Hui Li

Although Chinese societies have generally become striking as the classic over-achievers in international measures of academic performance, there has been no specialised publication exploring early childhood curriculum in Chinese contexts. Through this book, readers will learn more about how the Chinese context and culture collide with educators’ beliefs about the right activities for children and educators in early childhood settings. This book will be the first one of its kind to focus on early childhood curriculum in Chinese societies – from social context and culture to reforms and practices, and finally to the lessons that researchers, policymakers and practitioners could learn, as well as future directions. Is play valued? Are young children schooled earlier in Chinese societies? How do Chinese children learn in kindergartens? What is valued by Chinese educators when they implement early childhood curricula? How do Chinese teachers deliver early childhood curricula for their young children? Why were Chinese early childhood curricula implemented in these ways? Answers to these questions and more will be provided in this pioneering book.

The Chinese language is now used by a quarter of the world’s population and is increasingly popular as a second language. Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years comprehensively investigates the psychology, pedagogy and practice involved in teaching Chinese literacy to young children. This text not only explores the psycholinguistic and neuropsychological processing involved in learning Chinese literacy but also introduces useful teaching methods and effective practices relevant for teaching within early years and primary education. Key issues explored within this text include: The Psycholinguistics of Chinese Literacy Neuropsychological Understanding of Chinese Literacy The pedagogy of teaching Chinese as a first language The Pedagogy of Teaching Chinese as a second language Teaching Chinese literacy in early childhood settings Assessing Chinese Literacy Attainment in the Early YearsWith the addition of two reliable Chinese literacy scales, Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years is an essential text for any student, lecturer or professional teacher who is interested in learning and teaching Chinese literacy.

About 90 percent of this excessive heat is due to buildings and pavements that absorb and store solar heat (According to the Green Buildings Council). The only reference that focuses specifically on pavements, Pavement Materials for Heat Island Mitigation: Design and Management Strategies explores different advanced paving materials, their properties, and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Relevant properties of pavement materials (e.g. albedo, permeability, thermal conductivity, heat capacity and evaporation rate) are measured in many cases using newly developed methods.

The Chinese language is now used by a quarter of the world’s population and is increasingly popular as a second language. Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years comprehensively investigates the psychology, pedagogy and practice involved in teaching Chinese literacy to young children. This text not only explores the psycholinguistic and neuropsychological processing involved in learning Chinese literacy but also introduces useful teaching methods and effective practices relevant for teaching within early years and primary education. Key issues explored within this text include: The Psycholinguistics of Chinese Literacy Neuropsychological Understanding of Chinese Literacy The pedagogy of teaching Chinese as a first language The Pedagogy of Teaching Chinese as a second language Teaching Chinese literacy in early childhood settings Assessing Chinese Literacy Attainment in the Early YearsWith the addition of two reliable Chinese literacy scales, Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years is an essential text for any student, lecturer or professional teacher who is interested in learning and teaching Chinese literacy.

This book is the first publication on record that systematically and comprehensively addresses the acquisition and development of Cantonese in early childhood. It draws upon evidence from up-to-date reviews of associated literature, on the outcomes of numerous research studies conducted by the authors and on the outcomes of an in-depth study of the largest corpus of early childhood Cantonese. To supplement and illuminate published trends in the literature, carefully gathered reliable and valid empirical data are critically scrutinized. The evidence is used to clarify and examine theoretical assumptions and to outline putative developmental trends in early childhood Cantonese pragmatics.