This article deals with the connection between theory and practice in the context of a further education programme (FEP) (KigaDance) for nursery teachers based on contemporary dance education. The evaluation of the FEP had a programme-forming objective within the meaning of a formative evaluation. The applied method included data collection based…

How do teachers deal with multilingual pupils, and what reasons govern these choices? Whereas most studies on this topic have examined teachers in schools with monolingual policies, this paper includes teachers at bilingual schools. Framed by pedagogical theory, we present a qualitative research study based on interviews with teachers in the…

Children face increased demands for interpersonal as well as learning-related social skills, especially by the vulnerable stage of school entry, due to the more structured setting, new academic requirements, and the fact that children are supposed to interact successfully within a larger and heterogeneous peer group. Although a plethora of…

Pretend play may be beneficial for young children's social development. However, empirical results to date are inconsistent and limited, which is partly due to a lack of psychometrically sound measures for children's social pretend play competence. The current study aimed to compare and validate different assessment methods for children's social…

In Germany, the field-based element in the education/training of early childhood educators is given high priority in the development of professional competencies. Nevertheless, Germany lacks a firmly anchored regulatory and curricular framework for early childhood education and care settings as "workplace learning sites" ("Lernort…

In recent years, early childhood education and care have gained increasing public attention. This has led to an expansion of education and care programmes. Yet, little is known about how parents use different options of education and care. Take, for example, kin care, paid caregivers and out-of-kindergarten activities. Drawing on social…