We explore how a social justice and capabilities perspective serves as a conceptual tool to understand the quality of education (QoE) in Turkey so that policy can be developed to make the education system inclusive of all learners, provide relevant education, and allow stakeholders' democratic participation. We provide a critical discussion about…

Philadelphia's Preschool Program (PHLpreK) has recently concluded its seventh year, following its initiation after a 2015 referendum approving the creation of a universal pre-K program for children ages 3 and 4. NIEER has been evaluating the program since its inception, focusing on program quality, components, and children's learning and…

Pre-primary education is crucial for children's cognitive, social, and emotional development, setting the foundation for academic success. Parental engagement is a critical factor that positively impacts the quality of service provision in pre-primary schools. This study examined the influence of parental engagement on the provision of quality…

Background: Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs often expand by offering Pre-K in both public schools and in community-based providers (CBOs). This approach gives families more options and allow UPK programs to increase access more quickly. However, little is known about which CBOs select into these systems. This is an important gap in the…

In this article, we analyse overarching patterns of social stratification in, and quality differences between, Swedish preschools. Drawing on a Bourdieusian social classification scheme, we evidence in what type of preschools different social groups enrol their children in, and to what extent Swedish preschool children encounter different levels…

High-quality preschool programs are heralded as effective policy solutions to promote low-income children's development and life-long wellbeing. Yet evaluations of recent preschool programs produce puzzling findings, including negative impacts, and divergent, weaker results than demonstration programs implemented in the 1960s and 70s. We provide…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work to promote quality in preschools from the principal's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative approach was used in this research project, and principals were asked to complete portfolio assignments. Their answers to…

Investment in preschool education is increasingly seen as a policy priority in middle and high-income countries due to the early benefits it provides children in their educational journeys. This article discusses the impact of recent increased investment in preschool education in China which has served as a correction to relative historical…

High-quality preschool programs are heralded as an effective policy tool to promote the development and life-long wellbeing of children from low-income families. Yet evaluations of recent preschool programs produce puzzling findings, including negative impacts, and divergent, weaker results than were shown in demonstration programs implemented in…

Evidence was generated from a cross-section of 5,375 students who were completing primary education in 2014, as well as from their parents and school heads, across 309 primary schools located throughout Bangladesh, a South Asian country belonging to the global lower-middle-income category. Though the official duration of preschool education in…

Quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's learning and development in low- and middle-income countries, but little evidence exists of programs targeting marginalized girls in vulnerable rural communities. This study used a matched-pair mixed-methods community-randomized trial to evaluate a preschool program for marginalized…

The aim is to investigate early childhood mathematics in a preschool unit in Sweden. A mixed-method research approach and a case study research design were used. Three preschool staff members and 19 children were enrolled. Data were collected by means of observations and a focus group interview. Numerical and thematic analyses were conducted. The…

Research Findings: The Classroom Assessment Scoring System Toddler (CLASS-T) is one of the most commonly used measures to assess the quality of teacher-child interactions in toddler classrooms. Despite widespread use of the CLASS-T, few studies have examined the factor structure of the CLASS-T for use in Early Head Start (EHS) and subsidized child…

State-funded preschool is already offered in mixed-delivery settings in most states, meaning that along with public schools, children are also served in settings such as child care centers, Head Start agencies, and private schools. However, just 39% of 4-year-olds and 14% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in publicly-funded programs, such as…

Many studies have established that there are important life-long benefits of attending pre-K. At the same time, recent research suggests that pre-K attenders may enter and exit kindergarten exhibiting less optimal social and learning behaviours than their non-attending peers, and little attention has been paid to what factors may contribute to…