This study evaluated a parent-mediated preventive intervention for children's literacy skills 1 year after participation. Parents of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2-year-old-children (n = 69) recruited through early childhood centers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) a target shared reading condition emphasizing phonological awareness…

Background: School absenteeism has been recognized as a growing issue in the United States, especially during the early elementary school years when it is most pervasive. Accordingly, there has been growing interest in understanding why children are absent and whether certain early educational experiences can reduce children's rates of school…

This socioculturally framed case study focuses on children's sense of agency in educational settings. The study has two objectives: (a) to portray the modalities of children's sense of agency in preschool and first grade settings, and (b) to identify the sociocultural resources that mediate children's sense of agency in these two activity…

The hypothesis was tested that the new open-group Norwegian day-care centers would more than traditionally organized centers negatively affect (a) current and (b) future teacher-child relationships, and (c) the developmental legacy of preschool problem behavior. The focus was on eight hundred and fifty 4-year-olds from 153 centers who were…

Using nationally representative data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 5,107), this study assessed prospective connections between children's early education and care (EEC) experiences from infancy through preschool and their cognitive and behavioral functioning in 1st grade. Incorporating 6 waves of data, analyses…

This article presents the key findings and discussion from a research project and subsequent report: "Involving young children in decision making: An exploration of practitioners' views". This research explored early childhood practitioners'--childcare workers, kindergarten, pre-primary and grade 1-2 teachers--views on decision making…

The Saint Paul Public Schools' Project Early Kindergarten program aims to improve the school readiness of Saint Paul children. The program offers a rigorous academic approach and targets children who are English Language Learners, come from low-income families, or need Special Education services. Ultimately, the program intends to help close Saint…

The issue of child care is still widely debated, with some scholars arguing that children fare best in parental care, whereas others suggest center care may enhance children's development. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 to 1999, the author demonstrates how the use of cross-sectional versus longitudinal…