Background: Despite inclusive education (IE) policies and legislation being introduced in South Africa (SA), learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still placed in autism-specific public and private schools. Limited data are available on who makes use of the two different types of schools. Results may provide information on the profiles…

Research has shown that playful learning helps foster the development of young children. Adult guidance of this play in meaningful ways can unlock the transformative power of education. Lack of knowledge about guided play, however, often leads to children growing up without opportunities to learn through play. Considering this, the authors analyze…

In educational contexts there are few topics that receive as much attention from adults as children's behaviour that is seen as challenging. Challenging behaviour has been a topic in many disciplines, such as education, child psychiatry, psychology and special education. Along with the definition of challenging behaviour, we can read about social…

A broad range of initiatives including early intervention programmes have been implemented in Australia to assist disadvantaged and at-risk Indigenous parents and children. This qualitative exemplar case study details the perspectives of caregivers and service providers of one such early learning intervention programme situated within the remote…

Research Findings: Temperament, often defined in terms of reactive and regulatory tendencies, has been shown to predict child outcomes over and above other risk factors and represents a critical aspect of social-emotional development. The present article is a systematic review of temperament-based interventions targeting caregivers, wherein the…

A substantial proportion of American, Canadian and English preschoolers regularly participate in family child care making its quality of vital importance for the children concerned, their parents, the school system and the society in which they live. This article discusses the seven key caregiver behaviors and physical space characteristics…

Young children are being increasingly exposed to media, technology, and screen time (MeTS) at home and in instructional settings. Little is known about the long-term effects of MeTS and there is a lack of research concerning caregivers' opinions regarding young children's exposure to and utilization of MeTS. Therefore, this study explored the…

Given that early caregiver concerns may be different for children who go on to receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder versus another developmental disability, early caregiver concerns may differ for girls. Using a community-based sample of children (n = 241), we examined the extent to which gender differences may be related to caregiver…

Non-parental arrangements for young children serve a dual function as supports for parental activities and educational inputs for children. However, arrangements that are suited to meet families' specific needs and preferences are sometimes in tension with experts' definitions of "quality." Researchers and policymakers increasingly…

This study seeks to describe the socio-educational afterschool intervention programme run by a drop-in centre to fight poverty, strengthen and build resilience in families and school microsystems. Indigenous psychology is used as a theoretical lens to understand the school, family and community response to contextual challenges and how resilience…

Research Findings: This study examined how characteristics of parents, providers, and children contribute to the quality of parent--provider relationships in infant and toddler classrooms. Parents (n = 192) and providers (n = 95) from 14 child care centers in a large metropolitan area participated by completing questionnaires about the nature of…

Cash transfer based social protection can potentially contribute positively upon targeted beneficiaries on a variety of developmental aspects. This study explored the pilot and scaled-up phases of the Harmonised Social Cash Transfer program to determine impacts towards improving under-eight children's access to food, education, and health…

The study focused on challenges and gaps faced by children during the transition period from early childhood development (ECD) to primary education and possible solutions to them. It adopted the qualitative methodological approach through the use of Focus Group Discussions with councillors, education officials, child care workers, chiefs, parents…

This article examines the outcomes of care orders from the point of view of social workers. The aim is to cast light on the "black box" of substitute care by analysing the practice-based view on outcome in order to contribute to the complex debate on the relations of care and outcome. The article is based on a study using a survey, focus…

This exploratory study examined the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of early childhood care and learning at selected community-based childcare centers (CBCCs) in Malawi, and aimed to understand underlying challenges and opportunities that may be addressed to improve quality and ultimately children's outcomes. Classroom environments and…