This prospective mixed methods longitudinal study examined the connection between mentor-mentee relationship quality and school adjustment amongst students participating in the Chapel Buddy programme, a developmental mentoring programme. Thirty-one sixth graders were paired with 29 kindergarteners for the duration of the school year. Sixth-grade…

This study investigated how Chinese immigrant mothers in the USA make meaning of their parenting styles and practices in rearing their young children (aged two to six). Twelve Chinese immigrant mothers were interviewed. A key finding reveals that the Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting practices reflected the indigenous concept of jiaoyang in the…

The experiences children have and the attachments they form early in life have a decisive, long-lasting impact on their later development and learning. The present study aims at exploring the continuum of the beliefs reported by Greek pre-service kindergarten teachers and how those beliefs relate to their intensions about the importance of…

The aims of the studies were to assess the impact of the Little Champs programme for motor development on (1) the gross motor skills, and (2) cognitive function of children in the programme. In study 1, 118 children from one Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) were tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, and in study 2, 83…

In this paper we describe a method for exploring young children's views of illness causality in social context. Studies of children's conceptualisation of illness have predominantly focused on the nature of children's knowledge rather than locating that knowledge within socio-cultural contexts. Adopting a socio-constructivist perspective we sought…

Developmental outcomes for children whose primary caregivers are misattuned but not considered abusive are unclear. This paper argues that if by the pre-school years, insecure patterns of attachment are evident then a continuing dysfunctional attachment relationship is indicated and the likelihood of later difficulties is increased. The current…

Creativity theories have been investigated in relation to explicit or implicit theories, which have dominated the field. The flourishing attention about creativity motivated many researchers to examine implicit and explicit theories to understand creativity in their studies. Explicit theories are those formulated by psychologists or other social…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed neuropsychological disorder among school-aged children. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between father residency status and children's symptoms of ADHD using a large, nationally representative and community-based sample. To achieve this…

What kind of place is the home for the children of today's world where the tight working pace and schedules frame children's lives and transitions between home and day care? The primary significance and value of home is unquestionable for children's development and rarely have the adults stopped in order to listen to the children's thoughts about…

The aim of this paper is to decipher the essence of the joy of learning and the ways to enhance it at school. In the field of educational psychology, research on feelings is lacking, and the little that does exist has focused more on negative rather than positive feelings. The present paper is based on ethnographic and observational research of a…

In this study we examine parents' and teachers' perceptions of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality in Finland. The study is based on the paradigm of inclusionary quality and the assessment is based on the quality evaluation model. The parents and teachers assess the quality to be good. The strength of the quality was the effect…

The purpose of this article is, first, to describe Sami children's education and its status in the Finnish education system and, secondly, to contemplate its development in Finland. The core of the article is intertwined with issues concerning the status, language, and culture of indigenous peoples. According to the article, the western school…

This paper outlines a case study on teachers' and parents' perspectives on children's individual plans in transition from early childhood education to pre-school in Finland. The study was based on the importance of continuity as a part of positive educational transition experiences. The national curricula, educators' interpretations and parents'…

The aim of this study is to answer the following question: what do children tell about their well-being in Finnish day care centres? The theoretical and methodological framework of this study is based on a narrative approach. The research material was collected by participating in the everyday life of three groups of children and listening to…

Children's stress in day care is related to the stressful qualities of the environment and to children's orientations in that environment. The study involved 55 children in five day centres in Finland. Baseline saliva samples for measuring cortisol (stress) levels were collected five times during the day. Children were interviewed to measure their…