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Purpose Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have challenging behaviours that can create significant teaching challenges in group settings such as in mainstream pre-school inclusive settings. This study aims to identify and understand, from the perspectives of mainstream pre-school teachers in Singapore, the type of common challenging behaviours observed in pre-schoolers (mean age = 4.5 years, SD = 1.1, range = 3-6) with ASD. Design/methodology/approach Participants consisted of 62 teachers (mean age = 35.8 years; SD = 10.8) teaching in mainstream pre-school centres located in Singapore completed an open-ended survey. Twelve codes were generated and served as guidelines for coding the qualitative data. Codes with similar themes were then grouped to form four construct categories: social communication, restricted and repetitive behaviours, attention and learning and others. Findings Results indicated that difficulty with change/transition and social/peer interaction were the most concerning issues across all settings, whereas “lesson time” and “circle time” were the two most common activities/settings in which the concerns were reported by teachers. Originality/value Findings from this paper may add to the limited research looking at the challenging behaviours exhibited by children with ASD in mainstream pre-school settings in Singapore. Understanding the type of challenging behaviours presented in pre-schoolers with ASD and the activities/settings in which these behaviours occur may help the teachers to link the difficulties to specific interventions to further support their inclusion in a mainstream pre-school setting.

Children’s active engagement in early education settings plays an important role in academic and social development. One method for increasing active engagement is the use of response cards during instruction. Response cards are learning tools that allow an entire classroom to respond to a teacher’s question simultaneously by raising the card with the correct response. A multielement design was used to examine the effect of response cards on preschoolers’ active and passive engagement and interfering behaviors during a mathematics activity at circle time as compared to choral responding. Observational data on engagement and interfering behavior were collected for three students across the two conditions. While the response card condition had varying effects on the three students’ passive engagement and interfering behaviors, all three students generally showed higher levels of active engagement in the response cards condition than in the choral responding condition and reduced levels of interfering behavior.

Executive functions (EFs) are foundational for the development of cognitive and social capacities critical for school readiness. The importance of promoting EF skills prior to school entry is increasing recognized but few preschool classroom-based interventions specifically target EF skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a classroom-based intervention, Red Light Purple Light (RLPL), to enhance 4-year-old children’s EF skills. Fifteen early childhood education (ECE) centers in Auckland, New Zealand participated. There was a total of 212 consented 4-year-old children across the 15 centers. Centers were randomized to either the RLPL intervention (twice weekly circle time games sessions over 8 weeks) or a waitlist control group (the usual curriculum). Children’s EF skills were measured at pre-, post-, and 4-month postintervention using the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulder (HTKS) and Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) tasks. Teacher ratings of behavioral self-regulation were collected with the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS). Hierarchical linear mixed models were used to estimate the intervention effects, taking into account baseline scores, English vocabulary, age, and gender. Post-intervention interviews were conducted with 15 teachers. Significant short-term intervention effects were found for increases in EFs, based on DCCS scores. At 4-month follow-up, there were greater gains in CBRS scores for intervention group children. Teacher interviews indicated additional benefits of participation for children in self-control, language, and social skills. The study provides support for the effectiveness of the RLPL intervention, delivered by teachers in preschool classrooms, for improving children’s EF skills.

This study is aimed at uncovering the development of children’s attitudes at Tunas Harapan preschool in Salatiga, Central Java, through thematic-integrative learning with the Beyond Centers and Circle Time (BCCT) approach which was shown to be effective learning model for improving children’s physical, emotional, and academic performances. Involving teachers and parents, the model stimulates the rise of creativity and accommodates individual differences so that all children can experience learning as a knowledge foundation. The study solicited nine children of Berlian grade 1, two teachers, the principal, five parents, and a staff member. Data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. The findings reveal the model emphasizes playing and mutual interactions between the children and the preschool environment. The teacher simultaneously connected the topics with the surroundings drawing out the curiosity of the children to help them gain knowledge. The topics were selected through a variety of games based on their interests so that they would eagerly play to build positive attitudes.

As technology becomes more accessible and acceptable in the preschool setting, teachers need effective strategies of incorporating it to address challenging behaviors. A nonconcurrent delayed multiple baseline design in combination with an alternating treatment design was utilized to investigate the effects of using iPad tablets to display video self-modeling and activity photos for three preschoolers during circle time. During baseline, all three children demonstrated low levels of engagement and high levels of off-task behavior compared to peers. The intervention phase consisted of alternating between showing the child the self-video and photos prior to circle time. A child preference phase was conducted whereby each child self-selected the video or photo prior to circle time. For all three children both videos and photos led to increased engagement and decreased off-task behaviors. During the child preference phase, all three children selected the video most frequently. Social validity data demonstrated teacher and child preference for the video self-modeling condition.

