Global Perspectives in Early Childhood Education: Diversity, Challenges and Possibilities 9

Abstract

Contents: Eeva Hujala/Anneli Niikko: The Science of Early Childhood Education - Core Ideas - Eve Kikas/Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen: Education in Estonia and Finland - Ulla Harkonen: The Process of Creating the Pedagogical Systems Theory for Early Childhood and Preschool Education - James E. Johnson/Jennifer Chestnut Pyles: ECE in the USA: Focus on the State-Funded Pre-K Movement - Mare Torm: 170 Years of Development in Estonian Preschool Institutions: Historical Trends in Preschool Education - Marika Veisson/Paul Kees/Taimi Tulva/Maie Vikat: Development of the Field of Preschool Education in Tallinn University - Sigrun Sand: Early Childhood Education in a Multicultural Norway - Jarmo Kinos: Early Childhood Education in Finland - History, the Present and a Little Part of the Future - Airi Liimets: What Gifts Could Good Beginnings Have in Education Interpreted as a Difference? - Tiiu Tammemae: The Development of Speech of Estonian Children Aged 2-4 Years and Its Connections with Environmental Factors where the Child is Growing Up - Kristina Nugin/Marika Veisson: The Intellectual Development of 3-6-Year-Old Children in Different Child Rearing Environments in Estonia - Mairi Mannamaa/Eve Kikas: Developing a Test Battery for Assessing 6- and 7-Year-Old Children's Cognitive Skills - Piret Soodla/Eve Kikas: Oral Narratives of 6-7 Years Old Estonian Children - Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen/Timo Ahonen/Anna-Maija Poikkeus: The Development of Reading Skills and Motivation and Identification of Risk at School Entry - Peter K Smith: Children's Play: Essential for Development, Surplus Energy, or Something in Between? - Anneli Niikko/Aino Ugaste: A Comparative Perspective on the Early Years' Curricula in Finland and Estonia - Manjula Waniganayake: Early Childhood Leadership at Crossroads: Current Concerns and Future Directions - Helena Rasku-Puttone/ Eija Pakarinen/Kaili Trossmann/Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen/Eve Kikas/Anna-Maija Poikkeus: Classroom Practices in Finnish and Estonian Preschools: Subgroups of Observed Teaching Practices - Kaili Trossmann/Eve Kikas: Observations of Kindergarten Classroom Practices: Estonian Results - Marika Veisson/Kerstin Koop/Kristina Nugin: Appraisal of Preschool Teacher Education Preparation by Students About Their Studies in Estonia and Finland - Marika Veisson/Silvi Suur: Estonian Preschool Teachers' Vision about Cooperation with Parents - Pirjo-Liisa Poikonen/Marita Kontoniemi: Mutual Trust between Finnish Parents and Preschool Teachers - Tiia Oun/Anu Sarap: Involving the Board of Parents in the Management of Pre-School Childcare Institutions - Kerstin Koop: Children's Transition from Kindergarten to School in Estonia - the Parental Viewpoint - Johanna Einarsdottir: Children's and Parent's Views on Playschool Education in Iceland - Jarmo Kinos/Sirkku Kinos/Reetta Niemela: Developing a School Operational Culture and Improving Student Wellbeing: the Literature Project at the C. O. Malm School - Claire P. Monks/Peter K. Smith: Bullying, Aggression and Victimization in Young Children: Measurement, Nature and Prevention.