This article spotlights the power of pushing limits and boundaries through emergent curriculum and process drama as told through the story of a preschool class's exploration of the topics of paths, maps, and pirates. The story is framed in terms of the three phases of the class's project adapted from the Project Approach (Katz et al., 2014), which…

Mind mapping refers to the use of a specific graphic organizer to support learning. This paper describes the effect of mind mapping on pre-schoolers' geometric learning. Using a pre- and posttest control group quasi-experimental model, researchers found that the use of mind maps resulted in a statistically significant difference in geometry…

The importance of children experiencing a successful transition to school is well established in research literature. Central to this is including the children themselves in the conversation about their learning and ensuring they develop a sense of fit and belonging to their new school environment. The findings shared in this paper sit within a…

In today's fast paced early childhood classrooms, mathematics play activities in prekindergarten settings are not consistently supported. Administrators and educators have discussed with great intensity and passion about incorporating mathematics play in prekindergarten classrooms. Both groups discussed the benefits and reservations of…

"Research Findings:" Playfulness is an important personality tendency with an important role in the well-being, mental health, and various other aspects of an individual's life. Previous studies have shown that the development of children's playfulness is related to parents' playfulness. However, limited research has been conducted on…

The goal of this study was to track the progress of Italian children at risk for school failure enrolled in preschools based on the Reggio-Emilia approach. Risk factors considered included family socioeconomic status (SES), child receptive language, and child gender. Participants were 211 children (Mage = 60.8 months, 116 girls) in Reggio-inspired…

Despite extensive scholarly and policy attention to the phenomenon of racially disparate school discipline, its negative effect on academic achievement, and its relationship to later criminal system involvement and incarceration, little has been written about the experiences of Native youth. This article seeks to bring attention to Native youth in…

Background: Socio-economic status (SES) is a powerful predictor of attainment. Research has identified multiple mechanisms that underpin the effect of SES on attainment. For example, self-regulation (processes through which individuals direct and control their attention, emotion and behaviour) has been identified as one mechanism mediating the SES…

The aim of the study is to develop a Likert-type scale to determine the play preferences of children attending pre-school education. The research was designed and carried out according to the survey research model. Data collected from 3 different study groups were used in the scale development process. The study groups consist of parents of…

The current study explores differences in messages that preschool teachers send girls and boys about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Video footage of a preschool classroom (16 hr; N = 6 teachers; 20 children) was transcribed. Teachers' questions were coded for question-type and whether the question was directed to a boy or a…

In this article, we analyse overarching patterns of social stratification in, and quality differences between, Swedish preschools. Drawing on a Bourdieusian social classification scheme, we evidence in what type of preschools different social groups enrol their children in, and to what extent Swedish preschool children encounter different levels…

It is widely assumed that (1) children with challenging behavior may lack the social-emotional skills to be successful in classroom settings and (2) instruction in social-emotional skills can help prevent the occurrence of young children's challenging behavior. However, no data are available to indicate whether specific social-emotional skills…

This study examines the experiences of 17 teacher candidates who participated in a literacy-focused service-learning initiative in the aftermath of destructive tornadoes in their community. In response to the natural disaster, the Literacy Ambassadors, composed of university literacy faculty and teacher candidates, sought to address the critical…

This study, aiming to reveal preschool children's mental models of their environment, was carried out with the participation of 225 children aged 36-72 months attending 8 different preschool education institutions. It is based on qualitative research designed around a case study. The Word Association Test and Drawing were used as the data…

Museums are traditionally considered public service settings with educational functions and practical learning resources for students. Early childhood teachers' intention to implement class visits to museums is still very low. This paper synthesizes the theory of planned behavior model (TPB) and core determinants of the technology acceptance model…