Skinner (1957) described the tact as the most important verbal operant; however, there remains a disproportionate amount of research evaluating mand training compared to tact training for young children with autism. The current study sought to alleviate some of this disparity by evaluating the effectiveness of the iPad® and application Proloquo2Go™ as a speech-generating device, using a multiple baseline design, on the acquisition of a tact repertoire in three preschool aged children with autism. The procedures employed a time delay with full physical prompts, during a “circle time” routine. During the circle time routine, the classroom teacher would read the lift-the-flap children’s book “Where’s Spot?” and pause for five-seconds upon reaching the targeted animal for each respective student. During this time delay if the student independently selected the picture that corresponded to the animal, evoking the SGD’s digitized output, the teacher provided verbal praise. If the child did not respond or responded incorrectly, a full physical prompt was used to evoke the tact of the animal. Results indicated that all three participants acquired the ability to tact at least one animal at 100% independence, across three consecutive sessions, after an average of four training sessions. This skill was also found to maintain for those two participants for whom maintenance data were taken. These results extend the evidence base on the use of the iPad® and application Proloquo2Go™ as a SGD, as well as, the research based on tacting acquisition.

The Swedish preschool is an important socializing agent because the great majority of children aged, from 1 to 5 years, are enrolled in an early childhood education program. This paper explores how preschool teachers and children, in an ethnically diverse preschool, negotiate the meaning of cultural traditions celebrated in Swedish preschools. Particular focus is given to narrative representations of cultural traditions as they are co-constructed and negotiated in preschool practice between teachers and children. Cultural traditions are seen as shared events in the children’s preschool life, as well as symbolic resources which enable children and preschool teachers to conceive themselves as part of a larger whole. The data analyzed are three videotaped circle time events focused on why a particular tradition is celebrated. Methodologically the analysis builds on a narrative approach inspired by Bakhtin’s notion of addressivity and on Alexander’s ideas about dialogic teaching. The results of the analysis show that the teachers attempt to achieve a balance between transferring traditional cultural and religious values and realizing a child-centered pedagogy, emphasizing the child’s initiative. The analyses also show that narratives with a religious tonality generate some uncertainty on how to communicate with the children about the traditions that are being discussed. These research findings are important because, in everyday practice, preschool teachers enact whether religion is regarded as an essential part of cultural socialization, while acting both as keepers of traditions and agents of change. Är religion del av det svenska kulturarvet?

Inflatable balls and cushions made of non-latex rubber can provide alternatives to sitting on the floor/ground or classroom chairs. This study tested the effect of inflatable cushions (wiggle cushions) placed on the floor for seating during circle time in typical preschool classrooms. The effect on attention was tested using alternating periods of usual seating and wiggle cushions. Four preschool classrooms (n = 25) were utilized, with two randomly assigned to the intervention condition (n = 15) and two as control (n = 10). Circle time was led by classroom teachers. Preschoolers’ engagement was rated using five subscales of the Child Behavior Rating Scale (Mahoney and Wheeden 1999), a five-point Likert-type scale, from video recordings of a uniformly structured seven-minute period at the beginning of circle time. With use of wiggle cushions, there were statistically significant improvements in Attention and Persistence subscales (p = .002, .026 respectively). Teachers provided positive feedback for the intervention, indicating social validity. Results provide support for the use of wiggle cushions to enhance engagement during preschool circle time.

Well-being indicates that one is doing well emotionally and feeling comfortable with oneself as a person. A low level of well-being signals that a child is not succeeding in fulfilling his/her fundamental needs, such as eating, being hugged, physical contact, a more or less predictable environment, feeling accepted and feeling like he or she is a ‘good’ person. An involved child concentrates his/her attention on a specific focus, wants to continue the activity and to persist in it and is rarely, if ever, distracted. In this qualitative research, we focus on the well-being and involvement levels of children according to circle time activities and on how teachers react when children have low levels of well-being. The data consist of observations covering a total of 76 children from five different classes and focus-group interviews with seven teachers from these classrooms. The questions for the focus-group interview were prepared by the researchers. The tool focuses on two central indicators of qual...

Large-group circle time is an important component of many preschool classrooms’ daily schedules. This study scrutinized the teaching content of Head Start teachers’ literacy instruction (i.e., the types of literacy concept embedded within the instruction, lexical characteristics of teachers’ talk, and elaborations on literacy knowledge) in two different large-group activity contexts (book reading and nonbook reading) that occur during large-group circle time at the beginning and the end of fall semester. Change in teachers’ literacy instruction across the semester and within each context was examined. Results indicated that teachers engaged in more literacy instruction in the nonbook reading context than during book reading. Teachers provided more vocabulary instruction than code-related instruction during book reading, but a similar amount of each type of instruction during nonbook reading. More vocabulary instruction occurred in winter than in fall, whereas the lexical characteristics of teachers’ talk ...

Several problem-solving interventions that utilise a “circle” approach have been applied within the field of educational psychology, for example, Circle Time, Circle of Friends, Sharing Circles, Circle of Adults and Solution Circles. This research explored two interventions, Solution Circles and Circle of Adults, and used thematic analysis of questionnaire data to investigate the views of school staff that had taken part in these interventions. 62 participants were involved in a Solution Circle and 31 participants were involved in a Circle of Adults. Findings highlighted key features of these circle interventions which corresponded to those identified from relevant literature. Participants who had taken part in a Solution Circle described the applicability of solutions to other aspects of their work and a greater amount of strategies and solutions generated as a result of the group process. Participants who had been involved in a Circle of Adults session described having a greater understanding of a probl...

