In recent times, engineering education has increasingly emerged as a valued kindergarten practice. Engineering teaching in play brings challenges for Chinese kindergarten teachers. An educational experiment (EE) was conducted to help Chinese kindergarten teachers face this challenge. Qualitative data including video data and interview transcripts…

Research Findings: The present study analyzes whether child factors are linked to variations in teacher cognitive activation (CA) among individual children in math-related activities within Chinese kindergarten classrooms. The findings show that teachers tend to provide direct CA with high concreteness and that child engagement with tasks is…

Recognising children as active and competent citizens holds promise for early childhood research and pedagogies worldwide. Researchers in China have not previously explored young children's citizenship in detail. The project that is the focus of this article sought to address this research gap. Moss' critical approach and Chen's "Asia as…

Pre-service early childhood teachers (PECTs) are expected to support young children's engaged and meaningful use of ICT for early learning and development. Unless teachers believe that ICT is beneficial for young children, they will be unable or unwilling to encourage and support children's use of ICT in educational environments. This paper aims…

The goal of this study was to examine longitudinal associations among unsociability and indices of socio-emotional functioning in a sample of young Chinese children. Participants were N = 360 children (M[subscript age] = 4.72 years, SD = 0.67) recruited from kindergarten classes in an urban area of China. Assessments of unsociability and…

Background: This article is based on a study that aimed at finding out how pre-primary teachers integrate directed play into literacy teaching and learning. Play is a platform through which young children acquire language. Aim: This study uses an action research approach to understand how guided play benefits incidental reading and expands…

The current longitudinal study examined the association of temperamental inhibition (assessed by behavioral observation and parental reports) at three years old with reward and punishment bias (measured by a spatial cueing task) and mothers' and teachers' reports of internalizing behaviors and social competence at five years old in 153 Chinese…

The researchers studied humour among Chinese and Greek preschool children in relation to cognitive development. The sample included 55 Chinese children and 50 Greek children ages 4½ to 5½ years. Results showed that both Chinese and Greek children's humour recognition were significantly and positively correlated to their cognitive development, but…

The following article introduces an exploratory study that was designed to measure the quality of early childhood education within its ever changing sociocultural context utilizing the Early Childhood Learning Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) in 40 classrooms in Beijing, China. Implications for early childhood teacher education,…

This article presents some findings of a small-scale research study carried out in 1 kindergarten in Hong Kong. The study looked at the problems associated with the transition of families from one culture (mainland China) to a new culture (Hong Kong), concentrating on the children's development of a sense of belonging in Hong Kong. Specific issues…

The purpose of this study was to examine what, if anything, caregivers and teachers of 3- to 5-year-old children from the U.S. (n = 412), China (n = 244), Taiwan (n = 222), Korea (n = 574), and Turkey (n = 214), had in common in terms of self-reported beliefs and self-reported practices related to the National Association for the Education of…

Presents interview with Weikart, founder and president of High/Scope Foundation, on a multi-national study of the nature, quality, and effects of children's experiences prior to formal schooling. Discusses findings related to international similarities in children and parents, engagement levels, the impact of training on teachers, parent roles,…

The concept for the piloting of a contemporary early childhood kindergarten in China was visualised by the chief executive officer of TMC Academy, Dr Chin, in July 2002 when he participated in a Singaporean-led mission to Liaoning Province in China. Shenyang Creative Kindergarten is the result of that concept. It opened for children in September…