This article explores how a template in documentation of preschool systematic quality development work acts to produce elements of quality. Assuming that documentation produces rather than represents preschool quality, and using a post-humanist agential realist perspective, the article shows how thematic work, care and education become elements of…

As Colorado prepares to establish quality standards for its Universal Preschool (UPK) program, the state has the opportunity to be a national model for supporting early childhood. The Children's Campaign's vision is that Colorado's universal preschool standards will support the "whole child" so that all Colorado children can have a…

This article aims to explore the conditions for children's language and literacy learning in 153 Swedish preschools with children one to five years. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-3) is used to evaluate preschool quality, focusing on the subscale of Language and literacy activities. The study draws on Bronfenbrenner's…

Administrators play a key role in establishing learning structures that impact student learning from the earliest developmental stages. Throughout the northeastern region of the United States, elementary schools continuously assess the quality of student-teacher interactions to evaluate students' developmental progress. The problem identified in…

Iowa's Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children (SWVPP) is an important part of the state's comprehensive early childhood effort, providing more opportunities for young children to access quality preschool and enter school ready to learn. The preschool programs are expected to serve four-year-old children with a range of…

"Research Findings:" This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Puhui early education services (PEES) policy in China from the triangulated perspectives of stakeholders using a developed and validated scale. First, applying a stratified cluster sampling method, the Puhui Early Education Services Policy Effectiveness Scale (PE)…

The present study examined how the dosage and quality of the federal preschool program "Head Start" (HS) in the US related to children's self-regulation skills in kindergarten. Using Propensity Score Matching and multiple regression (OLS), this study explored how the number of years and hours a week of HS were related to self-regulation…

In 2018 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched its International Early Learning Child Well-being Study (IELS), also known as Baby PISA. In the first round of data collection, the IELS focused on three OECD countries: England, Estonia and the United States. In this article we show that a similar study of…

Internationally, professionalization has become a key policy strategy targeting quality improvement in early childhood education and care (ECEC), utilizing top-down managerial strategies including implementation of quality standards and increased workforce qualifications. Set against this backdrop, this study explored educators' accounts of their…

Background: Oral language competence provides children with an essential foundation for academic achievement and emotional well-being, yet many children enter school with delayed language and those living in economically disadvantaged areas are at disproportionate risk of experiencing language difficulties. A tiered system, offering high-quality…

Children from low-income families face many social and economic disadvantages, and high-quality preschool can help to alleviate some of them. Is "preschool for all" the best way to extend preschool subsidies to unserved disadvantaged children? Fully funding such a policy would be costly, and it is likely that a significant minority of…

Lottery-based identification strategies offer potential for generating the next generation of evidence on U.S. early education programs. The authors' collaborative network of five research teams applying this design in early education settings and methods experts has identified six challenges that need to be carefully considered in this next…

The quality of inclusion for young children with disabilities in early childhood learning environments has long been attributed to the effectiveness of the teachers within such settings. As the service delivery system has shifted toward more inclusive models, endeavors to improve preparation for inclusion have been marked by efforts to combine the…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is a 21st century learning approach that is extremely important to students and children nowadays. Many developed countries have emphasized this approach to early childhood education (ECE). Although there are some challenges in promoting children's cognitive development in…

Lottery-based identification strategies offer potential for generating the next generation of evidence on U.S. early education programs. The authors' collaborative network of five research teams applying this design in early education settings and methods experts has identified six challenges that need to be carefully considered in this next…