This study sought to maintain task engagement of a 4-year-old student with developmental disabilities included in a pre-K classroom while decreasing reliance of one-on-one support from a paraprofessional. To accomplish these goals, a withdrawal design (A-B-A) with a nested changing-criterion design was used to withdraw paraprofessional proximity. A cue was provided to the paraprofessional as an indicator of when to engage with and withdraw proximity from the student. Momentary time sampling procedures were used to measure task engagement during group circle time and proximity between student and paraprofessional. Results showed that task engagement was maintained at a level comparable to peers without disabilities, while proximity less than 0.9 m from the student was reduced from 95% to 18% of intervals.

Preschool and kindergarten teachers expect children to sit appropriately and attend to the teacher during group instruction. However, children may engage in high rates of inappropriate responses that distract other students from learning opportunities. In addition, children often receive intermittent teacher attention for inappropriate responses, which might result in a lack of discrimination for when attention is or is not available. The purpose of the current study was to assess the efficacy of a multiple schedule plus rules indicative of the availability of attention for hand raises during circle time in typical preschool classrooms. Results showed that the rates of hand raises increased or maintained in the reinforcement component and decreased in the extinction component of the multiple schedule in all three classrooms. Results suggest that a multiple schedule plus rules indicative of the availability of attention from a classroom teacher can be used by preschool teachers in typical classrooms to maintain hand raise responses at appropriate levels.

This study examined the quality of preschool teachers’ interactive conversations with three- and four-year-olds in two Head Start classrooms serving children from low-income families in the United States. Over a period of 20 weeks, 10 bi-weekly observations of conversations (totaling 15 h per classroom) were conducted in one small-group (Play Time) and two large-group (Breakfast Time and Circle Time) contexts. The teacher–child verbal interactions were transcribed and coded using the Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale (TILRS) to determine the frequency of responsive language strategies employed by the teachers across the three contexts. The two teachers applied Child-Centered Strategies and Interaction-Promoting Strategies the most during Circle Time, followed by Play Time, and the least during Breakfast Time. While it was observed that both teachers did talk to the children face to face frequently across contexts, they rarely used Language Modeling Strategies to engage them in cognitively chal...

As an early childhood educator, Ms. Maria felt able to recognize and manage the difficult, but age-appropriate behaviors of the 3and 4-year-olds in her classroom. Kaleb often had trouble sitting still during circle time, and Annabelle was still crying at drop off. Janell had language delays but was progressing since the start of the year. Fortunately, Ms. Maria was equipped with the training and skill to manage these behaviors, and every day they were becoming less disruptive. However, there were some behaviors Ms. Maria was having trouble managing. During naptime, one afternoon, Ms. Maria noticed Emilio, a child with autism, laying down on his mat with his hand down his pants, apparently self-stimulating. Unsure what to do, Ms. Maria simply ignored Emilio’s behavior—but she wondered, “Is Emilio being sexually abused?” Another afternoon, she found Sophia and Michael, both age 4, in the bathroom. They had their pants down and were looking at one another and laughing. They looked up surprised when she came in. Another time, Juan was found trying to tongue kiss Angelique in the corner of the room. And then, Ellen (age 3.5) who has a hearing impairment, pointed to Tomas’s pants, and questioned Ms. Maria, “Me . . . penis?” Ms. Maria was shocked at Ellen’s use of this term and was not really sure how to answer her question. Finally, one of her male students would often sit on her lap during story time and touch her breasts while she was reading to him. Ms. Maria’s experience in the classroom is fairly typical. Many early childhood educators encounter children who exhibit sexual behavior and are not sure how to respond. Although they have had training in childhood development, sexual development is rarely given the attention it deserves. At the same time, early childhood education personnel often get

This study sought to investigate participatory values in relation to gender, asexpressed in interactions between teachers and children in circle-time situations inSwedish and Norwegian preschools. ...

To be accepted into social groups, individuals must internalize and reproduce appropriate group conventions, such as rituals. The copying of such rigid and socially stipulated behavioral sequences places heavy demands on executive function. Given previous research showing that challenging executive functioning improves it, it was hypothesized that engagement in ritualistic behaviors improves children's executive functioning, in turn improving their ability to delay gratification. A 3-month circle time games intervention with 210 schoolchildren (Mage = 7.78 years, SD = 1.47) in two contrasting cultural environments (Slovakia and Vanuatu) was conducted. The intervention improved children's executive function and in turn their ability to delay gratification. Moreover, these effects were amplified when the intervention task was imbued with ritual, rather than instrumental, cues.

