This book reports on the findings of a series of studies on the development of zero-to-three-year-old Chinese children supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. The studies were conducted by a research group at the Institute of Early Childhood Education, Beijing Normal University. In the first part of the book, findings concerning the developmental trajectory are presented, including physical and motor development, cognitive development, language development, social and emotional development. The focus of the second part is on the effect of family environment and practices. Specifically, the authors provide empirical evidence allowing readers to better understand how the home environment and educational practice in the family impact the psychological development of children in their early years. In the last part, culture-specific issues like the new universal two-child policy in China are discussed. Most of the parts are based on large-scale investigations and analysis of the status quo, complemented by small-sample studies and case studies. The findings presented here will promote theory building and public understanding of early care and education in China. Moreover, the behavior observation scales and assessment tools developed by the research group are cultural appropriate and may serve as a foundation for further studies on early care and education in the Chinese cultural context.

Autorentext

Xin Liu is an associate professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University. She serves as the deputy director of the Young Children's Health Education Committee of the China National Society of Early Childhood Education (CNSECE) and the deputy director of the Care and Education for Children under 3 Years Committee of China National Standardization Association. Her research interests focus on young children's health education, young children's physical education, and birth to three care and education. Xiumin Hong is a professor of Early Childhood Education and director of the Institute of Early Childhood Education at Beijing Normal University. She is also director of the Committee of Teacher Professional Development of the CNSECS and director of China Association for Standardization Educare Professional Committee. She is widely regarded for her research focused on infant and toddler's development, teacher professional development, and early childhood education and care policy. Wanzhen Feng is an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. Her research interests are philosophy of early childhood education, kindergarten teachers' professional development, and arts education in early years. Currently, she is the principal investigator of a research project focused on the quality and improvement of teacher-child relationship in Beijing. Xiaowei Li is an associate professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, vice executive secretary of China National Society of Early Childhood Education. Her research is devoted to understanding the context (including family, school, and community) and temperament influences on young children's socio-emotional development. Xinghua Wang is an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University and a member of OMEP China Committee. Her research interests include early learning and development, science learning and teaching in kindergartens, and early care and education. Yuejuan Pan is an associate professor of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University. Her research focuses on program quality and evaluation, play and kindergarten curriculum, and early math education. Currently she is directing a research project on meta-evaluation of kindergarten quality rating system in Beijing.

Inhalt

Part 1 Development of Young Children Under Three.- Physical and motor development.- Cognitive development.- Language development.- Social and emotional development.- Part 2 Parenting and Child rearing in Family.- Family interaction patterns and child development.- Marital conflict, mother's distress and children's adjustment.- Father involvement in child rearing: From historical and cultural perspectives.- Home learning environment and the development of emergent literacy of children under three.- Quality of parents-children interaction and toddlers' aesthetic development.- Families' needs and selection of early care and education outside family.- Early Care and Education outside Family.- Situation and problems of early care and education outside family.- Action research on curriculum provided by center-based day care.- Action research on collaboration between Community, Family and Kindergarten in provision of early care and education.- Teacher-children interaction and transition of young children under three.- Part 4 Policies and Regulations.- Policies on care and education for children under three: current situation, problem and future development.- Prediction of demographic tendency of population under three and challenges to policy on care and education: in the context of new birth control policy.- Families' child-bearing wishes, social needs for provision of center-based care, and policy on care and education for children under three.