Montessori education has existed for more than 100 years and counts almost 16,000 schools worldwide (Debs et al., 2022). Still, little is known about the implementation and fidelity of Montessori principles. Measuring implementations holds significant importance as it provides insight into current Montessori practices and because it is assumed…

Participation has been discussed as a multi-layered concept with varied outlooks on children's lived experiences. Children's participation occupies a complicated terrain in that whose participation counts and how it manifests itself within complex adult-child relations are enduring questions in the early childhood field. This qualitative study…

Previous research has highlighted the need to improve teacher education programs with the intent of preparing infant-toddler professionals as working with infants-toddlers and families requires a unique skill set. The following mixed methods research study supported these assertions by examining the early childhood education (ECE) undergraduate…

An international contemporary challenge for early childhood teachers is to integrate digital media in preschool. Research indicates that teachers have concerns regarding the use of digital media in preschool, especially in relation to play. In this study, we explore how an early childhood education and care (ECEC) work team takes on this challenge…

Building on the Salamanca Statement from 1994, the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals 2030 embraces inclusion for children in early childhood education. The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education in 2015-2017 completed a project on inclusive early childhood education, focusing on structures, processes, and outcomes…

Decades of evidence demonstrates that a strong foundation in early childhood leads to healthier, more successful life outcomes. Developing socio-emotional skills and executive functions in this period of life improves academic outcomes, school readiness, and wellbeing, as well as work, health, wealth, and public safety outcomes. Thus, social and…

In the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs recommends implementing play-based learning in early education curricula. This research study set out to explore the following research question: What are pre-school teachers' beliefs, understandings and uses of play-based approaches to develop language and literacy skills in…

Amid efforts to limit "divisive concepts" in educational settings, this article investigates the obstruction of a civic-focused early childhood curriculum. Joy Dangora Erickson and Winston Thompson analyze the challenges faced by a resourceful kindergarten teacher striving to uphold curriculum goals despite constraints imposed by the…

We explored how teachers perceived challenging behavior in contrast to behaviors that exemplify social-emotional competence, and how descriptions of behavior varied based on child demographics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status. Using a DisCrit lens, we conducted this study under the assumption that perceptions of behavior may…

Parents` significance in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is emphasized in the research, but primarily from the perspective of ECEC professionals. Drawing on discursive institutionalism, we analysed what parents of young children in Finland constructed as essential in ECEC from the child`s point of view in their discussions concerning the…

This study aimed to uncover kindergarten teachers' experiences and viewpoints concerning the challenge of integrating sufficient play into their classrooms amidst academic demands. This approach explored kindergarten teachers' experiences and perspectives to understand the complex dynamics between play and academics in early childhood education.…

This study examines five preschool teachers' narratives about using the outdoor environment as a pedagogical resource for children's play, learning and experiences in Swedish preschools. Participants were asked to reflect on both opportunities and challenges in outdoor play and learning. The present study responds to the need for further research…

Theoretical models of job stress suggest that teachers' experience with burnout occurs, in part, because of an imbalance between job demands and the resources available to meet those demands. Using a diverse sample of 230 Head Start educators, the present study explored how school-based demands (i.e., class size, behavioral challenges) and…

Research Findings: To explore distinct professional-wellbeing subgroups and variations in turnover intentions, we examined the factor structure of the Early Childhood Professional Wellbeing Questionnaire (McMullen et al., 2020), which was completed online by 368 Australian early childhood educators. Based on educators' scores on the Belonging and…

Dual language learners (DLLs) are a growing student population in the United States, especially in early childhood. However, DLL growth is uneven across the United States, and in many classrooms, DLLs will constitute a "language minority" - that is, they will be the sole or one of few students who speak a non-English home language. Given…