This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of using an activity mini-sched - ule which divided a circle time activity into four sub-activities with four preschoolers who were deaf and had received cochlear implants. Often preschoolers with cochlear implants display difficulty directing attention to appropriate stimuli during large group activities (Chute & Nevins, 2003). It was hypothesized that the use of an activity mini-schedule would decrease inattention. Using a multiple baseline design across participants, an activity mini-schedule was introduced to each participant sequentially by a paraedu- cator who sat behind the children during circle time. Participants' behaviors were videotaped and coded. The introduction of an activity mini-schedule decreased inattention in all participants, yet individual outcomes varied. Although this study offers some evidence that activity mini-schedules may positively impact attention in young children, more research is needed.

Research Findings: The present study examined the efficacy of a self-regulation intervention with 65 preschool children. Using circle time games, the study examined whether participating in a treatment group significantly improved behavioral self-regulation and early academic outcomes. Half of the children were randomly assigned to participate in 16 playgroups during the winter of the school year. Behavioral aspects of self-regulation and early achievement were assessed in the fall and spring. Although there was no treatment effect in the overall sample, post hoc analyses revealed that participation in the treatment group was significantly related to self-regulation gains in children who started the year with low levels of these skills. Children in the treatment group also demonstrated significant letter-word identification gains compared to children in the control group. Practice or Policy: The findings from this study provide preliminary evidence for the efficacy of the intervention in terms of improvin...

Perla, a 4.5-year-old girl with autism, attended an inclusive child care center. She had 12 classmates, but she was the only child with autism. Perla used three-and four-word sentences to communicate, followed simple verbal directions during most classroom routines, and imitated teacher and peer behaviors when prompted. Perla rarely interacted with her peers unless prompted by her teacher, Sahalie. She used a picture schedule with some adult help throughout daily routines. However, her participation in circle time was inconsistent. Most days, she started crying during the transition to circle time and did not stop whimpering until the end of it. Perla avoided peers and sat on the edge of the carpet. She often disrupted circle

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine circle time activities in eight Head Start classrooms. A total of 7 h of observations occurred in eight classrooms. Songs and academic activities were the most frequently occurring activities. Challenging behavior during circle time also was examined. The three activities with the highest frequency of challenging behavior were roll call, discussion, and calendar routines. Limitations of the study along with implications for research and practice are presented.

This study focused on a specific feature of preschool teacher talk, revoicing (a situation in which the teacher repeats, fully or partially, what the child said in the immediately preceding turn), within a specific interactional context, circle time, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the type of language mediation that occurs in this learning event. Data included recordings of 20 circle-time sessions with children from two age groups: preschool children (mean age of 47.4 months) and kindergarten children (mean age of 68.7 months). This age range enabled us to explore whether the use of revoicing reflects teacher attentiveness to the level of the children's developing linguistic and conversational skills. Revoicing was manifested in two forms, exact and reformulated, and was found woven into the teachers' talk throughout the interaction with both younger and older children, regardless of the topic or pedagogical aims of the session. Although revoicing served various pedagogical needs, it ...

Four preschool supervisors were individually trained in a collaborative team approach in which classroom and resource teachers together developed a plan to increase the peer interactions of the entire class, including children with disabilities. The purpose of the research was to assess the generalization of effects to a new program target (children's on-task behavior during circle time) and over time (3 months). The experimental phases of baseline, supervisor training, and follow-up were introduced in a multiple-baseline design across four preschool classes, each containing 2 children with disabilities. Behaviors of teachers, 8 children with disabilities, and 8 comparison children were measured during daily 20-min training sessions (indoor play periods) and generalization sessions (circle time). Results indicated that following supervisor training, teachers increased their focus on groups of children that included children with disabilities in both training and generalization sessions. After supervisor training, children with disabilities and comparison children increased their peer interactions during training sessions and their on-task behavior during circle time. Changes in teachers' and children's behaviors in both settings were maintained at the 3-month follow-up observation. Implications for teacher training and consultation are discussed.

This article reports an action research project in which children, their teacher and the author, and an advisory teacher from a Local Authority collaborated as co-researchers in a project to improve working relationships in the classroom. Both appreciative enquiry and emancipatory research informed the project. This article focuses on one aspect of the project: the development of active listening skills. In an initial consultation, the teacher described her difficulty in teaching a mixed-year class of 7–9-year-old children who had difficulties in functioning as a group. During the initial whole class consultation, the themes that emerged as pertinent for making the class more fun to be in were: listening, caring and co-operating. Three strands: greetings, active listening and co-operative activities were explored during eight multi-sensory sessions and applied during class time over a period of three months. The results produced evidence of improvement in promoting listening and social skills. It...

