This guide to understanding school readiness in young children is essential reading for early years practitioners. It explores the concept of school readiness by unpicking what the term means for children and how we can define it in the context of the characteristics of effective learning. This includes ideas for promoting playing and exploring,…

For families with toddlers approaching their third birthdays, parent-child playgroups provide opportunities to support children's school readiness skills and to prepare both children and parents for changes they are likely to encounter during the transition to preschool. However, all transitions are unique; they depend on families' needs and…

Supported Playgroups in Schools (SPinS) are a new initiative in the Australian early childhood education landscape. SPinS are playgroups hosted by a playgroup coordinator co-located on a local school site. Research has identified positive benefits of playgroup participation for children and families. However, little is known about the potential…

Background: The acquired skill set prior to school entry has emerged as an important issue in research and policy internationally. Much evidence exists advocating the importance of early numeracy and literacy skills in later academic achievement and economic outcomes of students. Aim: The goal of this study was to determine the association between…

"Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children," Fifth Edition, provides academics and school-based practitioners such as psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers with an up-to-date guide to the assessment of young children. Long recognized as the standard text and reference in its field, this comprehensive,…

Active involvement of multiple stakeholders is vital to ensuring effective implementation of education innovation. The ground-breaking collaboration described in this article addressed barriers to education through effective cross-sector collaboration among civil society, business, and government stakeholders.

This exploratory netnographic study describes how a sample of Ontario kindergarten teachers perceive the new Ontario Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) curriculum. Discussions from teacher message boards, the comment sections of online news articles, and interviews with kindergarten teachers were analyzed and coded using a qualitative approach. Analysis…

This booklet suggests ways for parents to help their preschool children grow, develop, and have fun learning. A brief opening section called "Learning Begins Early" provides a general context for the book. The second section, on what it means to be ready for school, describes the qualities and skills that youngsters need to get a good start in…

Using an action research model, this study concentrated on easing the transition into school by providing an induction program for preschool children which promotes the emotional needs of the child within the family. The research followed an ecological perspective, considering individual needs within the frameworks of school, home, and community…

During the first half of the 1990-91 school year, 446 children were served by the Chapter 1 Prekindergarten Program of the Saginaw, Michigan school district. A process evaluation was conducted to monitor the program and assess whether it was being implemented as planned. This year, the process evaluation consisted of half-day classroom…

A 2-year project was undertaken to develop, test, and distribute a video-based program to train low-income parents in engaging their 3- to 5-year-old children in highly motivating play techniques in order to enhance children's cognitive, social and motor skills for school readiness. An evaluation was conducted of the Year One phase of the training…

The Heman Street Preschool was organized to serve two main purposes: (1) T o provide a group of three- and four-year olds with a preschool experience which would increase their chances for later success in school; and (2) To train future teachers and teaching aides to work effectively in a preschool program. The program focused on four groups: the…

By December of the 1992-93 school year, 433 children were being served by the Chapter 1 Prekindergarten Program of the Saginaw, Michigan school district. A process evaluation was conducted to monitor the program and assess whether the program was being implemented as planned. The process evaluation consisted of a half-day classroom observation in…

By January of the 1991-92 school year, 428 children were being served by the Chapter 1 Prekindergarten Program of the Saginaw, Michigan school district. A process evaluation was conducted to monitor the program and assess whether the program was being implemented as planned. The process evaluation for this year consisted of a half-day classroom…

This document contains abstracts of 46 presentations from the first Warwick International Early Years Conference. Presentations included discussions of research studies, program descriptions, and opinion papers on a variety of topics pertaining to child development and early childhood education. Topics covered include: (1) cross-cultural…