As mindfulness practices become more widely implemented in schools, they are attracting both keen interest and strong criticism. It is important that mindfulness-based programs adhere to sound child development principles, be aligned with the neuroscience of stress, be integrated in a holistic manner by teachers throughout the school day, and…

Eco-Schools is the largest global sustainability school program, with over 59,000 schools that engage 20 million students and 1.4 million teachers across 93 countries. The program was developed in response to the needs identified at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also known as the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in…

A recent report surveyed 3,154 families and showed that 80% of children age 0-7 use YouTube, and 59% use YouTube Kids. While most young children are likely using their parents' accounts, 11% have their own YouTube accounts and 16% have registered with the YouTube Kids app. On average, children spend 1.39 hours each weekday and 1.47 hours each…

Farm to school education connects learning to the real world by helping students foster a deeper appreciation for local agriculture and healthy eating habits. Students experience and understand how nature supports life and the food they eat. Farm to school can take many forms, from classroom lessons to field trips in the school garden. Many…

Children like to play with smartphones and other touchscreen-based devices, and suitably developed apps can help in entertaining, nurturing, and educating children. For the last three years, the authors have been studying how children interact with smartphones and other touchscreen-based devices. They assert that knowing the capabilities of…

Within the context of 2030 development agenda and the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), school leaders are critical stakeholders for development. Achievement of the SDG agenda requires collaboration and partnership across all stakeholders and sectors. As a focal point for collaboration within their schools and stewards for…

Active involvement of multiple stakeholders is vital to ensuring effective implementation of education innovation. The ground-breaking collaboration described in this article addressed barriers to education through effective cross-sector collaboration among civil society, business, and government stakeholders.

This article describes an innovative teaching approach that can offer the changes needed for school improvement. When entering an Education: Basic and Interactive (EBI) classroom, one will see students focused on accomplishing self-guided tasks and eager to move on to the next challenge in their self-paced learning. The EBI Project described here…

Ensuring that cultural sensitivity in teacher education programs is addressed will enhance new teachers' confidence and effectiveness in the classroom. As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, teacher candidates have experienced a non-contact environment at every stage of their professional education. Specifically, the pandemic impacted the…

Early childhood experiences have a great effect on the course of a child's life. Preschool education can offer benefits for children, particularly those who do not have advantages at home, including benefits related to academic skills, social-emotional development, and communication. Thus, preschool experiences are a potential key to improving…

Children's earliest years are times of significant development and learning, yet the professionals who provide care for young children often do not receive the economic or professional support they need and deserve. Given the unique situations of child care professionals, especially those running their own family child care businesses, we must…

During the summer of 2016, the first author, along with an undergraduate student, observed an early childhood education program for 3- to 6-year-old children at Bright School, Muhanga, Rwanda. For two weeks, they documented the curriculum development, curricular and cultural adaptations of developmentally appropriate practices, social and…

Italian makerspace is based on the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach founded by Loris Malaguzzi, in which the environment plays a critical role in children's development. Malaguzzi believed that the makerspace is the third teacher (joining family and classroom teachers), and children express themselves through a "hundred…

As educators around the world pursue the noble goal of supporting students' development as global citizens, we must carefully consider the methods we use to achieve such transformation of education.

Educators seek to foster civic engagement among the next generation through social studies. In pursuit of this goal, technology and social media strategies can be effective enticements. This article describes the community engagement demonstrated by students collaborating to present a weekly school news broadcast, making the transition from…