The purpose of this study was to investigate how very young children can influence their daily life in preschool, in relation to teacher control. The specific questions studied were: What opportunities do the children have to make their own choices and take the initiative? How does teacher control manifest itself? What form do permanent structures, such as rules and routines, take? The results show that the children do, in fact, make choices, mostly from several fixed alternatives, and that they do take the initiative, sometimes to express an opinion and even a right, sometimes to express what they want to do in circle time. It is also shown that the amount of influence young children are able to exert varies with the amount of control the teacher exercises. It is evident that strong teacher control is maintained in different ways, that is, by directing communication, by using a playful voice, by being responsive and by endeavouring to come close to the child’s perspective. In communication directed by the teacher, explicit rules about conduct and manners appear. In such situations, the children are unable to exert any influence. When the teacher maintains control by coming close to the child’s perspective, responding to them sensitively and talking to them with a playful voice, the rules are implicit and no reprimands are necessary. In these situations, the children are freer to make choices and take the initiative. The conclusion is that strong control does not necessarily limit children’s influence; it depends on the character of the control. Children’s influence increases when the teacher’s control over the what and how aspects of communications is weak, and is characterised by closeness to the child’s life-world and a communicative approach. In order to stimulate children’s influence, it seems to be important to develop teachers’ powers of insight and mutual respect.

This study examined the effectiveness of embedding children’s social goals into routine activities within inclusive preschool classroom settings. An AB (i.e. baseline and intervention) single‐subject design was used across three male participants with identified disabilities. Three student‐teachers, enrolled in a master’s program at a university, implemented the intervention by embedding children’s social goals into classroom routines (e.g. circle time). Social competency increased for all three boys, and social skills improved on the selected social goals that were embedded into classroom routines. The results suggest that the embedding strategy may offer an effective approach for individualizing social skills intervention in preschool classrooms.

The authors of this article argue that deficit in socially skilled behaviour is often one of the distinguishing characteristics that sets people with intellectual disability apart from their non-disabled peers. The need for social skills training to take place within the context of real life daily situations has been emphasised in more recent literature as essential in enabling people with an intellectual disability to generalise new skills. The researchers involved in this study, Catherine Canney, a senior educational psychologist, and Alison Byrne, a senior speech and language therapist, both work in a school for children with mild intellectual disability in Ireland as part of a multidisciplinary team. Analysis of teachers' referrals to the team indicated a significant and ongoing need for supporting social skills development among the students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the merits of Circle Time as a classroom intervention aimed at improving the social skills of students with a mild intellectual disability. The research is presented here as an evaluative case study reflecting this experience. Organisational and interactional issues arising are presented and discussed with the intention of supporting those involved in facilitating Circle Time with children who have special educational needs. The authors also identify avenues for future research.

In this project, a partnership between school and university personnel addressed, in a systematic, research-oriented fashion, a classroom problem. A young child with autism exhibited excessively loud screaming, yelling, humming, and other distracting noises during class activities in a special education setting. These disruptive behaviors were a serious concern and also hampered the teacher's efforts to place the child in more inclusive environments. The partnership members first systematically assessed the target behaviors and then consulted existing research interventions addressing those behaviors. Basing their efforts on previous research, the partnership members developed social stories and implemented them through a single-subject research design. Ongoing observations and consultations, as well as input from all partnership members, formed the basis for any changes made to the intervention. At morning circle time, data on inappropriate behavior (yelling) and appropriate sitting were collected during baseline, Intervention Phase 1, Intervention Phase 2, and return-to-baseline conditions. The intervention yielded positive behavioral changes for the target student. Findings are discussed with respect to effective social story interventions for young children with autism and establishment of effective partnerships through which teachers may become active researchers.

Introduction The transition from preschool settings to kindergarten classrooms is often a socially demanding experience for young children (Heaviside & Farris, 1993; Zill, 1999). That shift is often more difficult for preschool children from at risk backgrounds. The term 'at risk' is used widely and describes young children who are disadvantaged by social problems and/or specific conditions. Young children who are at risk usually reflect a combination of environmental, biological, and established conditions. Environmental factors may include low-socioeconomic status, unstable home environments, exposure to violence, limited access to cognitive and language modelling, or organically-based developmental delays (Zervigon-Hakes, 1995). Early identification of young children who are at risk for learning is important because these children are at greater risk for later school dropout and academic failure. Therefore, the need to bolster their abilities to cope in the kindergarten classroom is significant. If the young, at risk preschooler can successfully negotiate the social demands of kindergarten, then she/he is more likely to make the transition into the primary grades and gain a sense of confidence in the academic setting. While this article is primarily concerned with those children deemed at risk by social factors, the information provided is also relevant to children who are placed at risk by specific developmental delays and disabling conditions. In the broadest sense, at risk can describe young children with environmental deficits such as poverty and family instability, children from minority and ethnically diverse families, and children with developmental delays and disabilities. While we are concerned about developmental readiness across all areas--cognitive, language, emotional, and social--many kindergarten teachers have voiced special concerns over the social 'readiness' of children from at-risk backgrounds; negotiating social situations in complex classroom settings is a necessary skill for the confident, successful student. Behaviour descriptors of preschoolers at risk Preschoolers who are at risk demonstrate fairly common patterns of social behaviours. Specifically, teachers report that many at risk preschool children have difficulty in the following areas: (1) following directions, (2) lack of experience within a structured setting, (3) difficulty working independently, (4) difficulty working in a group, and (5) generalised immaturity (Rimm-Kaufman, Pianta & Cox, 2000). For example, one teacher described her experience with kindergarten children who were at risk. She had intended to start the day with circle time and reading a story. However, two of the children lacked the social skills to sit quietly and keep their hands to themselves. She later discovered that these children had been reared in welfare hotels with no tables and chairs, toys, or books (Quindlen, 1991). Children with limited prior learning experiences are already at risk for school failure, primarily because of lack of social knowledge and competence. As a result of these problematic behaviours, many of these children will not develop necessary social skills or experience academic success. Therefore, they become at risk of developing serious emotional or behavioural disorders (Patterson, Reid & Dishion, 1992). In order to alleviate the poor outcomes caused by the lack of critical social skills at the preschool level, many of these children will require early intervention or special education services when they enter the public school system. Prevention research focusing on preschoolers and kindergarteners provides a framework for addressing behavioural issues of young children who are at risk of developing an emotional or behavioural disorder. This research indicates that teaching young children the social skills they need to develop positive relationships with teachers and peers serves as a buffer against the development of future problems (Sprague, Walker, Golly, White, Myers, & Shannon, 2001). …

