This book reports on the findings of a study on the development of zero- to-three-year-old Chinese children sponsored by My Gym Business. The study was conducted by a research group at the Institute of Early Childhood Education, Beijing Normal University (BNU). In the first part of the book, findings concerning the developmental trajectory are represented, including physical and motor development, cognitive development, language development, social and emotional development.  The focus of the second and third parts is on care and educational practices in and outside the family.  Specifically, the authors provided evidence allowing readers to better understand how the home environment (e.g., family interaction patterns, marital conflicts, and the involvement of the father) and educational practice outside the family (e.g., center-based and community-based care and education) impacts the psychological development of children in their early years. In the last part, culture-specific issues like the birth control 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.  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.  weiterlesen