Collective music making has been associated with the emergence of prosocial behaviors in children and adults. Yet, the associations between participation in early childhood music education programs and prosocial skills in young children remain elusive. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how children with varied amounts of music…

Purpose: This study aims to explore young children's information practices within the context of their individual interests, examining children's interest-related information activities, challenges encountered and enablers received. Design/methodology/approach: Participants included 18 children between five and seven years of age and their…

The aim of the Families Learning Across Boundaries Project (FamLAB) is to create an ecosystem that can enable and encourage young children's interest-driven learning across settings. With this in mind, the authors surveyed 407 professionals working in libraries--including librarians, media specialists, circulation managers, directors, and outreach…

This paper outlines the findings from an integrated diagnostic assessment of manifestations of giftedness in senior preschoolers and their interest in professions. The authors investigated the relationship between manifestations of a certain type of giftedness in children and their interest in a certain group of professions. The assessment of…

This paper undertakes an investigation of the "life" of the curriculum concept of "children's interests" in a preschool practice. The concept of "children's interests" plays a vital role in the Swedish preschool curriculum text and in the preschool field. Strongly inspired by Actor-network theory readings, the paper…

Incorporating literacy into physical education has been a longstanding challenge among physical educators. However, a dearth of research exists regarding the integration of literacy and physical education, which prompted this study. Derived from a larger 4-year longitudinal mixed methods study of physical education teacher education (PETE)…

Over the course of middle childhood, children's interest and beliefs about their own capacities for success in science often decline. This pernicious decline is especially evident among underrepresented groups, including girls, members of some racial and ethnic minorities, and children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The present research…

In this paper, early childhood teacher educators describe their work to provide opportunities for pre-service teacher candidates to engage in specific practices that facilitate reflection and planning related to enhancing toddlers' engagement during free play. The practices targeted were structured by the instructor and supported by the mentor…

Since 2004 and the enlargement of the EU, increased migration from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to the UK necessitates sustained research on the implications for children, their families and practitioners in the early years. This paper draws upon a sociocultural approach to bring into focus family story-sharing practices. We report…

Children's food preferences are strongly associated with their consumption patterns. Children tend to choose foods with which they are familiar. It is proposed that the earlier and broader the experience with food, the healthier the child's or adult´s diet. In a focus group we developed a toolkit consisting of a training course for kindergarten…

This article presents findings from the first year of a multiyear investigation of the implementation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) book distribution program as part of one community's long-term initiative to improve early literacy skills. The authors describe (a) the study's logic model and associated theory of change, (b)…

Children's interests are an important basis for creating an early childhood curriculum. However, opportunities to build a curriculum responsive to children's interests may often be missed if busy teachers simply add new resources to activities. This article draws on the notion of "real questions" as a way to interpret children's…

The effective integration of educational technologies into early childhood education remains a significant challenge. An important element of this challenge is how practitioner beliefs about pedagogy relate to how digital technologies are used in the early years classroom. Focussing on early childhood practitioner beliefs in relation to pedagogy…

Early childhood education (ECE) programs in the United States are experiencing paradigm shifts resulting from the standards-based movement. The notion that all children should be ready to learn when they enter school has resulted in ECE programs attempting to balance a standards-based curriculum with the child-centered approach to learning as part…

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits, challenges, and limitations of a service-learning project designed to promote responsiveness among PK-12 preservice teachers (N=41). The service-learning included working with children (5- to 12-year-olds) at before- and after-school programs, interviewing site staff, and developing lesson…