Research Findings: A total of 4102 childcare center teachers were recruited to examine a moderated mediation model of the relationship between teachers' adaptive caregiving beliefs and professional competence, using caregiving sensitivity as a mediator and organizational support as a moderator. Results indicated that (1) childcare center teachers'…

Prekindergarten forms an important transition between home and formal learning in kindergarten, and prekindergarten teachers are essential contributors and influencers in their students' readiness into formal schooling. The problem addressed in this study was early childhood educators in one state in the southwestern United States are challenged…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships among personal characteristics (i.e., age, race, marital status, education level, and years of teaching experience), work environment characteristics (i.e., pay, benefits, type of program, age group of children, and class size), job satisfaction, and turnover intention of…

Research has consistently established the positive impact of sharing books with young children. Evidence suggests several important factors when evaluating book sharing with young children, including the quality of educator practice = and the nature of groupings, as well as the frequency and duration of book sharing sessions and access to books.…

Research Findings: Although it is well documented that toy play and book sharing shape communication between adults and children in different ways, relatively few studies have compared teacher-child interactions in the two activities. The aim of this observational study was to describe and compare the conversational functions of teachers' and…

Early care and education (ECE) settings are influential in shaping children's early experiences. Informed by the Job Demands-Resources model, this study had two aims. First, we examined how ECE teachers' physical (i.e. muscular skeletal strain and infectious disease experience) and psychological (i.e. depression and job dissatisfaction) job strain…

This article deals with one of the multiple and complex aspects that shapes quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), such as teachers' professional development. It presents the successful case of the RIECU Network in Spain in which for almost two decades the following institutions have been cooperating: (1) the university, responsible…

The objective of the research was to analyze the scientific production regarding accident prevention in early child rearing institutions. An integrative literature review, referring to the years between 2011 and 2021, whose research was carried out in May 2021 in seven information resources, raised the following issue: it was found that not all…

High-quality early childhood education and care is of critical importance to children's optimal development and wellbeing, and to a nation's social and economic capital. Consequently, assessing and monitoring quality through regulatory mechanisms has become increasingly significant across the world. Yet, literature pertaining to the impact of…

The present study examines the quality and domains of teacher-toddler interactions and associations with structural characteristics using data from 95 German early childcare settings. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure of interaction quality assessed by the CLASS Toddler: emotional and behavioural…

Purpose: This study examines the social organizational structure of one early childhood education (ECE) center in Finland and the relationship between this structure and the roles and the responsibilities of the members of the organization. Design/methodology/approach: The research is a qualitative case study with ethnographic features. Its…

Researchers of early childhood educators' practice have noted the usefulness of applying various conceptual and methodological resources to create accounts of complexity. This article contributes to an under-researched area, providing evidence of multi-tasking and task rotation as aspects of the complexity of early childhood educators' practice.…

Childcare centers have faced many stressors both during and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on stress and coping theories, this study explores how the pandemic affected childcare center practices and how center directors responded. Childcare directors were surveyed to explore their perspectives about the pandemic's effects on teachers and…

Low pay and unequal wages make it hard to recruit and retain the high-quality early educators that young children need to thrive in early care and education (ECE) programs. Not only are early educator wages lower than those of comparable workers, but there may also be racial and ethnic wage disparities within the ECE workforce. Using a…

Empirical evidence has shown that children's mathematics achievement in South African has been on the low trend. However, no study has explored the practitioners' application of conceptions of mathematical knowledge in enhancing learners' achievement in mathematics. The study examined how practitioners apply mathematical knowledge to enhance early…