In this paper we explore datafication through a specific kind of evaluative practice in Swedish early childhood education and care (ECEC): the creation of quality reports by individual preschools. A theoretical framework is developed based on Dahler-Larsen's descriptions of three 'evaluation imaginaries' (the modern, reflexive modernity and audit…

Child-care researchers agree on the importance of preschool quality as an essential factor in developmental and cognitive outcomes. This study is a first attempt to assess structural and process aspects of Greek private and state preschool settings after the COVID-19 crisis and to provide empirical evidence for efforts to maintain the early…

Over the past decades, the demand for scientific research to link theory and practice so that innovative solutions can be developed through research has steadily increased (Klees & Tillmann, 2015; Sandoval & Bell, 2004). In this context, the design-based research (DBR) approach was developed, which examines the research object and the…

This study looks at how income differences affect children's social psychological development, which in turn shapes their academic achievement. Building on theories of social class, cultural capital, and self-concept formation, this dissertation offers a new social psychological model that connects parental SES, concerted cultivation, children's…

The current study examined the actions and thought processes second grade students experience while reading online, implementing a research based teaching strategy for new literacies, and Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT). In particular, strategies for how to critically evaluate online text were introduced to second grade students. Through IRT,…

A major challenge to promoting effective early science and engineering education is the lack of reliable and validated assessments that align with current educational guidelines for science and engineering. Existing early science and engineering assessments either cover a narrow range of concepts and practices and/or are not designed in a way to…

This chapter concerns the state of the literature on early childhood education (ECE) -- formal programs offering group instruction for children younger than the standard eligibility age for public education. I describe how ECE programs can be convincingly evaluated and why they may or may not work to narrow gaps in well-being across the lifecycle.…

Because charter school principals are granted more autonomy and discretion than principals of traditional public schools, it is imperative to search for the attributes of principals that may improve charter school performance. This study examines the relationship between principals' collective bargaining and charter school effectiveness. Using…

This report presents key findings from the four years of the Quality Support Program (QSP). The QSP is an initiative of, and funded by, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education Early Childhood Education Quality Assurance and Regulatory Services Directorate (NSW DoE), involving the delivery by Australian Children's Education and Care…

This Research-to-Policy Resource List provides resources in the "Research Connections" library on statewide KEAs [Kindergarten entry assessments]. It does not address local KEA efforts or broader issues related to child assessment more generally. The first section presents publications that discuss issues surrounding the development and…

This paper discusses the challenges facing a national evaluation of an early years intervention programme, Sure Start Children's Centres (SSCCs), that was implemented across England in the first decade of the 21st century. The paper describes the rationale for the evaluation's mixed methods research design and the ecological theoretical approach…

The Flynn effect, which advocated that there was a rise in the global IQ score, was widely accepted by the relevant scientific community. However, there are recent research findings that this effect has been reversed. In this study, both Flynn and anti-Flynn effects were investigated. The purpose of this study is to analyze students' general,…

In this study, we make the case for using texts children create as part of their play as a means for assessing their developing print literacy knowledge. We assessed 4- and 5-year-old children's authentic texts using categories and criteria from the "Assessing Young Children's Marks/Drawing/Print" tool, a research-based, classroom…

Feedback does not always engage students. To better understand why this happens, the present study analysed Grade 2 (7- to 8-year-old) students' experiences of formative feedback in mathematics to identify aspects with potential importance for student engagement. The researcher processed the students' experiences with the help of stimulated recall…

In the present study, we designed a dynamic measure to assess emerging morphological awareness in Chinese children and examined its concurrent and longitudinal relations with character recognition. The initial question of the dynamic assessment of morphological awareness (DAMA) task asked children to judge whether the first morphemes in a pair of…