It is generally accepted in the fields of both education and psychology that play can help young children cope with troubling circumstances in their lives. It would be logical to assume that play activities may be ideal for assisting children whose families have immigrated to the United States in adjusting to the puzzling, and even frightening,…

In this conceptual article, we integrate existing literature on early school transitions, ecological systems theory, and student-teacher relationships to propose a framework for investigating the transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A review of the literature suggests that the quality of early student-teacher…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between executive functioning (EF), as manifested in everyday behavior, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms, and adaptive behaviors in a sample of preschoolers with ASD. Quantitative data from a clinical database were analyzed for this study. Participants in the ASD group (n=52) were a…

Social-emotional behavior of 352 3- and 4-year-olds attending private childcare and Head Start programs was observed using the Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist, Revised (MPAC-R). Goals of the investigation included (a) using MPAC-R data to extract a shortened version, MPAC-R/S, comparing structure, internal consistency, test-retest…

Introduction: The aim of this research, which was carried out in 2010, is the comparative study of the psychosocial adjustment of preschool children from divorced and nuclear families in the nursery school. Method: The sample of the study consisted of 60 students (mean age = 5.21), 30 preschool children of divorced parents and 30 preschool…

The article examines parent-teacher conferences in Finnish and Swedish preschools. Previous research has shown that the conferences are mostly about the evaluation of the child. Based on qualitative data, the article studies how this evaluation is done. It asks how the institutional order regarding children is constructed in parent-teacher…

The role of child's characteristics (gender, cognitive ability, mother-perceived personality traits), family environment (maternal education, self-reported parenting practices) and pre-school experience (at least three years vs. no experience) in social adjustment to school, reflected through teacher reports on social competence and internalising…

The early school years provide critical opportunities for children to develop foundational skills and positive attitudes toward learning. This book, the first in the "Classroom Insights from Educational Psychology" series, gives current and prospective PreK-3 teachers valuable insight into how young children feel, think, and learn. Denise H.…

In this study, 85 maltreated foster children and 56 nonmaltreated community children (M age = 3-6 years) were assessed across kindergarten and first grade to examine the hypothesis that inhibitory control and caregiver involvement mediate associations between a history of maltreatment and foster placement and early school adjustment. Specifically,…

Peer victimization is a serious social problem that can negatively affect a child's psychosocial development and school adjustment, and may have lasting effects for victims. Previous studies on peer victimization have suggested that children with disabilities (CWD) are likely to be more frequent targets of peer victimization. This longitudinal…

In the current study, the authors tested the hypothesis that the relationship between early behavior problems and later academic and social outcomes is mediated by children's evidence of strengths during the transition to school. A locally representative and predominantly African American sample of 162 Head Start children was assessed at the end…

Examined how aspects of social-emotional learning (SEL)--specifically, emotion knowledge, emotional and social behaviors, social problem-solving, and self-regulation--clustered to typify groups of children who differ in terms of their motivation to learn, participation in the classroom, and other indices of early school adjustment and academic…

The transition from the home environment or an early childhood setting to formal schooling is an important turning point in a child's educational journey. Research literature has identified that the manner in which a child experiences the transition to school has significant implications for children's future social and academic success at school…

The present study examined the role of child gender, child ethnicity, and teacher-child ethnic match in moderating the association between teacher-child relationship quality and children's classroom behavioral adjustment. The study was conducted using data from an ethnically diverse sample of 301 Head Start children and their teachers.…

The transition to primary school is an important time for both children and parents. The aim of this randomized controlled study was to assess the effectiveness of a Transition to Primary School Parent Program in strengthening parent knowledge and confidence to manage the transition process, increasing parent involvement in their children's…