To validate the modified System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time to measure teacher practices related to physical activity promotion (SOFIT+) in physical education (PE) amongst 5-6-year-old-children. Participants (n = 162, 53% female, 6.0 ± 0.3 yrs) were recruited from 9 schools. Video-recordings of 45 PE lessons from 9 teachers/coaches were…

This article focuses on development work led by Nikki Smith who participated in a teacher leadership support group designed especially for educators in the field of early childhood. Nikki's project improved the provision and practice of a particular type of learning environment for very young children, one that is created and packed away each day.…

Understanding the nature of science (NoS) is perplexing for young children because it is concerned with not only understanding how evidence is generated but also what kind of meanings can be made from information collected. However, acting as a scientist-in-role, making independent decisions about what information to collect and deciding how to go…

Carol Davenport and Joe Shimwell argue the need for careers education within the primary phase to counter the impact of gender and socioeconomic status on children's career ideas.

Purpose: Research has indicated that interactive shared book reading can support a wide range of early language skills and that children who are read to regularly in the early years learn language faster, enter school with a larger vocabulary, and become more successful readers at school. Despite the large volume of research suggesting interactive…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

This article uses data from a research project exploring grouping practices based on 'ability' in classrooms for children aged 3-7 years in England to consider the relationship between teachers' views of ability and their ways of organising children. The widespread use of grouping with young children and the concomitant 'fixed-ability thinking' by…

Home-based child care or childminding as it is commonly known in the United Kingdom (UK) is a service often used by parents and families in many countries. However, despite its prevalence, there is a paucity of research on the subject. Addressing this gap, this study presents new empirical data to better understand this type of provision in…

Early years science curriculum in England requires teachers to incorporate scientific enquiry in their classrooms. However, teachers perceive science teaching to be challenging because of their lack of subject knowledge. This paper aims to develop an understanding of science as an enquiry rich subject rather than a plethora of scientific…

Objectives: This paper explores the impact of physical education (PE) lessons, focusing on children aged 6-7 years, an underrepresented age in physical activity research. Methods: 10 children wore Actigraph accelerometers recording physical activity throughout the school day (9 am until 3.10 pm), for a year. Repeated measures ANOVA analysed: type…

Drawing on an ethnographic study conducted with young children (4-5 year olds) in a multi-ethnic Early Years classroom in the north of England this paper shows how young children's discourses about skin colour are informed by intersections with their gender identities. This ethnography uncovers how young children engage with the related concepts…

This paper explores how early years teachers respond to policy, using the case of Baseline Assessment, a new statutory assessment introduced to Reception classes (age 4-5) in England in 2015. Using interview and survey data collected during the period when the policy was introduced, the paper examines how teachers engaged in different forms of…

Whilst within universities, research on rather than with children/pupils is a well-established methodology, this paper reports on teachers' responses to a schools and university-based partnership project, 'Pupils as Research Partners in Primary (PARPP), which works to co-create pupil-led research opportunities for pupils in research projects…

The paper presents a visual methods approach from a cross national methodological project that used digital visual technologies to examine young children's perspectives in father-child interactions. The approach combines capturing the dialectic with visual reflexivity. The notion of 'capturing the dialectic' specifically by analysing conflict to…

This research paper investigates how graduate early years practitioners support under-threes with early reading; presenting their perceptions and daily encounters. Previous research into the practice and pedagogy of early reading appears to have resulted in the latest overarching policy investment in phonics. This paper suggests that this…