The article presents a classroom-based study that engaged linguistically diverse preschool and early school-age children in illustrating books, jointly composing written narratives to accompany their illustrations, and enacting these child-authored books through shared sociodramatic play. Findings from story retell tasks show significant…

High-quality instructional interaction, in which teachers engage children in conversations that support the development of higher order thinking skills, conceptual understanding, and advanced language skills, is associated with positive outcomes for preschool children. Classrooms serving low-income preschoolers tend to have lower levels of this…

Aiming to inform teaching practices and understand cultural differences, we examined praise practices of high- and low-quality preschool teachers in China. As part of a broader project, we purposefully selected three high-quality and three low-quality teachers based upon their Pre-K CLASS ratings and self-reports, and conducted qualitative…

Recent findings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina's multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. Children whose motor skills improved the most over the course of an academic year also tended to demonstrate the…

In this study, it was aimed to examine the prospective teachers' preferences regarding group work, the process of structuring the group work, and assessment of their performance within the group. In the research, case study design was used. The participants of the study consisted of 62 prospective teachers studying in the Department of Early…

Group contingencies have been used successfully to modify a variety of behaviors for children with diverse characteristics across multiple settings. However, these interventions have not been applied to increase social interactions (SI) between typically developing children and those with multiple or severe disabilities (MSD). Furthermore, little…

This study aimed to investigate typically developing preschoolers' behavior toward peers with disabilities in inclusive classrooms, focusing on the co-occurrence of the interactions between children with and without disabilities with various classroom contexts. Behaviors of 22 typically developing preschoolers were observed and coded on two…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the role of enjoyment during group musical activities in the preschool classroom. Data collection included observations using a researcher-created tool and fieldnotes to determine how preschool students demonstrated enjoyment during group activities. Interviews with three preschool…

Children develop many school readiness skills such as motor and cognitive skills during the preschool years. The development of these skills requires repeated opportunities to practice. Many preschool teachers may not be aware that motor development provides a foundation for cognitive development, and they may be unsure how they can support motor…

Although 3-year-olds in the United States may attend prekindergarten prior to formal school entry in kindergarten, few investigations focus on the socioemotional foundations of classroom learning at age 3 and their relationship to later achievement. This study examined the relationship between age 3 readiness for group-based learning, modeled as…

This cross-national study involved 56 toddler classrooms in Poland and the Netherlands. A cluster analysis was conducted to identify classroom profiles based on observed quality and these were compared regarding structural (group size and children-to-teacher ratio) and curriculum (e.g. pre-academics and pretend play) characteristics. In total, 224…

This paper presents the findings of a study investigating School-Age Educare (SAE) teachers' conceptions of care and care practices and how these conceptions of care and actual practices relate to pupils' needs. The study is based on observations and interviews with two experienced SAE teachers and one young teacher in a Swedish SAE centre,…

Many teachers struggle with implementing self-help eating goals for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). No group programs exist to target this important problem. We used findings from applied behavior analysis research and adapted single-subject interventions into a group-based eating program. In describing the program using two…

Individual contingency management systems have been used successfully to improve behaviors in school settings--including preschools--but often come with associated challenges in time and personnel management. Group contingencies, in the form of independent, interdependent, and dependent contingencies, have been used in preschools to address these…

For families with toddlers approaching their third birthdays, parent-child playgroups provide opportunities to support children's school readiness skills and to prepare both children and parents for changes they are likely to encounter during the transition to preschool. However, all transitions are unique; they depend on families' needs and…