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The objectives of the study were to investigate the current status of applying picture books when teaching children and to also compare the differences in picture book teaching between teachers with different background variables and who are from Taiwan's outlying islands. The researcher distributed 179 questionnaires, and after eliminating invalid questionnaires, 177 valid questionnaires were obtained, achieving a questionnaire efficiency of 98.88%. The quantitative data were analyzed by a t-test, ANOVA, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression. The results were: 1. The overall status for picture book selection by early childhood educators was considered moderate to high. 2. The primary considerations for picture book selection were "theme" and "adopting a child's viewpoint". 3. The overall status for the application of picture book teaching strategies among early childhood educators was considered moderate to high. 4. The application of picture book teaching strategies was centered on "strategies for the promotion of thinking and activities" and "developing diverse abilities in children". 5. There is a positive correlation and predictive power between selecting and using picture books by preschool educators.

Current kindergarten parents' attitudes toward and beliefs about children's art education in majority cities and counties of Taiwan were investigated. A review of the literature was conducted to identify several possible influences on parents' interpretation/ assessment of children's art education. Then, the researcher developed and distributed a questionnaire for parents; 1,010 copies were distributed and 800 copies returned-of these, 758 were valid. Findings were as follows: (1) Parents' occupations, educational backgrounds, genders, ages, classes attended by children, and children's genders had significant effects on the interpretation of children's art education. (2) More than 66% of Taiwanese kindergarten teachers used the theme-based teaching approach. (3) Over 72% of parents believed that kindergarten art educators should have basic drawing skills and familiarity with art supplies and craft equipment. (4) Majority parents believed children could attend art classes by 3 years of age, and also informed that their children had attended art classes at that age.

The aim of this study was to investigate preschool teachers' use of picture books for teaching environmental concepts and the conservation of resources. Using an action research approach, twelve children aged 5-6 years old were recruited for this eight-week study. Eight picture books with an environmental education theme were selected for use in these classes. The results revealed that the pupils' knowledge of environmental concepts was higher in the post-test than the pre-test. With regard to the conservation of resources, the children learned to bring their own cotton hankies, use less water when washing their hands and brushing their teeth, and reduce the amount of drawing papers on which they doodled. The children were also persuaded to continue saving energy at home, and demonstrated that they understood that turning off the TV and lights were practical steps they could take to achieve this. Nevertheless, they did not appear to grasp the idea of reusing plastic bags.

The aim of this study was to identify and characterize children's perspectives on a picture book's themes and characters by examining their drawings. The study was conducted over a five-month period in a public kindergarten in southern Taiwan, with six children aged 5-6 years. Picture book appreciation activities focused on eight picture books. Research data were collected via digital recordings of participants' appreciation and art-making activities, interviews, and associate teachers' feedback. A qualitative research method was used to process and analyze data. Study results indicate that with regard to theme, children could clearly identify and characterize a story's theme but seldom offered in-depth interpretations. With regard to character, children could describe a picture book character's outward appearance and inner feelings but could not present its inner feelings in their drawings. These and other findings from this study could aid early childhood educators in conducting picture book appreciation activities in the future.

The research goal is to ascertain the current beliefs of the parents of preschool children regarding art education in Taiwan. Background factors on the parents were tested to show the differences between the parents' beliefs regarding art education and the actual art achievements of the children. From there, relationships between the beliefs and the actual achievements were analyzed and established. The researcher prepared the self-completion survey and distributed 300 copies to parents; 267 copies were returned with an effective return rate of 89%. The findings were as follows: I) Preschool parents viewed children's art education from four aspects--children's artistic development, children's art courses, parental art beliefs, and teachers' professionalism in art; II) Differences in the art education beliefs of preschool parents with different background factors: (A) Parents from different types of preschools show significant differences in terms of the children's art curriculum, (B) Parents' gender shows significant differences toward their beliefs regarding art education, (C) Parents' education shows significance differences in the dimension of children's art courses, and (D) The location of the family residence shows significant differences in parental beliefs regarding art education; III) Differences in children's achievements in art education depend on the different background factors of the preschool parents: (A) The location of the family residence shows significant differences in children's art satisfaction; IV) Parental approval of children's learning outcomes is in direct proportion to preschool parental beliefs regarding art education; and V) Preschool parental beliefs regarding art education are predictive of children's learning outcomes, especially in the area of children's art courses.

