This article explores the perceptions of professional development held by a selection of early years educators who have experience of working in statutory and private early years settings in the north of England. The research participants (n = 20) reflected on their experiences of professional development in early years. The research process is…

Many children in preschool have speech and language disorders and a poor communication development, and the need for support is extensive. The aim was to find out if and how reading aloud and storytelling could enhance children's communication development, the study was interactionistic. Eleven municipal preschools with 23 child units (573…

Collaboration and continuity between school types are important factors that favor long-term learning and that need to be given attention in the transition between early childhood school institutions. This study highlights teachers' experiences of information sharing during the transition from Swedish preschool to preschool class (i.e., from the…

Vocabulary development is an essential linguistic component of later English literacy skills (National Reading Panel 2000). However, very few studies have addressed the promotion of vocabulary development in deaf children who are American Sign Language users (Luckner and Cooke 2010). Therefore, this qualitative collective case study examined the…

In this study, the investigators surveyed 215 early childhood educators throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania to determine teacher knowledge and training in early literacy instruction, with a focus on The 5 Big Ideas in Reading as identified by the National Reading Panel: phonological awareness, accuracy and fluency, alphabetic principle,…

This study unpacks the effective Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy ("ExCELL") professional development intervention to understand how the language and literacy coaching that teachers receive is linked to changes in their knowledge and then how this knowledge is related to classroom practice. In total, 17 lead teachers…

This study examines 240 preschool teachers' self-reported literacy beliefs and practices. Participants taught three- and four-year-olds in publicly funded preschools that are part of the Virginia Preschool Initiative program. Teachers completed a Preschool Literacy Practices Checklist that asked about their beliefs and practices regarding…

The early childhood years serve as an essential foundation for subsequent literacy development. Despite the increased attention given to children's early literacy development, gaps remain in our understanding of what is actually taking place in child care programs across the nation. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to assess the extent…

Questionnaire responses suggest although educators know the learning value of problem solving, they rarely use it. Twenty-one educators were introduced to learning through problem solving. They were read a story and asked to overcome an associated problem. The questionnaire assessed children's literacy learning through problem solving, and…