The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a brief training plus e-mail-specific performance feedback (ESPF) on increasing preschool teacher's use of behavior-specific praise (BSP) statements. Quantity of BSP was measured using a frequency count, while voice intonation of BSP statements was measured using a voice recording…

Engagement in strong play skills is important as an outcome by itself, but also as means to achieve other valued outcomes in early childhood development. Yet, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate challenges in this area of development. To address these challenges, intervention is needed. This study evaluated the effects…

Nature-based preschool programs continue to grow in popularity across the world. These programs provide children with critically important experiences and help them gain skills that contribute to early school success and accomplishments later in life. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory lockdowns resulted in reduced opportunities for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the preschool curriculum from the perspective of teachers. The study, which was designed on a qualitative basis, was carried out with 31 preschool teachers determined with the purposeful sampling method. The data were collected via the interview…

The study aimed to enhance young children's knowledge of healthy eating, active play and environmental sustainability through play-based activities developed by nursery educators in Crete, Greece. Intervention group children received 4-6 weeks of curriculum activities, and their knowledge about healthy eating, active play and sustainability…

This study examines the attitudes, beliefs, and professional behaviors of preschool and daycare directors. More specifically, this study reveals how director's attitudes, beliefs, and professional behaviors have shaped the way they implement inclusion practices within their centers. The decision making theory of Herbert A. Simon (2000) provides…

This dissertation asks what young children do with style at a time when their social and linguistic worlds begin to expand beyond the home, into the peer group. Grounded in a yearlong ethnography of a preschool classroom in the San Francisco Bay Area, I show how play moved gradually from indoors to outdoors as children got older. This shift…

Background and Aim: Physical activity is an important means to promote the comprehensive and healthy development of children's bodies and minds. The national health strategy and population policy adjustment, the development of kindergartens, and the deterioration of children's physical health have all worked together to bring unprecedented…

This article highlights the "Picturebooks for Social Justice" approach which the author developed within her preschool program. "Picturebooks for Social Justice" was born of 2-year design-based qualitative research study exploring the intentional use of interactive read-alouds in early childhood education. This was not a…

Calls for interventions in early childhood that best prepare children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to have inclusive school experiences have been numerous. Although there is a developing literature on the efficacy of interactive book reading (IBR) for this population, it is still unclear which aspects of IBR benefit these children and in…

Research Findings: This study explores how Chinese preschool teachers' enactment of Concept Development (CD) strategies, as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), might effectively elicit children's higher-order thinking during whole-group science teaching. Participants included 25 Chinese preschool teachers and 800 young…

The rapid growth of multimedia pedagogy in the education sector has brought about a game-based technological approach that is shaping the learning of children nowadays. The focus of the approach is to encourage active participation from children; the effect can be seen in their interaction, involvement, and engagement throughout the learning…

This article engages with new materialist posthumanist philosophy to conceptually approach an ethics of outdoor environmental education with the focus on a pupil's body. Thinking with place-responsive pedagogy, I aim to extend a conversation toward exploring a child's body as a place. Place-responsive pedagogy, while it challenges a commonly…

The current study explores Taiwanese preschool children's understanding of the value of caring in school. This study offers researchers and practitioners opportunities to study children's perspectives in a particular cultural setting and discuss the connectedness of culture and children's views on caring. Participatory research and qualitative…

As elementary schools expand to include Prekindergarten (PreK), many elementary school physical education teachers are surprised to find PreK classes on their teaching schedule. Equally, many PreK classroom teachers are recognizing the need for quality movement opportunities for their students and are searching for resources that can help all…