Understanding children's willingness to take risks is crucial for sound educational strategies and play environments. This study investigates children's risk willingness using a virtual reality (VR) playground balancing scenario and examines its associations with sensation-seeking personality trait, age, gender, and the likelihood of failing the…

The goal of this study was to explore longitudinally the protective role of relationships with early childhood and education care (ECEC) teachers for shy children's social functioning at age 5 and 8 years. Participants were N = 7343 children from the "Norwegian Mother, Father and Child" (MoBa) study, a prospective longitudinal cohort…

Children's well-being in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is associated with their participation in both planning and assessing ECEC activities. The aim of the study presented here was therefore to explore children's experiences of participating in different physical environments and activities in ECEC institutions. Quantitative data were…

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is related to childrens' socioemotional and cognitive development, and the most important aspect regarding quality in ECEC is staff's interpersonal or interactive skills. Despite this, research on staff's interactive skills is currently sparse in Norway. This study uses the Caregiver…

The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale-Short Form (STRS-SF) is one of the most frequently used instruments globally to measure professional caregivers' perceptions of the relationship quality with a specific child. However, its psychometric properties for children younger than 3 years of age enrolled in early childhood education and care (ECEC)…

The educational transition between early childhood education and primary education is a complex moment of change with repercussions throughout the academic life of the students. For this reason, it is important to seek continuity between both educational stages. A successful transition produces for the social, cognitive and emotional well-being of…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Early Numeracy Screener. The Early Numeracy Screener is a teacher-administered, paper-and-pencil test measuring counting skills, numerical relational skills, and basic arithmetic skills. Three hundred and sixty-six first graders took the Early Numeracy Screener at the beginning of the…

Asking questions is an important way of acquiring information and knowledge and plays a significant role in a child's learning processes. In this study, we examine what characterises the questions asked by children to their teachers in two kindergartens (4-6-year-olds) and six primary school classes (2nd-4th grade) when situated in a natural…

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of social competence for children's development, well-being, and learning. Thus age- and context-appropriate measures are needed. This study addresses the structural validity of the Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) scale, developed to accommodate the Nordic model of early childhood…

Risk aversive perceptions and practices among ECEC practitioners and parents have proven to be an important reason for the decline of young children's opportunities for free outdoor play. Yet, there are also cultural differences in the perception of children's risky play. This study aims at examining the factors that ECEC practitioners and parents…

This article explores variations in development of everyday motor-life-skills in 661 children (329 girls and 332 boys) in Norwegian kindergartens of ages 2:9 (T1) and 4:9 (T2) years:months. The particular focus is on children at risk for problems in motor development (the 10% weakest children in the sample). The methodological approach chosen is…

This article is based on a research project focusing on Norwegian teachers' planning and documentation of children's learning in preschool. Norwegian preschools follow a national curriculum and teachers are obliged to document both professional practice and learning outcomes. The aim of the article is to investigate teachers' experiences of…

This article presents part of a research project where the aim is to investigate six- to seven-year-old children's language use in storytelling. The children's oral texts are based on the picture book "Frog, Where Are You?" The book consists of a series of episodes that more or less directly point to the plot structure. However, it also…

While there is a growing interest in children's risk-taking behaviours and their safety when at play, there is also a focus on the need to balance the hazards of risks with the benefits of risk. This is also a growing concern among researchers of early childhood education and care (ECEC). The research conducted thus far on ECEC practitioners'…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) -- the phase before primary education -- is increasingly acknowledged as providing the foundations for lifelong learning and development. This second edition of 'Key data on early childhood education and care in Europe' charts the progress made in the key quality areas identified in the Council…