Socio-dramatic play is an everyday occurrence in early childhood education as children create narratives together in shared imagined worlds. The teacher's role in this type of play is less clear and this paper draws on a study using Lindqvist's "playworlds" approach to gain insight into how teachers participate in children's play. In…

A study was conducted dealing with biblical narratives recalled by Israeli students of early childhood education (ECE), explanations they give for their choice and the reflection of these explanations on aspects of their personal and cultural identity. This qualitative research employs case study. It includes an activity which was conducted…

Risky play provides multiple benefits for children's development. This study compared teachers' perceptions of risky play in one kindergarten in Norway and one in China, including the concept of risky play, the roles of teachers, the protective strategies adopted, and the factors limiting the practice of risky play. The aim of the article is to…

We explored how teacher and child talk-turns were related to children's subsequent comprehension responses during read-alouds. Data included three kindergarten teachers' interactive read-alouds (736 talk-turns across six video-recorded and transcribed sessions). Talk-turns were coded using a priori and emergent codes. Statistical discourse…

In the global context, male participation in early childhood education is notably low, with only 3% of the workforce in mainland China comprising male professionals. This study delves into the intrinsic motivation of male kindergarten teachers, employing the framework of self-determination theory. Qualitative research, comprising face-to-face…

Executive function skills are crucial for children in the 21st century, serving as indicators of their readiness for learning. Children with well-developed executive function skills can effectively accomplish various tasks, solve problems using diverse strategies, and collaborate with others happily. This research aims to: 1. Identify the…

While early childhood education worldwide has become increasingly interested in integrating makerspaces into their curricula, little research has examined how this can be done. We conducted a comparative case study to understand how three pioneering and prominent teachers have established such spaces, their perspectives regarding makerspaces and…

As school authorities strive toward inclusive models of education for children with neurodevelopmental delay and disability (NDD), many kindergarten curricula have mandated pedagogy centered on learning through play. Children with NDD tend to experience greater social isolation and lower rates of social play engagement compared to typically…

Many teacher educators (TEs) see their role as influencing radical change in K-12 classroom teaching. And yet, many TEs might characterize their own growth as steady and measured experimentation. In this paper, we explore sudden and drastic changes to praxis that TEs experienced when reorganizing their courses and programs around Mediated Field…

In 2001, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued "Guidelines for Preschool Education (GPE) (trial version)" to call on early childhood practitioners to use a child-centred and play-based approach to teaching and learning. In order to implement the requirements, many kindergartens in China have carried out the play-based kindergarten…

Research shows that teacher quality is the most important school-related input correlated with student success. In religious private schools, teachers do not merely influence academic outcomes; they may also play a role in spiritual formation. Religious school administrators report that their faith informs their hiring decisions. However, little…

In recent years, the kindergarten teachers' role has evolved to assume leadership tasks in addition to the traditional caring and instructional ones. This study examined the contribution of the self-efficacy variables of Israeli kindergarten teachers to predicting their educational leadership efficacy. This empirical study is based on the…

Italy has recently and rapidly become a country of immigration with an increase in school contexts, especially of second-generation children, leading to the need to deal with the issue of inclusion. This contribution aims to enclose the scientific literature that addresses the inclusion of children with a migrant background within the national…

The significance of learning to think critically from a young age is well documented. Early childhood educators play an essential role in children's critical skills development. Therefore, it is crucial to understand their perceptions of this concept. This qualitative study explored Norwegian early childhood educators' perceptions of critical…

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2019), approximately half of U.S. children come from nontraditional families, such as those with divorced parents, multiracial families, one-parent families, and families with same-sex parents. Although family structures have diversified dramatically (Powell et al., 2010), the traditional family remains the…