A review of 20 experimental, shared book reading (SBR) interventions using questioning strategies with preschool children was conducted. The studies were analyzed in terms of their quality, focus, and the questioning strategies employed. Although there were few methodological concerns about the studies conducted, treatment fidelity and replicability of the reported interventions are raised as issues needing attention in future research. The impact of questioning strategies on language and pre-literacy skills tended to be a focus of the reported studies, with little investigation of the development of children's thinking skills through questioning, and there were few attempts to analyze children's responses to different types of questioning techniques. Across the reported studies, there was also a lack of consistency around the terminology associated with different kinds of questioning. The article concludes with discussion of implications for the use of questioning techniques in early childhood education practice and argues for research into the impact of different questioning techniques on children's cognitive development.

although teacher underestimation of ability can have a detrimental effect on children's achievement and motivation, the accuracy of australian teachers in identifying intellectual giftedness in young children has not been investigated. this study followed 14 children, identified as potentially gifted while preschoolers, for up to 3 of their early years of school, collecting questionnaire data from 26 teachers and the parents, as well as interview and norm-referenced test data from the children. teachers rated more highly the children whose test scores were more consistently in the gifted range, but more than half of the children were underestimated by at least 1 teacher, especially where nonverbal ability was higher than verbal ability. Strengths in reading were more readily recognized than strengths in spelling and mathematics. child attitudes and behaviors, as well as some mutual parent-teacher distrust, may have contributed to teacher underestimation. implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Despite well-articulated social inclusionist and anti-bias agendas in early childhood, the needs of young gifted children in prior-to-school settings appear to have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to examine the tensions and contradictions that seem to exist between educators working in the fields of early childhood education and gifted education. Areas in which misunderstandings may occur regarding the education of young gifted children are discussed: the identification of young gifted children, the labelling of young gifted children, the application of appropriate gifted education strategies in the early childhood context, the application of current early childhood approaches to meeting the needs of young gifted children, and the socialisation of young potentially gifted children in the educational setting. Recommendations are offered regarding ways in which educators in the two fields might collaborate more effectively to cater appropriately to the unique characteristics of young gifted children.Résumé Malgré qu'il y ait des orientations sociales inclusives et sans préjugés bien articulées en petite enfance, les besoins des jeunes enfants doués paraissent avoir été négligés dans les services préscolaires. Le but de cet article est d'examiner les tensions et contradictions qui semblent exister entre éducateurs travaillant dans les champs de l'éducation de la petite enfance et de l'éducation des enfants doués. Des dimensions susceptibles d'incompréhension relativement à l'éducation des jeunes enfants doués y sont discutées : l'identification des jeunes enfants doués, la socialisation des jeunes enfants doués, le recours à des stratégies de l'éducation des enfants doués appropriées au contexte préscolaire, le recours aux approches

A search of the literature from the past 30 years reveals that there is a dearth of research surrounding effective interventions for intellectually gifted children in the early childhood years. The findings of 11 empirical studies of educational provisions for young gifted children were located and the methodological rigor of the studies examined. Aspects problematic to research with young gifted children are discussed, including issues relating to sample sizes, definitions of giftedness, difficulties in conducting experimental studies, finding appropriate standardized measures for use with gifted children, and measurement of program outcomes. Suggestions are made for strengthening future research in the field of early childhood gifted education.

Qualitative and quantitative measures were utilized to explore the abilities of 11 young children nominated by their parents as gifted. A part-time preschool enrichment program provided a naturalistic setting in which to investigate measures that might reflect potential giftedness, predict later achievement, and reveal individual profiles of development. The curriculum invited children to display any differences from typical preschoolers. Characteristics nominated by parents as indicators of their child's giftedness were consistent with indicators in the research literature and were generally supported by norm-referenced test results and teacher observations. In spite of test limitations, both quantitative and qualitative measures played a valuable role in revealing advanced abilities amidst diverse profiles of abilities, skills, and interests. Longitudinal data would help to confirm the potential apparent in some of these children as giftedness.