Background: Studies indicate that access to nature may increase general human health and wellbeing. As a learning environment, the outdoors can also positively influence children's personal and social growth, healthy development, wellbeing and learning abilities. To maximise the potential offered by outdoor learning, it is necessary to gain deeper…

This study extends the research on shared book reading (SBR) by specifically examining the role of smell in parent-child SBR sessions observed at home. Drawing on qualitative methods, we analysed the verbal engagement of ten Norwegian families and their three to five-year-olds reading an olfactory book (the scratch-and-sniff book "Peter…

Young children's voices have been nearly absent in the study of belonging during the early years. In this article, we propose a more inclusive understanding about "how" to study belonging, as well as "what else" must be studied in early childhood education. The importance of conducting research "with" young children…

Disagreement exists about how to best spark young children's motivation to learn natural science. Both curiosity and wonder are considered important motivational factors for learning during early childhood (0-8 years). This systematic literature review explores research about scientific curiosity and wonder in early childhood education and care…

Co-regulation refers to warm, receptive, and supportive interactions between caregiver and child that provide guidance and modulation of the child's emotions, behaviours, and thoughts. This study identifies basic elements of co-regulation between parents and children in relatively well-functioning interactions. The data material consists of 24…

Today, digital media technologies are ubiquitous and mundane, making the relationship between digital and analog messy and porous. This postdigital condition prompts new analyses of how young children's local encounters with digital media technologies unfold, and how their relationships with digital media technologies carry on after they leave…

This study is a researcher-practitioner action inquiry which was used to explore children's sensory experiences with a focus on the sense of smell (olfaction). We critically considered the early childhood theories that positioned children's sensory learning within equitable, socially just early childhood approaches and connected them to an action…

The purpose of this article is to qualitatively explore the disparity in the perspectives of female and male staff in promoting physical activity towards 3-5-year-old girls and boys in the outdoor playground of a Norwegian kindergarten. The sample consisted of eight female staff and two male staff members from one kindergarten. Semi-structured…

Access to books and a rich language environment at home are important for children's language development. In this study we explored self-reported reading practices in families in Norway (N = 1001) to gain insight into the reading habits parents have with their young children, and the factors that best explain book reading in Norwegian homes. By…

Parents' attitudes are an important indicator of whether and how parents engage in shared book reading (SBR) at home. This study analysed Norwegian parents' attitudes towards reading books with their children aged between 1-4.5 years. Thematic analysis of data from 24 interviews revealed two main themes in parents' accounts: agency (the child's…

The aim of this article was to explore whether and how special education documents incorporate efforts to hear young children. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of expert assessments and individual education plans (IEP) pertaining to 17 children enrolled in early education and care (ECEC) institutions in Norway. The documents are…

In this article, the authors illustrate some of the challenges and dilemmas that Norwegian early childhood education and care teachers experienced when completing a global screening tool (UPSI-5: Universal Psychosocial Indicator for 5 Year Old Boys and Girls) concerning the psychosocial well-being of five-year-olds as part of an international…

The scope of digital children's books is increasing rapidly; however, the quality of these books needs consideration in view of the educational context in which they are to be read. In this article, we present seven key strands to support early childhood teachers in selecting high quality for shared dialogue-based reading with groups of children.…