Early and explicit vocabulary instruction is one important way teachers can support early readers for later reading comprehension success (Duncan et al., 2007; Marulis & Neuman, 2010; Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2000); however, some observations indicate that early childhood and…

"The Upstart Great Plains TASK Force: Taking All to Success in Kindergarten" was a five-year Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) expansion grant (U411A180001) funded through the US Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Four research studies were conducted during the grant period of 2018 to 2023: a…

Creativity is key in developing students' environmental competence so that they come up with working and sustainable solutions to address environmental issues in daily life. However, these remain under-investigated in both Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) research. Here, we report an action research…

Research Findings: This study aimed to evaluate the sustainability of the public benefit preschool education service system (PPESS) in China from the perspective of preschool education administrators, principals, and teachers using a newly developed and validated instrument, the "Public-benefit Preschool Education Service System Rating Scale…

This paper asks whether universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) raises parents' earnings and how much these earnings effects matter for evaluating the economic returns to UPK programs. Using a randomized lottery design, we estimate the effects of enrolling in a full-day UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut on parents' labor market outcomes as well as…

To provide a landscape of mathematics activities children experience in U.S. preschool and kindergarten classrooms, we observed time children spent in mathematics activities (and -- as a contrast -- literacy) in 101 geographically diverse early childhood classrooms in seven U.S. states. We also observed what mathematics content, grouping…

This article explores children's self-initiated outdoor play and holistic learning in a Norwegian kindergarten. While children's self-initiated play is valued in Nordic ECEC, it is rarely analyzed in relation to holistic learning. To explore how children's self-initiated outdoor play contributes to children's holistic learning in ECEC, we observed…

The current study examines the challenges and coping of Arab women employed as child caretakers in kibbutz kindergartens in Israel. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Arab caretakers. Three themes were identified: (1) Self-perception as secular Israelis versus a combined Muslim-Arab one Israeli-civic identity; (2) The families'…

Background: Pre-k convergence refers to the tendency for the positive effects of pre-k on children's academic skills to diminish over time, observed across decades of observational and experimental studies (Ansari et al., 2020). Researchers have tested multiple mechanisms to explain convergence, with mixed results; none of the proposed mechanisms…

The research aims at examining the counting skills of children in the preschool period. For this purpose, this study has been planned according to the "survey model". The study group of the research is comprised of 108 children with ages between 60th-72nd months, who attend kindergartens. The "Counting Skills Test" has been…

As children enter kindergarten, some are more academically prepared than others for a variety of reasons. One influence on kindergarten preparation is prior preschool experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between children's mathematical literacy at kindergarten entry and preschool attendance, preschool type…

Purpose/Objectives: Although meals offered through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have been found to be of higher dietary quality than packed lunches, roughly 40% of students bring packed lunches for a variety of reasons, including cost. The purpose of this study was to explore costs, including time, of NSLP and packed lunches. Methods:…

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected children's care and education worldwide. This article reports on patterns of participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) across Australia as influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and national policies. Using ECEC data from Xplor -- a software platform used across Australian childcare…

Research into pedagogical approaches used in early years' nature education, more specifically European and UK forest schools, remains according to Leather, 'undertheorised.' In a similar situation in Australia, the bush kindergarten programmes (referred to as 'bush kinders'), have had limited research attention. Influenced by European and UK…

Play, of varied type and form, provides opportunities for children to acquire a sense of competence and belonging when engaging in classroom life. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways that the inclusion of play as a curricular component eased academic stressors and supported motivation during the transition to kindergarten. In this…