Research suggests that bullying does occur in kindergarten. The extent of bullying in Norway and other Scandinavian countries is estimated to be about 12%. The purpose of this study is to investigate children's understanding and experiences of bullying. We use a qualitative approach and have conducted individual interviews and focus group…

This study explores kindergarten students' early notions of mathematical equivalence in the United States. In particular, it uses qualitative methods to examine the understandings children hold about the equal sign prior to formal instruction and how these understandings shift throughout an 8-week classroom teaching experiment designed to develop…

Research Findings: Research has demonstrated the developmental and educational benefits of play. Despite these benefits, teacher-directed academic instruction is prominent in kindergarten. There is increasing acknowledgment in curricula and policies of the challenges presented by a lack of play in classrooms and the need to support academic…

School administrators face many decisions that require a degree of legal knowledge. The "McKinney-Vento Act" requires schools to enroll students that are experiencing homelessness immediately, even if the student is unable to provide any documentation that is typically required by states and school districts before students can be…

Political and societal pressures are influencing kindergarten teachers and their classroom practices on a national level. Teachers' receptivity to reforms depends to a large degree on their buy-in to the change effort. Drawing on analyses of interviews with kindergarten teachers across school and districts, this study examined teacher buy-in to an…

Thirty 6-year-olds from two public schools located in a small provincial town in Greece were used as a sample in an explorative study into the mental models young children hold concerning forest destruction and waste. The study also explored how these mental models might be interrelated either within each issue or between issues. The analysis of…

Kindergarten teachers can support children's transition to school by reaching out to parents to encourage parent involvement. These outreach efforts, which are also commonly referred to as transition practices, have the potential to support children's transition to school. Scholars suggest that teachers' beliefs shape their practices. This article…

This paper explores dance as literacy. Specifically, it examines qualitative case study research findings and student examples from a dance artist-in-residence that explored curricular content using dance as its primary mode of enquiry and expression. Throughout the residency, students constructed meaning through their dance experiences in dynamic…

Research indicates that adult sensitivity to psychological states (both the adult's and the infant's) will affect the security of attachment yet the teacher's internal state has received little attention in infant care. "Perezhivanie" is a sociocultural concept that presents affect and intellect as a unit rather than separate elements.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the similarities and differences in American and Taiwanese children's perspectives of tidy-up time. The participants consisted of 25 American kindergarteners in the southeastern US, and 25 Taiwanese kindergarteners from central Taiwan. Children were asked to respond to five questions regarding tidy-up time.…

The transition to kindergarten is a critical milestone in children's lives, with implications for academic and future life success. The demographic family/parental variables of residence, social class, and race have been associated with children's adjustment to kindergarten. In particular, children growing up in families from urban, low-income…

This article examines the interplay between governance and cost-containment efforts in the public sector and the emotional labour and well-being of childcare workers. Care-work researchers have highlighted the complexities of power in emotional labour, such as the fact that emotional labour may simultaneously benefit the individual worker and…

The purpose of the study was to examine Japanese and Korean kindergarteners' perspectives by asking them to photograph play and explain why their photos represent play (photo elicitation interviews). The participants consisted of 50 kindergarteners on Japan's main island and 50 kindergarteners in South Korea. Japanese and Korean kindergartners…

This article explores children's perspectives on risk and protection in the context of war, exclusion, political conflict and immigration via the example of the excluded Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel. Thirty children of Ethiopian origin, aged four to six, shared their views on risk and protection with the aid of photography, drawings and…

The purpose of the study was to examine American and Japanese kindergarteners' views of play. The participants consisted of 44 kindergarteners and their five teachers in the southeastern United States and 50 kindergarteners and their three teachers on Japan's main island. Both groups of children were asked to photograph their views of play and to…