Education for citizenship is now recommended for all primary schools. Whilst primary teachers have long covered social and moral education, they have been less likely to cover teaching about community and political literacy (including the discussion of topical, controversial issues). This paper reports research findings on current practice and identifies key areas for discussion. It argues that there is great scope for enriching and enlivening the primary curriculum through the introduction of education for citizenship, by extending current practice in social and moral education and incorporating the newer themes of community and political literacy into existing teaching.

Teachers implemented a 6-week classroom intervention designed to promote emergent math skills and math interest in preschool-aged children. Teachers in experimental classrooms incorporated math-relevant activities into their daily routine during circle time, transitions, mealtime, and small-group activities. Control classrooms engaged in their typical activities. After the program, experimental children scored significantly higher than control children on a standardized test of math ability and enjoyed math activities more than the control children, as measured by both teacher and self-report. Teachers rated the program as highly satisfactory and reported that they increased their own enjoyment and skill in implementing math activities in their classrooms. The intervention effects were largely accounted for by substantial gains by boys, whereas girls showed much smaller program response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The interest of teachers and educational psychologists in circle time has grown over recent years, and there has been an explosion of publications offering activities and curriculum on the subject. Despite this expansion in publications, there has not been an accompanying growth in efficacy-based research about circle time. The current literature contains little evidence of its effectiveness. The present paper outlines a research study, undertaken within one local education authority and as part of the researcher's work on the Education Doctorate programme at Sheffield University, that aimed to investigate teacher and pupil perceptions of circle time. It concludes that both groups view circle time as a positive intervention. The study raises questions about the possibilities regarding socially mediated learning.

This study tested Vygotsky’s assumption that sociodramatic play in early childhood contributes importantly to the development of self-regulation. It also explored whether the link between sociodramatic play and self-regulation differs for impulsive and nonimpulsive preschoolers. In a short-term longitudinal design, 51 middle-income 3- and 4-year-olds were observed in their preschool classrooms. Naturalistic observations of total dramatic play, complex sociodramatic (CSD) play, and solitary dramatic play and of self-regulation in two classroom contexts—clean-up periods and group circle time—were gathered at Time 1, in the fall of the school year. To assess development of self-regulation, clean-up and circle time observations were repeated at Time 2, in late winter and early spring. CSD play predicted development of self-regulation during clean-up periods, whereas solitary dramatic play was negatively correlated with improvement in clean-up performance. The CSD play/improved self-regulation relationship was particularly strong for high-impulsive children, nil for low-impulsive children. Findings are consistent with Vygotsky’s theory and suggest that sociodramatic experiences may be especially advantageous for impulsive children, who are behind their peers in self-regulatory development.

2nd ed., by Murray White, London, Sage, 2009, 150 pp., £24.99 (paperback), ISBN 978‐1‐4129‐3535‐7 As a headteacher, the author, Murray White, used Circle Time in school for developing the self‐este...

CASE: Thomas is a 5-year 6-month-old boy whose parents requested an urgent care appointment because he has recently been suspended from kindergarten stating “and his doctor must see him before he can come back.” His suspension from kindergarten was due to kicking and biting his classmates, but he has also become increasingly aggressive at home. His teacher reported that he has always had a high activity level and difficulty shifting attention between tasks, as well as noncompliance with rules and directions. He is noted to have learning challenges and is showing difficulties in the concept of numbers and letter sounds. The practice has followed Thomas since his healthy birth. He has a history of delayed language development, and he received early intervention services from 2 years of age. He spoke his first word at 2 years 6 months. He started a half-day preschool program at 3 years of age. He had difficulty acclimating to preschool, interacting with peers, and was described as “hyperactive” by his teachers. His program was modified to decrease his time having to sit in a circle time, and he often required the support of the paraprofessional in the classroom. His parents have always described him as a “difficult child.” He gets frustrated easily and can tantrum for up to 2 hours multiple times in a week when his immediate needs or requests are not met. He has difficulty falling asleep, has frequent night awakenings, and often has trouble getting back to sleep. His self-help skills are poor, and he has difficulty with activities such as brushing his teeth and dressing. His parents report that he does not seem to remember rules from day to day. He was evaluated at 5 years of age and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but his response to stimulants has been limited. Thomas is an only child. His parents are college educated and professionally employed. They deny drug use, domestic violence, and guns in the home. They reported that prior to the pregnancy, they enjoyed “partying” with friends on the weekends, but Thomas's mother reported that she stopped drinking as soon as she realized she was pregnant. All are wondering whether this child might have a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, although he seems to have no clear facial dysmorphology. It is unsure what the next step might be and if there is value added in pursuing this diagnosis. What do you do next?

