In Flanders, we are searching to implement inclusion in our educational systems, knowing that we have a strong focus on segregation and specialisation. Parents are often missing in the debate, while they are confronted with experiences of exclusion and discrimination. Our aim was to hear the parents' voices on high-quality childcare for children…

Children's spontaneous focusing on Arabic number symbols (SFONS) has been identified as a relevant component of their early mathematical development. This study investigated whether SFONS is a separate construct from spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) and examined whether it is uniquely related to numerical abilities and mathematics…

Purpose: To investigate the effect of an obstacle course based physical education program, designed according to contemporary insights on motor learning, on motor competence (MC) of 6- to 7-year-old Flemish children. Method: Pupils from 16 primary schools were randomly allocated to either control (n = 173, 50.3% boys) or intervention group (n =…

How children experience the major transition from pre-school to compulsory schooling influences their immediate and future success and wellbeing. This complex process of change and adaptation is impacted by school readiness policy drivers, which prioritise children's performance and achievement. Pedagogic and curriculum progression shifts from…

Adaptive serious mathematical games in kindergarten were used to investigate whether kindergarteners could grasp mathematics topics. A pretest-posttest-follow up design with two conditions. (Condition 1 educational kindergarten games on the computer, focusing on counting and comparison, Condition 2 educational kindergarten games on the computer,…

Young children show large individual differences in their tendency to focus spontaneously on numerical aspects (e.g., numerosities or Arabic number symbols) of their everyday environment. The origins of these individual differences are unclear. Given the role of the home numeracy environment (HNE) in children's early mathematical development and…

Children's spontaneous focusing on Arabic number symbols (SFONS) has been identified as a relevant component of their early mathematical development. This study investigated whether SFONS is a separate construct from spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) and examined whether it is uniquely related to numerical abilities and mathematics…

Digital technologies are increasingly present in young children's lives. How can early education systems get the best out of digitalisation while minimising its risks? This is especially urgent as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our reliance on digital tools -- tools that enabled young children to continue learning when early education…

In this article, we take a concrete case study as a starting point for a reflection on preventive family support. More specifically, we conducted fieldwork in the setting of a waiting room of a childcare consultation office for parents with young children. The writings of the philosopher Giorgio Agamben allowed us to come to an alternative…

Among asylum seekers in the EU, many are families with young children (0-4 years). In policy and practice, however, these children remain invisible. During the asylum proceedings, which can take quite some time, there is hardly any pedagogical offer available in reception centres nor are there clear policies to guarantee accessible, useful and…

Children start preschool with large individual differences in their early numerical abilities. Little is known about the importance of heterogeneous patterns that exist within these individual differences. A person-centered analytic approach might be helpful to unravel these patterns and the cognitive and environmental factors that are associated…

This study investigated the relationship between kindergartners' Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity (SFON) and their number-related utterances during numerical picture book reading. Forty-eight 4- to 5-year-olds were individually interviewed via a SFON Imitation Task and a numerical picture book reading activity. We expected differences in the…

Recent research indicates that risk competence and perception can be improved through the learning environment. The project "Riscki" examined how risk perception and risk competence in young children between three and eight years of age can be observed and measured within the classroom and school context. An intensive package of…

This report explores the different ways in which European Union (EU) Member States (MS) have attempted to ensure high-quality ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) for children and families in the era of COVID-19. The rationale for the report builds on the Conclusions of the European Council concerning the fight against COVID-19 in education…

The first years of life lay the foundations for a child's future development and learning. Many countries have increased their financial support for provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC) over the past years. More recently, the focus of debate has been shifting from expanding access to affordable ECEC to enhancing its quality. A…