The transition from preschool to elementary school is an important period for all families but can be particularly difficult for children from low-income families (Pianta, Rimm-Kaufman, & Cox, 1999). Transition involves not only the children's "readiness," especially in terms of literacy, but also how families, preschools, and schools interact and…

Local education agencies (LEAs) are working to manage and maintain commitment and enthusiasm to numerous initiatives mandated by the state to improve student success. The rapid pace of scaling up many initiatives at once often leads to relying on local administrators and educators to interpret and unpack the complexity of implementing these…

Superhero play has long been thought of as violent, aggressive, and disruptive. Some argue that aggressive play should not be allowed because it exposes children to inappropriate concepts and attitudes and sends the message that the use of aggression can achieve a desired goal. However, educators know that pretend play is an avenue for healthy…

A year and a half ago, Rena, Cheri, and Cassandra were introduced to each other by a colleague because they shared an interest in exploring the impact newer technologies have on learning in early childhood classrooms. They meet regularly to share ideas and information on how to incorporate tablets using best practices. Cassandra's preschool…

This article begins by outlining the UK Government policy context, offering a brief critique before moving on to summarise recent research into "quality" in the early years. The main body of the article locates the perspectives of early years practitioners within this context, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research…

The purpose of this study is to determine the strategies used by pre-school teachers in order to raise curiosity in children. Based on this aim, sample is composed of 52 pre-school teachers working in kindergartens affiliated to Ministry of National Education. Study data were collected via qualitative research methods. Research data were gathered…

Teachers, center directors, principals, and policy makers constantly make decisions about early childhood education. Early educators are increasingly expected to draw connections between what they do in the classroom and what research shows. Researchers are encouraged to investigate matters critical to educators' day-to-day work with children and…

Literacy begins at birth. As soon as children are born, they start reading the world around them. Yet for years the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) was not regarded as a place for early childhood teachers, researchers, and teacher educators who work with children from birth to age eight. Recently, however, a group has come together…

The Texas Literacy Initiative (TLI) was first implemented in Austin Independent School District during the 2012-2013 school. This report summarizes Spring 2014 survey responses from administrators at TLI campuses.

"Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation" is jointly published by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) and the Illinois Board of Education (IBHE), and highlights the accomplished work of many of the state's two- and four-year faculty to redesign early childhood educator…

The role of teacher preparation programs is to ensure that candidates are effectively prepared in the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to be an effective educator. However, dispositions have always been a challenge to the field of teacher education, particularly in response to assessing dispositions and in answering the question; can…

Preschool teachers and caregivers today are faced with an increasing number of children as young as 2 years old who exhibit challenging behavior. Unfortunately, these challenging behaviors may continue into adolescence and adulthood if not remediated early. Recently, there has been an increase in research showing promising evidence that when…

This article has emerged from a research and development project, The Baby Room, which was designed to examine how babies are cared for in daycare settings. Within the project, a form of professional development was created which designated a central space for dialogic encounter, primarily to enable the baby room practitioners who participated in…

During the author's trips to Denmark as an instructor of American college students studying abroad, he led groups to visit several "boernehavens," which are the Danish equivalents of U.S. preschools for children ages 3 to 5. Danish society values confident individuals who can take initiative when faced with challenges and opportunities.…

The need for professional development is universal, whatever a person's profession. Professionals must continually enrich their knowledge and increase their sense of professionalism over the course of their careers so as to implement current research-based practice. Early childhood professional development brings to the forefront the significance…