In this study we sought to identify profiles of talk during Head Start preschool mealtime conversations involving teachers and students. Videos of 44 Head Start classrooms' lunch interactions were analyzed for the ratio of teacher-child talk and amount of academic vocabulary, and then coded for instances of academic/food, social/personal, and…

Teacher research has been promoted as a context-relevant approach to improving children's learning experiences in early childhood settings. In this article, we focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), a crucial domain of the early childhood curriculum, to illustrate the role of teacher research in changing early childhood teachers' everyday…

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the context and delivery of early childhood education, yet little is known about its impact on exclusionary discipline (e.g., suspension, expulsion), which nationally representative evidence has shown disproportionately impacts Black boys. Using one experiment, we test how preschool providers respond to three…

Research Findings: Preschool social-emotional education has become an increasingly important area of research and practice in mainland China. The social development domain has been recognized as an independent preschool curricular domain since 2001. Little is known, however, about the specific practices that preschool teachers in China are using…

Efforts to improve education should not neglect to provide the rich play opportunities that benefit children in so many ways. In Tanzania, the pre-primary curriculum, for example, guides teachers to use play as the primary method of teaching and learning. Despite this policy mandate for play, however, abundant evidence indicates that Tanzanian…

In an effort to increase access to high-quality prekindergarten (preK) programs for all young children in Vermont, the state passed universal preK legislation in 2014 (Act 166). All 3- and 4-year-olds have access to 10 hours a week of state-funded preK through a mixed-delivery system of public school and private programs. Families can enroll their…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Characteristics of Approved Universal Prekindergarten Programs in Vermont in 2018/19." In an effort to increase access to high-quality prekindergarten (preK) programs for all young children in Vermont, the state passed universal preK legislation in 2014 (Act 166). All 3- and 4-year-olds have…

Researchers and international organisations recognise that the quality of ECEC services is related to a professional and competent workforce. The latter should be part of a "competent system" that is capable of linking staff's initial good education to the possibility of constantly reflecting on ideas and practices. Continuous…

Today, the inclusion of special needs children into preschool classes is fully expected; however, the logistics and best practices for ensuring the success of inclusive classrooms are not fully understood by educators. The goal of this study was to address this lack of understanding among educators. This study used a narrative, phenomenological…

The focus of this study has been to examine a number of municipalities that work to recruit more men to work in preschools. The aim of the study has been to identify ways of working conducted by municipalities aiming to recruit more men to work in preschools. The study includes seven municipalities, all included in one network specifically aiming…

Preschool years constitute a vital developmental period during which foundations of later development are formed. It is during this period that essential developments such as establishing attachment bonds, forming a basic sense of autonomy and sense of self (ego), language acquisition and attaining life and social skills. Studies in developmental…

This timely book will help policymakers and practitioners convert their visions of high-quality early education into on-the-ground reality by providing a much-needed, richly detailed look at how states can design, fund, and manage exemplary programs. The authors describe and analyze how four states--Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, and North…

Reflection is, no doubt, useful for shifting thinking, knowing, and doing. Indeed, many have felt its benefits. In this article, we wonder how reconceptualizing reflection with poststructural theories of subjectivity might disrupt some of the long-held assumptions that can produce resistance to reflective practices. We caution readers, though,…

Musical play is an activity in which young children more or less freely explore and create with sound with limited guidance from a teacher. This study explored the occurrence of musical play in Dutch early years education (4-5 year olds). Twenty early years classroom teachers were interviewed about the content of the music education taking place…

There is a history of innovative educators who have taught mathematics through literacy-based activities that enable children to connect new mathematical knowledge using children's real-life experiences. The picture book, "Math Curse", was utilized as the stimulus for 72 preservice teachers to analyze the structure and content of the…