It emphasizes that comic books are part of children's material cultures and unveil symbolic aspects of children's cultures, which they share with each other and with adults in such a way that they observe patterns and identity values ??being negotiated in the sense that not only do they reproduce stereotypes of heteronormative culture, but also cross the boundaries of gender. In sum, the article sheds light on the challenge of bringing children to the debate about gender relations from the perspective of pedagogical proposals which might overcome sexist practices present in educational institutions.

How is it possible to form concepts in early childhood education? This question was the starting point of this study using recreational activities as a tool to support ecological literacy. The research was conducted with children aged 4-5 years in a Brazilian school. Initially, the meanings children attributed to the concept of a "food web" were identified during a teaching sequence including dramatization, games, drawings and interviews. The results show that although the understanding of the scientific concept of a food web did not exceed the complex phase of thought established by Vygotsky [(1986). "Thought and language." London: The MIT Press], we observed a development relating to the children's ecological literacy, supporting the research of Capra [(2006a). "A teia da vida: uma nova compreensão científica dos sistemas vivos." São Paulo: Cultrix; Capra, F. (2006b). "Alfabetização Ecológica--a educação das crianças para um mundo sustentável." São Paulo: Cultrix]. The group of young children developed the perception of belonging to the web, raising awareness of the importance of animal care to preserve life.

The present study explored how children's prephonological writing foretells differential learning outcomes in primary school. The authors asked Portuguese-speaking preschool children in Brazil (mean age 4 year 3 months) to spell 12 words. Monte Carlo tests were used to identify the 31 children whose writing was not based on spellings or sounds of the target words. Two and a half years later, the children took a standardized spelling test. The more closely the digram (two-letter sequence) frequencies in the preschool task correlated with those in children's books, the better scores the children had in primary school, and the more preschoolers used letters from their own name, the lower their subsequent scores. Thus, preschoolers whose prephonological writing revealed attentiveness to the statistical properties of text subsequently performed better in conventional spelling. These analytic techniques may help in the early identification of children at risk for spelling difficulties. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study tested societal effects on caregiver/teacher ratings of behavioral/emotional problems for 10,521 preschoolers from 15 societies. Many societies had problem scale scores within a relatively narrow range, despite differences in language, culture, and other characteristics. The small age and gender effects were quite similar across societies. The rank orders of mean item ratings were similar across diverse societies. For 7,380 children from 13 societies, ratings were also obtained from a parent. In all 13 societies, mean Total Problems scores derived from parent ratings were significantly higher than mean Total Problems scores derived from caregiver/teacher ratings, although the size of the difference varied somewhat across societies. Mean cross-informant agreement for problem scale scores varied across societies. Societies were very similar with respect to which problem items, on average, received high versus low ratings from parents and caregivers/teachers. Within every society, cross-informant agreement for item ratings varied widely across children. In most respects, results were quite similar across 15 very diverse societies. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

Two experimental training studies with Portuguese-speaking preschoolers in Brazil were conducted to investigate whether children benefit from letter name knowledge and phonological awareness in learning letter-sound relations. In Experiment 1, two groups of children were compared. The experimental group was taught the names of letters whose sounds occur either at the beginning (e.g., the letter /be/) or in the middle (e.g., the letter /'eli/) of the letter name. The control group was taught the shapes of the letters but not their names. Then both groups were taught the sounds of the letters. Results showed an advantage for the experimental group, but only for beginning-sound letters. Experiment 2 investigated whether training in phonological awareness could boost the learning of letter sounds, particularly middle-sound letters. In addition to learning the names of beginning- and middle-sound letters, children in the experimental group were taught to categorize words according to rhyme and alliteration, whereas controls were taught to categorize the same words semantically. All children were then taught the sounds of the letters. Results showed that children who were given phonological awareness training found it easier to learn letter sounds than controls. This was true for both types of letters, but especially for middle-sound letters. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

In Brazil there are no specific tests for either signed or spoken language for deaf children. A protocol evaluating communicative abilities independent of modality of communication (sign language or spoken language), and comprising assessments of (a) pragmatic profile; (b) modality of communication and linguistic level; (c) complexity of communication; and (d) style and efficacy of communication between parent and child was administered to 127 deaf and hearing children. The children, aged 3-6 years old, were distributed in three groups: 20 with severe hearing loss, 40 with profound hearing loss and 67 normally hearing. Deaf children were found to be delayed, independent of their linguistic level and preferred modality of communication. The protocol in this study proved to be an useful instrument for gathering relevant information about the three groups of preschool children's communicative abilities, and particularly suitable for use in countries where standardized assessments are not available. Learning outcomes: The reader will be introduced to the use of an assessment protocol comprising its development, application and data analysis. The reader will be informed about assessment of deaf children's preferred modality of communication, by the participation of a bilingual (sign language user) professional. Communication abilities can be assessed independently of the linguistic modality. In developing countries in general, where simple and easy to administer assessments tools are scarce, such a protocol is of specific value. (Contains 3 figures and 9 tables.)

