Research on how COVID-19 school closures impacted the learning of young children is still sparse, and the broader implications of these findings have yet to be fully explored. In this study, we examine the impacts of COVID-19 school closures on language and literacy development in a state-funded pre-K program in a Florida school district. Using…

Background: The concept of school readiness is well-defined internationally. However, it is unclear how the concept is defined and used in South Africa or understood by preschool teachers. Aim: The aim of this analysis was to develop a clear and accessible summary of the concept of school readiness in South Africa for preschool teachers. Methods:…

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…

Early developmental skills, such as attention, language, and fine motor abilities, can be assessed in preschool to predict later achievement, particularly in reading. Connecticut Documentation & Observation for Teaching System (CT DOTS) is a holistic measure used to track the skill development of preschoolers who attend preschool programs…

The transition to school is a critical period for children and families. Successful transition predicts later school achievement and socio-emotional outcomes with sustained long-term benefits. Educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that support for the transition of children from nursery to school was limited. The study…

Oklahoma's universal pre-K (UPK) program has long been a classic "man bites dog" story. In 1998, Oklahoma became the second state in the U.S. to offer free pre-K to all four-year-olds. Coupled with growing evidence of the critical importance of the early years in brain synapse formation, results like Tulsa's have encouraged state and…

Based on the intersection of different systems at school entry, children and families often experience uncertainty about their preparedness and impending shift from other early childhood settings. This study used a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design and investigated the perspectives of parents and caregivers on kindergarten readiness with…

The transition from early childhood education to primary education is, in many countries, the beginning of compulsory education. This has meant that much of the research on this transition has focused on academic aspects such as literacy or logical-mathematical competence. The lines of research have changed, and in recent years, very diverse…

This paper explores haptic, affective, sensory and relational interconnections between a child (Erik) and objects, materials and a researcher-practitioner (Christina) at a nursery school in Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). In doing so, it draws upon a Post-humanist theoretical framework. Observational material was collected over the period of a…

Many school districts provide one-time transition events to help students prepare for the rigors of kindergarten; yet, research shows families desire additional information and opportunities to help their children thrive once school begins. Researchers for this study interviewed 39 parents whose children participated in a three-week structured…

Substantial research has documented that Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) programs have important benefits for the school readiness of young children, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Recent studies in this arena have taken advantage of the Regression Discontinuity (RD) design to evaluate the impacts of Pre-K, due to ethical and pragmatic…

"The Upstart Great Plains TASK Force: Taking All to Success in Kindergarten" was a five-year Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) expansion grant (U411A180001) funded through the US Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Four research studies were conducted during the grant period of 2018 to 2023: a…

Background: Pre-k convergence refers to the tendency for the positive effects of pre-k on children's academic skills to diminish over time, observed across decades of observational and experimental studies (Ansari et al., 2020). Researchers have tested multiple mechanisms to explain convergence, with mixed results; none of the proposed mechanisms…

Kindergarten requirements are changing across the world as early school readiness has been linked to future school success. However, smaller European countries like Slovakia often lack a research base of their own, relying instead on research in other countries, particularly the US. The purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of…