We develop a unified empirical framework for child development which nests the key features of two previously parallel research programs, the Child Development literature and the Education Production Function literature. Our framework allows for mis-measured cognitive and non-cognitive skills, classroom effects, parental influences, and…

To understand how parents adapted to virtual learning expectations during the initial COVID-19 school closures in spring 2020, this study investigated families' daily activities, including parents' emotions and their appraisals of the value of daily activities across two timepoints. Thirty-two parent-child dyads (Mean child age = 78 months, 50%…

Young children's instinctive curiosity is essential in early childhood science education. Efficacious science education is associated with the characteristics of a qualified science program and an effective learning environment. The out-of-school learning environments make it easier to achieve the aims of science education in early childhood with…

This study examined the effects of maternal and children's resources on school readiness, literacy achievements, and reading motivation in children. The participants included children (N = 180) (124 girls; 56 boys) from 19 kindergartens, their mothers, and their kindergarten teachers. Mothers reported on their working hours, interaction quality,…

Young children develop understandings about literacy from birth through experiences of print in their home environments. Today, written text is often present in children's homes in both print and "digital" forms. What kind of technologies are young children accessing at home and for what purposes? This paper discusses research findings…

Families play an essential role in their children's academic, social, and emotional development. Many families want to support their children's learning but are unsure of how to do so. It is an important task of schools to find ways to engage students' families and help them support their children's learning at home. This study explored the…

In the last decade, interactive touchscreen devices have become ubiquitous in young children, and toddlers first experience touchscreen technology before two. Although parents have a vital role in developing the home environment as a stimulus for development, they also have conflicting views on the appropriateness of using apps to deliver…

Research Findings: This study examined the moderating role of parenting style in the relations between different dimensions of parental involvement and their children's school readiness. A total of 311 Chinese parents ("Mean age" = 35.74, SD = 4.61) and their kindergarten children ("Mean age" = 5.53, SD = 0.50) participated in…

Inclusion of children with disabilities in general schools is drawing attention in Jordanian political and educational domains. Teachers play an important role in the successful implementation of inclusive education. This study explores teachers' perceptions regarding inclusive education using focus group discussions. The findings revealed that…

Purpose: Understanding students' home literacy environments can help speech-language pathologists, teachers, and other educators partner with families to promote language and literacy learning. This study focused on gaining insight into the views of parents of elementary-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who had complex…

Many children in developing countries do not acquire functional literacy skills despite being in school. We apply a cumulative risk (aggregate over a range of risk) and protection framework to assess Ghanaian kindergarteners' early academic skills (N = 1,852, M(age) = 5.3 years; 50.2% female), considering how family-level risk factors and…

The transition to kindergarten is foundational for children's future school performance and families' relationships with the educational system. Despite its well-documented benefits, few studies have explored family engagement across the pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) to kindergarten transition nor considered the role of geographic context during this…

This study explored parents' views on kindergarten and primary school students' distance learning experience and support needed as well as the amount of time children spend on screen media at home during COVID-19 class suspension. Between February 19 and 22, 2020, three weeks after classes were suspended in Hong Kong, responses from 6,702 parents…

The transition to kindergarten is foundational for children's future school performance and families' relationships with the educational system. Despite its well-documented benefits, few studies have explored family engagement across the pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) to kindergarten transition nor considered the role of geographic context during this…

For many preschoolers in Turkish kindergartens, English instruction starts in the third year of their lives when they have barely begun to articulate their thoughts in their own mother tongue, Turkish. Parents have a dual role as models and decision makers in their children's foreign language education. As the fifteen participant parents of this…