Verbal interaction with others has been identified as an important forum for children's developing understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others -- their theory of mind. However, conversational interactions in settings and relationships important to young children beyond the home and family have received little attention in research…

Writing often begins during the very early years of childhood; however, some children first learn writing when they begin attending school. Teachers' beliefs about early writing development can influence when and how children learn to write. The purpose of this study was to determine kindergarten teachers' beliefs about the development of…

Early writing is important to young children's development -- research indicates that writing is predictive of later reading and writing. Despite this, preschool teachers often do not focus on writing and offer limited scaffolding to foster children's writing development. This article shares innovative ways to scaffold early writing across the…

Preschool teachers are expected to engage young children in challenging and supportive mathematics learning. Rich and responsive language experiences in mathematics support children's language acquisition and engagement related to mathematics, however, such engaging experiences may be minimally available to many young children. Professional…

In recent educational research, it is well acknowledged that gestures are an important source of developing abstract thinking in early childhood and can serve as an additional window to the mind of the developing child. The present paper reports on a case study which explores the function of gestures in a geometrical activity at kindergarten…

Young children's emotional competence--regulation of emotional expressiveness and experience when necessary, and knowledge of their own and other's emotions--is crucial for social and academic (i.e., school) success. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of how young children develop emotional competence. Both parents and teachers are…

This paper explores the construction of "care" in early childhood curriculum and practice. An increasing number of infants are attending formal early childhood settings in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011. "Childhood education and care, Australia, June 2011." (4402.0). Retrieved from…

This article examines the bodies of knowledge that influence and inform the teaching of mathematics methods courses for preservice early childhood teachers, focusing on the U.S. context. In particular, the article reports on an analysis of scholarship published over the last 20 years in four journals (two focused on early childhood education and…

Challenging behaviors refer to those behaviors that decrease the child's ability to engage and participate in classroom routines (Dunlap, Wilson, Strain, & Lee, 2013), and therefore, the dilemma in the scenario above is common to early childhood and early childhood special education teachers due to an increase in children experiencing autism…

Conducted at two separate natural outdoor classrooms with preschool-aged children from three to five years old, this qualitative research study investigated how outdoor environments supported children's creativity and imagination. Although many studies have explored the development of creative arts in the young children, few have focused on…

Increasing focus on the quality of childcare and Pre-K is calling attention to the circumstances of childcare and impact on the child's social and emotional health, specifically in terms of attachment. The early childhood profession recognizes that consistency in caregiving is essential for the child's attachment. Looping, the practice of keeping…

Substantial evidence has established that individual differences in executive function (EF) in early childhood are uniquely predictive of children's academic readiness at school entry. The current study tested whether growth trajectories of EF across the early childhood period could be used to identify a subset of children who were at pronounced…

The Early Childhood Opportunity (EChO) Scholars project was designed to address the following significant needs in Maine: (a) prepare highly qualified early interventionists and early childhood special educators through distance education, (b) develop a system of support through a mentor network, (c) provide a graduate-level early childhood…

This comparative study investigated the experiences of starting childcare of three immigrant children in three different learning environments in New Zealand. The notion of learning environment was explored as a way of thinking about how different people, places, and approaches to learning have interacted to create a particular site for the…

Bullying continues to be common, despite extensive research and policy focus. With few studies concentrating specifically on early childhood, there are indications that more research is needed to establish the different mechanisms related to direct and relational victimisation in young children. The current paper sets out to analyse parents' and…