Children’s perceptions of their child care experiences in classrooms that varied in quality were explored in this study. One hundred twenty-two children were observed and interviewed about their likes and dislikes in 4 high and 4 low quality classrooms. Children verbalized an accurate understanding of procedures, events, and activities, but their responses differed by classroom quality. Children in low quality centers listed activities as rigidly sequenced events, whereas children in high quality centers highlighted notable events and numerous choices. Play was the favorite activity of all children in all classrooms. Mean behaviors, circle time, and nap time were primary dislikes that did not vary with classroom quality. Children in both types of environments offered many more positive than negative perspectives, revealing an optimistic outlook that transcended the quality of the setting. Results are discussed with regard to the contributions of children’s understandings to the complex issues of child care quality.

Emotional awareness programmes and initiatives in education have a high profile. Training courses in emotional literacy and emotional literacy projects are being promoted nationwide. However, whilst many successful projects and programmes have taken place in the context of mainstream school settings, by comparison relatively fewer projects have been reported in special school settings. A seven-week emotional awareness project was designed for seven pupils in a Year 8 form group (12–13 years of age) who were presenting with emotional and emotional/behavioural difficulties in Durants School, which caters for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The project drew upon principles of circle time and placed emphasis on multisensory activities and role play. The purpose of the project was to identify whether an emotional awareness programme would lead to an increase in the pupils’ awareness and understanding of their own emotions, and whether an awareness of other people’s feelings/emotions could ...

This study provides an example of an innovative practice for the assessment and intervention of mouthing behaviors influenced by an establishing operation. The participant was a 6-year-old boy with multiple disabilities who was attending a self-contained class in his local school. A functional analysis embedded within five activities (i.e., alone time, task demand, play, circle, and eating) during the classroom's typical routine was conducted. Results of the functional analysis suggested mouthing was maintained by multiple functions and most frequently occurred during the alone time, circle time, and task demand activities. The functional analysis also revealed that the participant was more likely to mouth in the presence of an establishing operation (i.e., sinus infection). Preferred items were noncontingently offered using an antecedent choice intervention. Ongoing choices of preferred items resulted in reductions in mouthing, even in the presence of the establishing operation.

Evidence suggests that gender segregation begins early in life, and becomes a dominant social fact for childhood and beyond. The phenomenon of segregation starts before three years of age, and seems to accelerate through middle childhood. One of the remarkable things about this differentiation is that it seems to occur naturally during the everyday activity of children. In this paper we attempt to explore some possible root causes of this gender segregation. We observed adult/child and child/ child social interactions in a preschool classroom that might normally be considered pre‐gender segregation or early gender segregation (30‐42 months of age). The observations were conducted during two distinctly different types of preschool activities: adult/mentor dominated activities (i.e., circle time) and peer culture dominated activities (i.e., free playtime). Analysis and coding of observations suggests that adult/child social interactions were very different for interactions initiated by females and those ini...

Improved behavioural adjustment is often linked to interventions addressing self concept. The following paper describes a collaborative project carried out in a primary school where a significant number of pupils presented high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. Many of the presenting difficulties seemed to relate to low self‐concept. The aim of the project was to develop a systems approach offering an alternative to individual casework. The new method had to be workable within the limits of the school's immediate resources. Circle time was chosen as an experimental intervention, since it appeared to incorporate many factors and processes identified as having positive correlations with improvement in self‐concept and behaviour. Circle time was used in a whole‐class and extracted‐group context. Positive behavioural change was noted in the majority of targeted children but the whole‐class approach was seen to be the most effective.

To what degree can an approach involving the use of circle time improve the quality of relationships within a class? The writers report on a piece of research they undertook involving a Year 6 class which sought to answer this question. The research was initiated because of a concern about the poor quality of relationships within the class. The writers worked together on seven weekly circle‐time sessions of 45 minutes each. There was a clear focus on relationships and the discussion of feelings. Evaluative questionnaires were given at the outset and on completion of the programme. The results were generally encouraging, in particular in terms of more positive and less negative feelings about others in the class. The authors conclude by suggesting that the reactive nature of their programme lessened its effect and emphasise the need for and value of a more proactive approach.

