In spite of efforts to improve the quality of early childhood education for girls and boys globally, incorporating a gender perspective--particularly in teacher policies--remains a gap, including in China. This inattention to early childhood poses an additional barrier for countries to achieve quality education and the United Nations Sustainable…

As a result of globalization, kindergarten curriculum frameworks in Asia have been strongly influenced by Western theories, pedagogies, and values. In this article, we argue that Singapore's "Nurturing Early Learners" and Hong Kong's "Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide" present key notions that are inconsistent with…

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programmes can strengthen the social, emotional and cognitive skills that are crucial for future learning and wellbeing. Teacher-child interactions are the most vital component of ECEC service quality in terms of children's social-emotional functioning. However, many children are not…

Significant funds have been allocated in the United States at the federal, state, and local levels to provide teacher professional development aimed at bringing about instructional change and resulting in improved student achievement. One important indicator for quality and effectiveness in professional development is change in teaching practice.…

The early childhood sector in Singapore has witnessed vast changes in the past two decades. One of the key policy aims is to improve classroom quality. To ensure a rigorous evaluation of the quality of early childhood environments in Singapore, it is important to determine whether commonly used assessments of quality are valid indicators across…

The 2021-22 accreditation year continued to be impacted in significant ways by the ongoing nature of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. All accreditation activities, including site visits, were adjusted to reflect this new reality while maintaining full implementation of the system. This report presents information about the major activities of the…

This study investigates teachers' beliefs about early visual arts education and implementation in kindergartens through an exploratory study involving 33 teachers in one whole- and one half-day kindergarten. Six classrooms were observed with their teachers participating in subsequent semistructured interviews. Although surveyed teachers reported…

A high-quality pre-school education will improve the well-being of all children, especially those with special needs for support, will enhance their development, with respect of diversity and dignity. The article presents the results of an exploratory study on those aspects of the quality of pre-school education that are important for implementing…

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of early literacy beliefs held by early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers in Japan by developing a novel scale. We believed that overviewing ECEC teachers' beliefs about early literacy from ecological perspectives would contribute to understanding the underlying factors influencing the…

This article explores how three early childhood teachers working in grant-funded preschools within a public school context construct and negotiate their professional identities. Teachers share narratives that contribute to an understanding of how their beliefs, knowledge, and practice are marginalized by the context in which they work. The…

We examined associations between the quality of kindergarten teachers' mathematics instruction and their students' achievement and motivation in mathematics. Using a sample of 20 kindergarten teachers and their 285 students, we rated 5 video-recorded mathematics lessons per teacher throughout the spring semester with the Mathematical Quality of…

We examined associations between the quality of kindergarten teachers' mathematics instruction and their students' achievement and motivation in mathematics. Using a sample of 20 kindergarten teachers and their 285 students, we rated five video-recorded mathematics lessons per teacher throughout the spring semester with the Mathematical Quality of…

In the Maltese context, the nation-wide roll-out of State kindergarten provision in the mid-70s and the rapid increase in childcare services for under three-year-olds over the last two decades were initiatives driven by efforts to entice women to the labour market. National research to determine short and long-term effects which these services…

Since 1996, hundreds of teacher preparation programs and thousands of schools, school districts, and government agencies have turned to the Framework for Teaching for a better understanding of excellent instruction. The Framework's four domains, 22 components, and 78 key elements provide an expansive, holistic definition of what teachers across…

Purpose: This paper is one of seven in this volume that aims to elaborate different approaches to quality improvement in education. It delineates a methodology called Lean for Education. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the origins, theoretical foundations, core concepts and a case study demonstrating an application in US education,…