Make-believe play (MBP) provides kindergarteners with an authentic form of engagement that is particularly favourable to the development of oral and written language. As part of an action research study, an activity-oriented professional development (PD) program incorporating video was established to provide kindergarten teachers with guidance on…

Changing teachers' practice is difficult, especially in low- and middle-income contexts (LMIC). Recently, with attention turning to improving early mathematics in addition to reading outcomes, donors, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are grappling with the design of mathematics interventions and supportive policies. However,…

Until recently, many early childhood educators, particularly those in nontraditional preschool spaces, leaned on a color-evasive approach to their work, largely ignoring systemic racism and bias, claiming love and acceptance of all children in their care. While well-intentioned, these practices left young children to construct their own…

This paper describes results from a case study about how a primary pre-service teacher (PST) used curriculum materials (CMs) when planning for a mathematics lesson during her final practicum. The data is drawn from a doctoral study (in progress) and results show how the PST initiated an active process of searching for and sifting through CMs on a…

Recent early childhood education and care (ECEC) reforms across the globe are placing greater emphasis on the intentionality of educators' pedagogy. In Australia, a National Quality Agenda (NQA) has significantly reformed ECEC through the country's first national learning framework, which demands educators take a more intentional (active) role in…

Orchestras all over the world have concert programs in various formats for children, including some designed for preschoolers. Presenting concerts to children in kindergartens and schools is a long-standing tradition in Israel. The uniqueness of these programs and their main innovation is the preparatory work and process through which the children…

As early childhood learning environments grow more and more diverse, schools and programs must address inequitable practices and policies so that every child learns, belongs, and thrives. The practical solutions programs need are in this groundbreaking book, the first guide to coaching early childhood educators in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,…

The authors present the literacy pedagogical approach LAUNCH and reveal its influence on young learners as engineers of literacy learning through text production. Findings are reported from design-based research in a case study of an Australian early years classroom. Using a qualitative orientation, data were generated from video and audio…

This paper contributes to the Research Symposium, "Strengths approaches in early childhood mathematics education" by providing an illustration of how an early childhood centre adopts a strengths approach to mathematics education for birth to three-year-old children. A case illustration is drawn from a current Australian Research…

The early childhood sector in New Zealand has a long-held tradition of free play and child-led pedagogy, influencing visual arts approaches with young children. However, alongside learning through play, New Zealand's sociocultural curriculum highlights the active role of the teacher and intentional pedagogy. This article explores the practices and…

This paper explores the interconnectedness between Australian teachers' literacy practices and their pedagogic identity during the global pandemic. In doing so, the paper presents pedagogic identity as a dynamic, ever-evolving construct involving teachers and their teaching environment. Findings are reported from a case study of early years and…

Educators' support when using informational text in kindergarten is foundational to children's comprehension and future learning. Prior research has not offered clear insight into their help when children experience difficulties during informational text comprehension instruction. The current study examined one kindergarten educator's support.…

This paper draws from a cross-cultural study of young children's arts curricula. The initial phase of the original study consisted of a comparison of the intended arts curriculum for 5--6 year old children in China and Australia. This was followed by a survey in Beijing exploring 88 contemporary early childhood educators' beliefs about children's…

While circuitry lessons have traditionally been first introduced in late elementary school, they remain challenging conceptually for undergraduates in physics and engineering courses. Seeking to provide a higher quality and earlier introduction to circuitry learning for young children (ages 3-5), this paper investigates the affordances of…

Teachers' interactional practices shape children's displays of knowledge. Teachers often rely on direct interactional devices, such as questions, to call for knowledge displays from children. However, case examples suggest that interactional strategies that downgrade teachers' expert status, such as 'I wonder…' formulations may enhance child…