Maternal rates of child internalising behaviour were compared across children's emotion attributions (neutral, fear, anger, sadness and happiness) to others in a discipline situation, after controlling for socio-demographic covariates. Sixty-five Brazilian mothers provided socio-demographic information and rated their preschool children's internalising behaviour. Children attributed emotions to a protagonist in a story facing maternal discipline. Analysis of covariance showed that children from homes with absent fathers, low-income or less-educated mothers received significantly higher internalising rates. Attribution of a neutral emotional state was linked to significantly lower child internalising behaviour, relative to attributions of anger, sadness or fear, independently from disciplinary tactics. Paternal absence was related to maternal rates of child internalising behaviour independently from diminished income, against a stereotype of Latino fathers as "uninvolved". Children's attribution of a neutral emotional state to others facing maternal discipline may be rare but seems to play an adaptive role in internalising behaviour. (Contains 2 tables.)

Two studies were conducted to investigate the correlates of hyperlexia in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Study 1 involved 3 groups of school age children individually matched for word reading ability: 6 ASD hyperlexic children, 6 ASD non-hyperlexic children, and 6 typically developing children. Study 2 involved 2 ASD preschool hyperlexic boys, and a group of 21 typical children of similar word reading ability. In both studies, participants were administered several reading measures as well as measures of cognitive and linguistic abilities that have been associated with variations in typical and dyslexic reading, namely, vocabulary, phonological processes, and rapid naming. Results suggest that ASD hyperlexic reading differs from both typical and ASD non-hyperlexic reading. In particular, they suggest that hyperlexics learn to compute letter-sound relations implicitly, on the basis of statistical learning. Although the hyperlexic children could read nonwords as well as the typical and the ASD non-hyperlexic children, they performed significantly worse than these groups of children on a letter-sound knowledge task. They also performed relatively poorly on a phonological awareness task. It is suggested that hyperlexics' indifference to language as a meaningful, communicative device may be the key to their exceptionally good and precocious development of word reading ability.

Many theories of spelling development claim that before children begin to spell phonologically, their spellings are random strings of letters. We evaluated this idea by testing young children (mean age = 4 years 9 months) in Brazil and the United States and selecting a group of prephonological spellers. The spellings of this prephonological group showed a number of patterns that reflected things such as the frequencies of letters and bigrams in children's language. The prephonological spellers in the two countries produced spellings that differed in some respects, consistent with their exposure to different written languages. We found no evidence for reportedly universal patterns in early spelling such as the idea that children write one letter for each syllable. Overall, our results reveal that early spellings that are not phonological are by no means random or universal and preserve certain patterns in the writing to which children have been exposed. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

Background: All previous longitudinal community studies assessing the continuity of child behavioral/emotional problems were conducted in developed countries. Method: Six hundred and one children randomly selected from a Brazilian birth cohort were evaluated for behavioral/emotional problems through mother interview at 4 and 12 years with the same standard procedure--Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results: CBCL Total Problem score presented a "medium" stability (r = 0.42) with externalizing problems showing higher stability and more homotypic continuity than internalizing problems. Of the children presenting deviant scores at the age of 4, only 31% remained deviant at the age of 12 (p less than 0.001). A "deviant" CBCL Total Problem score at 12 years old was predicted by Rule-Breaking Behavior [OR = 7.46, 95% CI 2.76-20.19] and Social Problems [OR = 3.56, 95% CI 1.36-9.30] scores at 4 years of age. Either Rule-Breaking or Aggressive Behavior--externalizing syndromes--were part of the predictors for the three broad-band CBCL scores and six out of the eight CBCL syndromes. Conclusions: Behavioral/emotional problems in preschool children persist moderately up to pre-adolescence in a community sample. Externalizing problems at the age of 4 comprise the developmental history of most behavioral/emotional problems at pre-adolescence. Our findings concur with findings from developed countries and are quite similar for continuity, stability and predictability.