The use of circle time is becoming increasingly widespread in this country, but what exactly it involves and should achieve is subject to a wide range of interpretations. Such a situation can make the identification of what should count as good or appropriate practice very hard to undertake. This paper describes three examples of the development of circle time in other countries. These models are used as a means of critically reflecting on practice here. Some key points raised are the importance of the relationship between theory and practice and between specific processes and their outcomes. Lack of evaluative research and adequate training are also identified as significant issues.

Throughout this article, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term ‘circle time’ refers to a whole‐class meeting where everyone sits in a circle. It is a forum that is bound by strict groundrules to ensure emotional ‘safety’ and respectful listening. Different approaches to circle‐time are used at all levels of education. In this article ‘Circle Time’ (with initial capitals) refers to the Quality Circle Time Model and the strategies used within the circle as devised by Jenny Mosley (1989, 1993, 1996) as opposed to the many other circle‐time methods to be found in educational practice.

This paper discusses the findings and implications of a semi-randomised control trial study on the effectiveness of circle time (CT) on primary school students’ social and emotional learning, as well as classroom teachers’ and students’ experience of CT. A social and emotional learning programme was delivered through CT by trained classroom teachers across the years in one primary school, with other classrooms serving as control groups. The classroom teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at pre- and post-intervention, while the CT teachers also completed a questionnaire on their experience of implementing CT in the classroom. The CT students also completed a questionnaire on their own experience of CT. The SDQ scores suggest that CT students showed less internalised difficulties when compared to their control peers, while the qualitative data from both teachers and students suggest that the CT students also exhibited less behaviour problems and more prosocial behaviour. The study identifies various strengths and weaknesses of the programme and makes recommendations on how it could be organised more effectively in the classroom. The paper concludes that rather than taking CT as the default option for nurturing such values as student empowerment, inclusion and equity, there is a need for further rigorous studies on the impact of CT not only on students’ social and emotional learning and behaviour but also on the classroom relationships and climate., peer-reviewed

SUMMARY In Sweden the local authorities have a transition period until 1997 to prepare for a flexible school-start. In Stockholm the City Council decided to found special services for six-year-olds. The main goal of the services is to facilitate transition from preschool to school. The pedagogical content of these services has been studied during a two-year period. A comparison between the new and traditional services showed that the preschool teachers look upon their work as including school-preparing activities in both forms. Circle time, thematic work and reading aloud were stressed in both types of services. The clearest difference is the regular and deeper contact with school in the new services. Results from ratings done by teachers show a clear pattern which indicates that the new services have had a positive influence on the children in several ways. The contacts with peers and the ability to adjust to school are the areas where the children from the new services were found to be more successful t...

The concept of pupil voice is widely employed in research from across the world when claiming children and young people have a genuine, legitimate right to be heard on matters they consider important, and when considering ways of engaging them as important ‘influencers’ of policy and decision-making. This article is concerned with problematic issues around power and pupil voice during circle-time. It is argued that the space in which children and young people are ‘allowed’ a voice is prescribed by adults and is frequently located within interventions for improving schools, pupil behaviour and promoting their social and emotional development. Based on a rigorous analysis of the findings from a small case study about children’s experiences during circle-time, and using the concepts of social identity and social representation, this article highlights the dangers of inadvertently creating a climate within which children can feel isolated and threatened, and bullying can thrive. Increasingly, it would seem children are being invited and expected to reveal things in circle-time that will need careful and experienced handling from the point of safeguarding the child’s well-being, offering the required support and ensuring the child’s protection and confidentiality. It is argued these findings highlight the need for a robust research-informed debate about children’s lived experiences during circle-time, and the impact of those experiences in terms of children’s identities and self-esteem.

SUMMARY This study focusses on the curricula event of the Swedish preschool programme called circle time. The chief question addressed in the study was: “What actually happens during circle time, and what are the implications for the participants?” The present study can be defined as a process-analytic study of the social and educational content of circle time, where an attempt is made to integrate structural, group and individual perspectives. The main empirical data contains observations through video-taping of circle time in five groups in different day-care centres and so-called ‘stimulated-recall’ interviews with staff and children. The results indicate that circle time is both a ritual and meeting. To the staff circle time corresponds to a need for structuring activities and indicating obvious changes during the day. Circle time also makes it manifest that something is being done, involving a legitimation and also an opportunity to appear before others and be acknowledged. To the children, circles c...

The aim of the present study is to analyse, through direct observations, the communicative competence of children's caregivers and children's language development in different situational contexts in Italian nursery schools (for children aged between six and 36 months, i.e. creches) and infant schools (for children aged between 38 and 72 months, i.e. kindergartens). Children's and adults' language production (i.e. number of utterances, number of words, and mean length of utterances), interactive episodes (i.e. a string of sentences involving at least two interlocutors), and adults' conversational functions) were considered in three situational contexts in both nursery and infant schools (mealtime, storytime and free play for the former; circle time, direct questions, and free conversation for the latter). One hundred and nineteen preschool children and 21 adults (12 educators for the nurseries and nine teachers for the infant schools) from seven educational settings participated in the study. Data analysi...