The research purpose was to investigate kindergarten parents' selection of after-school art education settings in Taiwan. A review of the literature and interviews with parents were conducted to identify several possible factors that would impact on parents' selection of after-school art education settings for their children. Then, the researcher self-compiled a survey and distributed 550 copies to parents and 515 copies were obtained. The effective return rate was 93.6%. The findings were as follows: 1. The majority of parents believed children can attend after-school art education settings at the age of four years, and parents also believed that art specialists have a great impact on children's drawings. 2. Type of kindergarten attended by children (public or private), mother's age, mother's occupation, and education level of mother and father have significant effects on decision making regarding the selection of after-school art education settings for their children. 3. The effects on learning: More than 85% of the parents believed that their children have achieved their expectation, which was to enrich creativity, patience, and attention. And, over 80% of the children discussed what they had learned with their parents. 4. The most popular way to teach is to combine teacher-directed and student-directed methods. 5. The most frequently used art materials are markers and crayons in after-school art education settings.

This research aimed to investigate the use of picture books by preschool teachers to instruct environmental concepts and their influence on resource saving by children. The study adopted qualitative research as a method to investigate 11 children aged 5-6 years in Taiwan. In addition, we used "the environmental protector" as a main theme, and designed three sub-themes, which included the Impact of Human Activities on the Environment, the Rubbish Problem and Recycling, and Environmental Protection and Resource Saving. We used eight young children's picture books that were related to environmental education to carry out eight weeks of teaching. The result of the research discovered that children's environmental concepts had increased greatly following the activities. The children learned about different types of recovery and the recycling of reusable resources and the importance of recycling; children also understood how to reduce rubbish, and how to use less water, electricity, and paper, plus other eco-friendly behaviour. Children saved resources through their own actions; for instance, children used less water when washing their hands and brushing teeth and brought their own hankies to school. Moreover, children also used less drawing paper and turned off lights and televisions without being reminded to save electricity. However, the reuse of plastic bags was not improved.

The purpose of this study was to investigate methods of enhancing kindergarteners' artistic creative thinking and expressive drawing through an activity that involved appreciation of picture books. The study was conducted in a public kindergarten in southern Taiwan, with 27 children aged between 4 and 5. The researcher conducted the study in 16 weeks; data were collected via digital recordings of participants' appreciation and art-making activities, artwork assessment checklists and questionnaires. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to process and analyse data. On the expression of and changes in children's artistic and creative thinking ability, findings suggest that ability is expressed through discussions that involve art vocabulary, including descriptive, analytical, interpretative and judgemental words. On-site practice indicated significant use of descriptive and analytical art vocabularies. The results also showed that the collage series of picture books had more impact on children than did other picture books in terms of teaching efficacy by picture book appreciation. With regard to differences in children's reading and drawing behaviours between the beginning and the end of the study, findings indicate a significant and positive change in children's reading and drawing behaviours at home. The study also indicated that children's drawing behaviours could be cultivated by a series of art instruction activities. These findings should impact kindergarten educators' instructional methods in visual art education in Taiwan, and may influence Taiwanese curriculum reform in early childhood art education.

This research aimed to investigate the use of picture books by preschool teachers to instruct environmental concepts and their influence on resource saving by children. The study adopted qualitative research as a method to investigate 11 children aged 5–6 years in Taiwan. In addition, we used “the environmental protector” as a main theme, and designed three sub-themes, which included the Impact of Human Activities on the Environment, the Rubbish Problem and Recycling, and Environmental Protection and Resource Saving. We used eight young children's picture books that were related to environmental education to carry out eight weeks of teaching. The result of the research discovered that children's environmental concepts had increased greatly following the activities. The children learned about different types of recovery and the recycling of reusable resources and the importance of recycling; children also understood how to reduce rubbish, and how to use less water, electricity, and paper, plus other eco-friendly behaviour. Children saved resources through their own actions; for instance, children used less water when washing their hands and brushing teeth and brought their own hankies to school. Moreover, children also used less drawing paper and turned off lights and televisions without being reminded to save electricity. However, the reuse of plastic bags was not improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate whether cloze forms with text-driven deletion method, proposed by Farhady and Keramati (1996), will produce better psychometric properties than standard cloze form; (2) to compare the psychometric properties of cloze test and C-test, both of which belong to the family of language reduced redundancy test; (3) to examine whether different deletion rates lead to difference in test-takers' performances; and (4) to test whether the assumption of test-takers' performance invariance across different texts hold for both cloze test and C-test. Based on two authentic texts with different rhetoric modes, three cloze forms with text-driven deletion method, along with one standard cloze and one form of C-test, were constructed and randomly administered to 237 student subjects at one private university in northern Taiwan. Furthermore, each subject was required to take three subtests (from a sample TOEFL test) as criterion measures for empirical validity. The results of the study indicated that neither the three cloze forms nor the C-test was substantially superior to the standard cloze in terms of reliability and validity. In addition, the findings of the study were inconclusive with regard to whether different deletion rates result in different test-takers' performances. Finally, no strong evidence was found to substantiate the claim that both cloze test and C-test meet the assumption of test-takers' performance invariance across different texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]