The current context of increased accountability and the proliferation of skills-based literacy mandates at the early childhood level pose particular tensions for multilingual children and educators. In this article, we draw on data from two ethnographic studies to examine how educators and children negotiate the constraints of early childhood…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D'Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners' letter formations. Forty-one participants received D'Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end…

Early childhood is a critical period of rapid physical, cognitive, and psycho-social development of a child. The quality of care and education which a child receives at this crucial age will determine to a great extent the level of his/her physical and cognitive development in the future. In Nigeria, Early Childhood Care, Development and Education…

Infant brain development is a dynamic process dependent upon endogenous and exogenous stimulation and a supportive environment. A critical period of brain and neurosensory development occurs during the third trimester and into the "fourth" trimester (first three months of life). Disruption, damage, or deprivation in the infant's social and…

The Morning Message is a commonly implemented activity in early childhood settings, appearing as a part of the daily schedule in many classrooms. However, there is limited research on what are the most effective ways to use the Morning Message to promote print awareness. The goal of this paper is to present suggested guidelines for implementing…

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research about teachers' perceived benefits of home visits to determine if they remained stable. Furthermore, the investigation sought to find out whether home visits impacted variables often associated with improved school success (i.e., school attendance, academic performance, parent…

The focus of this article is on articulating the importance of teacher development of constructs about homeless children and families and examining factors that influence teachers' perceptions of children and families who are homeless or at high-risk of becoming homeless. The article also explores some strategies to support teachers in…

A pre-test questionnaire was conducted in a kindergarten and it showed that, although the children were able to give various examples of objects, from their everyday lives, that are similar to solid shapes, the examples they gave for plane figures were also tangible objects. Since it is suggested that geometry instruction has to begin early,…

This paper presents findings from a stratified-random survey of family child care providers' backgrounds, caregiving environments, practices, attitudes, and knowledge related to language, literacy, and mathematics development for preschool children. Descriptive results are consistent with prior studies suggesting that home-based providers are…

Intervention programs to improve the educational outcomes of young children have become increasingly popular. Studies suggest that family literacy programs involving parents can result in positive effects on children's language and literacy development. Issues continue to arise, however, regarding the recruitment and retention of families. One…

Upgrading the status of early childhood teaching and improving job satisfaction are areas of concern to practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders in the early childhood field. Ways to upgrade practicing teachers, including their involvement in research, is an on-going challenge. This paper reports on a research in Singapore where a…

Approximately 1.4 million school-aged children entered their families through adoption. As such, adoption represents a real and complex social issue with which young children--adopted or not--can grapple. Adoption picturebooks provide a medium by which children can explore this complicated concept. This manuscript analyzes a standard library…

Countering the position that colorblindness is desirable for teachers and children, this article encourages early childhood education teachers to engage in conversations about race and racism with young children. We discuss why the early childhood years are important for interrupting racism and make suggestions for helping children develop tools…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a teacher report measure, the Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL; Dickinson et al. in "Teacher rating of oral language and literacy (TROLL): a research-based tool." Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2001) and…

This article discusses the findings from a mixed-method study examining the relationship between social resources and levels of parent involvement in state-funded preschool programs in Illinois. Using survey data from the Illinois Birth to Five Evaluation (n = 843) and interviews with ten preschool administrators who completed the survey, the…