This article is a personal memoir of how Vivian Gussin Paley deepened a veteran teacher's understanding of how young children learn through play. With careful observation of children at fantasy play, intentional listening, and dictation, Paley enhanced and sharpened appreciation of how children relate to their surroundings and build skills for…

I watch my eighteen-month old daughter talking to the soft-bodied doll that I have made her. I wonder what she sees in the undefined cloth face. I wonder if she will make a similar doll for her child one day and I wonder if she will wonder as I do. While the repetition across generations of early childhood experience is both common sense and much…

This commentary discusses the three articles in this (2017) issue. The articles expand the published research base on the effectiveness of early education in the sub-Saharan Africa countries of Zambia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Each of the three articles employs rigorous methods to better understand the impact of…

The article adds to a growing conversation that recognizes and supports young children's civic capabilities, positioning them as citizens-now and not simply citizens in the future. They detail how three different classrooms sought to work with children to engage in social action on behalf of their broader community. This response wonders alongside…

In this article the author responds to Jonathan Silin's article "At a Loss: Scared and Excited", and in doing so, takes up his ideas around the generative potential of loss. She uses these notions of loss to illuminate how, in one diverse school community in Australia, loss, failure and an "awful reputation" have opened up…

A conversation between the Director of the University of Manchester's Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub and the Education Director of England's Halle Orchestra explores the relationship unfolding between science and music. The interview focuses on synergies between music and science and how the two subjects can…

In practice, pedagogical leadership cannot be considered on its own. It has to be considered within the full extent of leadership roles and responsibilities expected of today's early childhood leaders. This is not possible without an adequate understanding and theorizing of the foundational concepts of leadership and pedagogy. Here, the authors…

This paper presents some possibilities for applying the linguistic and psychological theories of two dialogists, Mikhail Bakhtin and Jacques Lacan, to the classroom. There is a short summary of how the two theories may interact with each other and then a discussion of their two opposing views of identity formation. Bakhtin was a Russian, coming…

It is well documented in the literature that relationships influence the lives of young children (birth to second grade). Consequently, it is essential that young children's caregivers and teachers build professional relationships with children's parents, because these relationships influence the children's present and later learning environments…

In this paper I trace moments of spontaneous insight occurring among a group of young children in an environment where they are encouraged and supported in their efforts to collaboratively interrogate their own and one another's ideas. I argue that noticing, confronting, and responding to enigmas, surprises, and evolving meanings as they are…

At a time when the relationship between early childhood and compulsory school education is high on the policy agenda, this article questions the dominant, often taken-for-granted, relationship--school readiness; and offers two alternatives, a strong and equal partnership and the vision of a meeting place. Both are potentially transformative,…

The substantial demand for behavior-analytic treatment of early childhood autism has been associated with rapid dissemination of treatment procedures to practitioners and caregivers. This level of demand could plausibly induce premature dissemination of treatments that do not yet have sufficient empirical support. We argue that this might have…

This article presents edited transcripts of separate Skype conversations with Richard Ungerer, AMS executive director, in his office at AMS headquarters in New York and Andre Roberfroid, president of AMI, at his home in Vetraz-Monthoux, France. It also presents a discussion of the ways the two organizations can join forces to strengthen the…

Early childhood educators frequently look for new ways to help children build social and emotional skills. Teachers want to use effective tools and strategies whether they are redirecting aggressive behavior or encouraging self-esteem and friendship. Persona dolls are one approach to supporting children's social-emotional development. Persona…

In this essay, Susan Engel argues that curiosity is both intrinsic to children's development and unfolds through social interactions. Thus, it should be cultivated in schools, even though it is often almost completely absent from classrooms. Calling on well-established research and more recent studies, Engel argues that interactions between…