Effective stakeholder engagement is vital for the success of community education projects to secure funding from philanthropic organisations or government bodies, and is often used as a measure of success in reports. Online services such as websites, digital media engagement, and social media platforms can be utilised to engage with stakeholders…

University-community partnerships (UCPs) are increasingly utilized to address issues in education. In this article, we present reflections on best practices for child- and family-focused UCPs. These reflections emerged before, during, and after a convening that brought together representatives from five UCPs in the United States that emphasized…

Parental pressure to include formalised school-type literacy lessons has been reported as a factor influencing the types of phonics instruction young children encounter in the prior-to-school years. Parents and early childhood teachers support effective phonics instruction through guided play-based learning in the prior-to-school years. Few…

This study describes how a group of early childhood educators from a diverse range of classroom cultures and pedagogies came together to form a network of support and collaboration, what Gorodetsky and Barak (Teach Teach Educ 24(7):1907-1918, 2008) define as an 'edge community of practice.' This year-long study involved a group of nine educators,…

This study examined the ways in which early childhood pre-service student teachers (PSTs) used an online community for discussions related to teaching. Using the lenses of communities of practice, our goal was to understand what happens when the PSTs begin to share new learnings about teaching through ongoing practice in online communities. We…

Using video-ethnographic data from a 'try-on day' in a bus-based mobile preschool, we discuss how children with different levels of experience collaborate with one another and with pedagogues to socialize newcomers into an ongoing community. Analyses show how pedagogues create moments of collective orientation and, besides through verbal…

This article explores how the early childhood field can support capacity building around equity in the current workforce and build a more diverse, representative workforce at all levels. The authors explore hiring practices, strategies for equipping a diverse workforce, and the actions necessary to realize equity and inclusion through…

To understand early childhood educators' attitudes toward internet-related instructional applications, this study examined several factors that influence educators' practical instructional behaviors and analyzed the mediating effects of internet enjoyment and professional support on their attitudes toward internet-related instructional…

Build collective teacher efficacy and students' mathematical thinking using the Mathematics in a PLC at Work™ lesson-design process. This second edition of the popular "Mathematics Instruction and Tasks" book guides preK-12 teacher teams in ensuring improved mathematics achievement. Gain new and enhanced understanding of…

Relationships are the foundation of the early childhood professional's work with infants and young children in their care. Caregiver behavior deeply influences a child's capacity to cope with stress. Supporting caregivers emotionally allows them to be more regulated and available to infants, children, and families. The stress of COVID-19 has…

The goal of the study was to examine the factors that drove early childhood teachers to accept a leadership role in professional learning communities (PLCs), their perceptions of the role's characteristics and the implications of taking on an additional role beyond the teaching of kindergarten-age children. This qualitative study included 30…

Using data from a 2-year empirical project in an urban school within the United States, this article describes how educators of preschool, transitional-kindergarten and kindergarten (PreK-TK-K) altered perceptions and practices as a result of participating in a purposefully crafted professional learning community using collaborative enquiry.…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of two farm-to-school programs, specifically the Field-to-Fork Multi-visit Program (N = 264) and the Field-to-Fork After-school Club (N = 56), on nutritional outcomes of elementary school students (third to fifth grade) from urban, diverse, and lower-income communities. Data…

High-quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's educational trajectories. However, the ECE field globally faces challenges that compromise its quality, with COVID-19 childcare closures further intensifying complexities. One solution to improve ECE working conditions is to use a distributed leadership framework to create…

How can early childhood teacher educators at the community college level create opportunities for their students to explore and relate to the natural world? This article discusses three learning opportunities in an early childhood associate-degree program that foster connections between preservice and inservice early childhood teachers and nature…