Purpose: This research aims to understand the learning with regard to didactic knowledge of an early childhood teacher who participated in a Lesson Study (LS) on the topic of patterns, as well as her perspective about LS as a teacher education process. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative case study of an early childhood teacher who…

Educators' acts and verbalizations toward children during daily routines can promote children's early participation, self-agency, and self-esteem. In this study, we investigate the association between the educator's type of Verbalizations (Number of Suggestions, Directions, Orders, Positive and Negative Feedback, Teaching, Questions) and the…

It is well established that the amount of time children spend playing reflects on their learning, quality of exploration, and relationships. However, little is known about what the main benefits for adults are. In this study, we explore the association between the adults' daily time spent playing with their children (in minutes) and the adults'…

This study explores how brief in-service training influences preschool teachers' awareness of competences relevant for building high-quality teacher-child relationships. A pre- and post-test design was used, with a 5-h training session in-between. Thirty-four in-service preschool teachers completed a video-based task before and after training.…

In recent years, there has been considerable investment at the European Union level in expanding early childhood education and care (ECEC) facilities. In line with this quantitative substantial initiative, research and social policies are increasingly focusing on the quality of such facilities. High quality depends, among other things, on…

Research Findings: This study examined whether teacher-child interaction quality varied as a function of type of activity in toddler classrooms in four European countries (Finland, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal). It also investigated whether specific activity settings, namely levels of adult involvement, use of whole group, and children's…

Research Findings: The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY-TCM) program has shown efficacy in reducing behavioral problems and improving social skills among children experiencing poverty. However, quantitative studies that concentrate on its efficacy in relation to "proximal classroom outcomes" (e.g., classroom emotional…

In Portugal, professional preparation for working with infants and toddlers is often characterized as insufficient and/or inadequate in light of the specific professionalism required for working with very young children. This study is situated in initial professional education (IPE) and, in particular, on practicum experiences within an early…

Research Findings: In this study, we examine specific features of arts-related activities in crèche and its associations with the quality of group and child level interactions. Participants were 31 toddler classrooms and 50 children (M[subscript age] = 30.56; 52% girls). The quality of group level interactions was observed with the CLASS Toddler…

Recent research has shown that caregiver education and training can be important in determining levels of quality in early childhood, but has mainly considered the education and training of the lead teacher. In infant child care, however, classrooms have more than one caregiver with varying levels of education and in Portugal it is less common to…

Research Findings: This study examined the applicability of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Pre-K (Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008) and its underpinning framework of teaching through interactions in typical Chinese kindergarten classrooms. A sample of 180 kindergarten classrooms in China was selected, and the CLASS was used to…

Teaching is a form of public service that may give personal fulfillment to those who are involved in it. It is important to highlight the personal dimensions of teaching along with the professional dimensions to help illustrate the teacher's role as a public servant. This paper discusses the practice of one Portuguese kindergarten teacher…

The idea that children are not objects nor subjects but participants constitutes children as social actors with a part to play in their own educational processes and research connected to these processes. As a consequence, there is growing awareness that knowledge about children should be constituted on the basis of listening and hearing them.…