There has been a growing interest in and research on the construction of teachers' professional identity and parameters of practice among researchers worldwide. This piece examines the nature of teachers' perceptions about their professionalism and practice. It also explores teacher isolation stemming from assumptions related to…

With the increasing linguistic diversity of students in many classrooms around the world, teachers need to be well-equipped with strategies to address the learning needs of students with limited proficiency in the dominant language of the classroom. This article outlines various strategies that might help teachers reach that goal by taking…

Children coming from refugee families have special psychological, social, and academic needs, and their success greatly depends on the positive support they receive from the host community. Teachers and peers at the school can provide cumulative support to help these children and their families overcome major socio-cultural and educational…

Parent-educator partnerships are an important element of effective early childhood, K-12, and special education programs (Dunst, Trivette, & Snyder, 2000; Tabors, 2008). While early childhood and other classrooms in the United States are increasingly diverse, the teachers in those classrooms are unlikely to be of the same linguistic or cultural…

Participation in high quality early intervention programs is critical for eligible young children who experience atypical development for their future academic success. High quality programs promote access to services, incorporate instructional strategies that encourage children's participation, and advocate public policy that supports…

A large percentage of young children entering preschool are English speakers who speak a language variety that often differs from the English dialect expected by educators within early childhood programs. While African American English (AAE) is one of the most widely recognized English dialects in the United States, the use of AAE in schools and…

Many preschool children fail to achieve the National Association for Sport and Physical Education physical activity recommendations placing themselves at increased risk of overweight and its associated health consequences. The early learning and care system is well positioned to intervene. Yet few child obesity prevention efforts have focused on…

This study examined how a task-focused, year-long mathematics professional development program influenced elementary school teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Participants completed 84 h of professional development over 13 months that were focused on exploring, modifying and implementing cognitively-demanding mathematical tasks.…

This study examined the association between preschool children's social-interpersonal skills and their transition to school in the beginning months of kindergarten. One hundred and thirty-three preschool children participated in this study. During the spring of the pre-kindergarten year, children's social-interpersonal skills were…

This study investigated ESL teachers' perceptions regarding the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in teaching reading to children. A random sample of 145 teachers participated in the study by completing a survey developed by the researchers. To explore the situation in depth, 16 teachers were later interviewed. Results…

Legible written communication is essential for students to share knowledge (Rogers and Case-Smith 2002). If students lack proficiency in written communication, their composition skills will suffer, which can affect their self-esteem and grades. Whether or not this proficiency is in handwriting or keyboarding is a question worthy of discussion. In…

Every preschool age child in Finland has the right to child care. Well-educated staff consists of all-round experts who work in versatile contexts with various children in a multi-professional collaboration. This staff is one of the strengths of the Finnish child care system. The aim of this article is to clarify the expertise of those early…

This study of a preschool classroom of 4 year old children examines underlying skills of number sense such as counting and spatial skills and Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity. It also investigates children's patterns of engaging in spontaneous mathematical activities in free-play activity centers in relation to behaviors associated with…

Although conversations have been identified as an important means to promote young learners' language development, preschool children often have limited opportunities to be involved in complex conversations. This study examined preschool adaptations of Instructional Conversation, a small group discussion between teachers and children in which…

Early reading development is a complex process that includes the acquisition of skills such as alphabet recognition, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary development. Early educators make important instructional decisions in their classrooms about how to support these skills. Understanding these decisions, and the beliefs and experiences that…