Based on Bronfenbrenner's (1999) ecological perspective, a longitudinal, prospective model of individual differences in the quality of home environment (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment--HOME) was tested in a sample of 179 Brazilian children and their families. Perinatal measures of family socioeconomic status (SES) and child birth weight had direct effects on HOME at preschool age. As either family SES or child birth weight increased, HOME also increased through diminished emotional distress in the mother a month following childbirth. SES had a negative effect on number of children in the household, which in turn had a long-term negative impact on HOME. Compared to mothers who had reported not to plan their pregnancy, those who did were more likely to have fewer children, to report more spouse support during childbearing, and to show less emotional distress a month after childbirth, all of which also influenced HOME at preschool age. These findings are discussed in light of the broader socio-ecological Brazilian context, with direct implications to clinical practice aimed at improving the quality of home environment.

To examine the factors that affect the learning of letter names, an important foundation for literacy, we asked 318 US and 369 Brazilian preschoolers to identify each uppercase letter. Similarity of letter shape was the major determinant of confusion errors in both countries, and children were especially likely to interchange letters that were similar in shape as well as name. Errors were also affected by letter frequency, both general frequency and occurrence of letters in children's own names. Differences in letter names and letter frequencies between English and Portuguese led to certain differences in the patterns of performance for children in the two countries. Other differences appeared to reflect US children's greater familiarity with the conventional order of the alphabet. Boys were overrepresented at the low end of the continuum of letter name knowledge, suggesting that some boys begin formal reading instruction lacking important foundational skills.

Background: This investigation aimed at examining, through an epidemiological study, the social demographic, family and individual determinants of behaviour problems in preschool children. Method: Six hundred and thirty-four children, age four years, and their mothers, belonging to a cohort of 5,304 children being followed from birth, took part in the study. During a home visit, the child's behaviour problems and IQ were examined, as well as the prevalence of maternal psychiatric disorder, the quality of the home environment, and other social demographic, family and individual factors. Results: The results revealed a prevalence of children's behaviour problems of 24% (clinical and borderline groups). Regression analysis showed that maternal psychiatric disorder, education and age, number of younger siblings and quality of the home environment explained 28% of the variance of the child's behaviour problems. Conclusions: The results point to the multi-determination of child behaviour problems.

Includes "Community Development in Areas of Political and Social Conflict" (Oliver); "Women and Development in Peru" (Barrig); "Some Reflections on Community Development Experiences in Brazil" (O'Gorman); "Informal Networks for Pre-School Children in a Black Community in South Africa" (Lines); "The Advocacy Role of Social Work in the Changing Political Environment" (Wong); and "Experiences and New Directions in Africa" (Gordon). (SK)

Purpose: To assess the impact of early childhood caries (ECC) and its clinical consequences on preschool children's sleep, as reported by caregivers. Methods: A representative cross-sectional study was carried out with preschoolers aged four to six years in Brazil. Caregivers responded to the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale and a specific question from this questionnaire was used to determine sleep-related quality of life: "Has your child had trouble sleeping because of dental problems or dental treatments?" Additionally, a self-administered questionnaire with socioeconomic questions was used. Clinical examinations were performed by two calibrated dentists to diagnose dental caries (International Caries Detection and Assessment Systemepi) and its clinical consequences (pulpal involvement, tissue ulceration, fistula and abscesses [pufa] index). Adjusted and unadjusted Poisson regression was used for data analysis (P<0.05). Results: The sample consisted of 533 preschoolers, with 259 girls ( 51.4 percent) (n=259). The mean age of preschoolers was 4.78±0.6 (standard deviation) years. One-third (n=176) exhibited extensive carious lesions, and 14.1 percent (n=75) had clinical consequences of ECC. Conclusion: Children with clinical consequences of ECC were approximately 3.04 times more likely to have difficulty sleeping than children without them (95 percent confidence interval=1.75 to 5.25). The clinical consequences of ECC were significantly associated with difficulty sleeping among preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the prevalence of sleep bruxism, related factors, and quality of life of preschool children and their families. The sample was 475 children between 4 and 5 years old enrolled in schools in the city of Bauru-Brazil. Parents/legal guardians answered two questionnaires, one to assess the presence of bruxism and related factors and another that was the validated Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). Intraoral clinical examination was performed by two trained examiners (Kappa = 0.82) within the school environment. The data were analyzed using statistics and the Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient. The significance level was p < 0.05. The prevalence of sleep bruxism was 47.4%. The highest prevalence was related to Class I canines and marked overjet, oral habits, such as nail biting, lip biting, chewing gum, and mouth breathing. Children with agitated sleep, reports of headache, and those considered aggressive, anxious, and/or shy were also more related. Conclusion: In the studied sample, sleep bruxism prevalence was high and related to important oral and general factors. Data also indicated SB as the main factor that interfered in the OHRQoL of children and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]