Infancy (0-3 years) represents a unique time for language learning. Previous research shows that infants' second language (L2) learning advances rapidly in early education centers, through a research-based method and curriculum delivered by native-speaking language tutors. Here we test the potential of this method for broad application, through an…

Children's language experiences in the first two years of life are inextricably connected with their current and future language and literacy development. Research has shown that mother-child shared reading of picture books is a practice that can promote this development. Little is known, however, about the shared reading experiences of infants…

Risk-taking during the toddler years is crucial for the development of autonomy, initiative, and independence. However, the current culture in the U.S. seeks to minimize the risks young children are exposed to. This small-scale, mixed methods study examined parental attitudes towards toddler risk-taking and children's behavior during nature play.…

Pedagogical documentation is practised in early childhood centres all over the world as a means to gauge the learning and development of children. From the point of view of teachers, however, documentation must compete with numerous other tasks. This paper explores the strategies teachers employ in order to integrate documentation into their…

Calls for innovation in education often focus on the need to prepare students for the future. Ensuring that we are supporting their empathy for others is an often overlooked, but critical, aspect of that preparation.

This paper explored the challenges to the infant care profession in Hong Kong crèches, with an aim to contribute to the existing early childhood care literature for reference and comparison elsewhere. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 55 childcare workers and 12 supervisors, followed by interviews with some selected participants to examine…

Childcare within Australia has undergone significant reform as a result of the implementation of the nationally mandated "Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework" [EYLF] (Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. 2009. "Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Early Years Learning…

Catering for diversity within birth to 5-year-old settings continues to be an on-going concern for policy makers and educators worldwide. This research contributes to discussion on the value of children's literature in achieving international principles of diversity and, in particular, the Principles, Practice and Outcomes outlined in the…

Although the first three years of a child's life are a distinct developmental period, little information is available about the specific knowledge, skills, and other attributes (that is, competencies) that are essential to the practice of teaching and caring for infants and toddlers (I/T) and are needed to support optimal development. Identifying…

Using a multiple probe design across peer buddy-target child dyads, we evaluated the effects of an intervention package (i.e., brief training, system of least prompts, visual supports) on peer buddies' use of stay-play-talk (SPT) with their classmates who were socially isolated (target children). All six peer buddies increased their use of SPT…

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the neurological/psychomotor development of children aged 0-5 years attending Child Education Centers in Brazil. Method: This developmental assessment included a screening test to identify which variables could be associated with risks for developmental delays. A total of 444…

Children seem to be relatively delayed in their comprehension of the verbal "be"-passive in English, compared to their acquisition of other constructions of object-movement such as "wh"-questions and unaccusatives. Prior work has found that children's performance on these passives can be affected by the verb's lexical…

In Western Australia (WA) early learning centres, also referred to as childcare centres, are required by law to employ at least one degree qualified teacher. As such, graduates from early childhood degree programs are able to seek employment as a teacher across the school and childcare sectors. This paper presents research that investigated…

This article reports on research conducted in New Zealand that deals with early childhood education (ECE) centre working relationships with external organisations, including agencies, social services, and other education providers. The goal of the research was to identify the types of current collaboration, the nature of these relationships, and…

Each year millions of children are enrolled in center-based childcare. Childcare employees are tasked with handling over half the children's weekly meals. Proper food handling practices are crucial in mitigating this high-risk population's risk of foodborne illness. The purpose of this study was to identify childcare food handling employees' (n =…