The wellbeing of early care educators is essential for lessening burnout and increasing teachers' intentions of staying in the field. Protective factors related to the wellbeing of early care educators in the field have been given little attention in research and practice but have such a profound impact on programs, classrooms, children, and…

This study used a modified mixed-method sequential explanatory design to explore how preschool teachers perceive and use complex talk within different activity settings and content areas to facilitate language and literacy skills. The combination of large-scale, quantitative data (455 children, 63 teachers) from a pre-K study and in-depth,…

This comparative case study, with a phenomenological approach examined the effect of kindergarten transition practices on kindergarten reading achievement. Study participants were 4 administrators and 8 kindergarten teachers at 2 elementary schools in southeastern North Carolina. Findings included 61 transition practices and 4 barriers not…

This study examined perceptions of administrators and kindergarten teachers regarding kindergarten giftedness. The study looked at whether administrators and teachers believe kindergarten students can be gifted; whether their schools and districts have policies in place to identify those students; and whether they are required to vary the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the current practices and pre-service preparation of recent graduates of North Carolina Birth-Kindergarten (B-K) teacher licensure programs related to individualizing curriculum and instruction for children. Participants were 142 individuals who graduated from B-K licensure programs in four-year…