In this study, we investigated how early numeracy skills develop in kindergarten-age children. The participants were 235 Finnish children (111 girls and 124 boys). At the time of the first measurement, the average age of the children was 6 years. The measurements were conducted three times during 1 year of kindergarten. We used a between-group…

This article explores some of the ways in which children's ethnic identities have been conceptualised by sociocultural and critical race theory and the potential of the "figured worlds" literature in helping to theorise the responses of young children to the cultural and educational worlds they encounter. Using some vignettes drawn…

Poor academic performance during childhood predicts later adverse outcomes, and could be targeted for improvement if detected early. This study used population-based record linkage to examine the association between early life risk factors and academic achievement at two different stages of development using two different cohorts: a kindergarten…

Practitioner voice has been absent from debates regarding what constitutes professional behaviour and practice in the early years. This research identifies and uses the professional knowledge of a group of early years educators to create a typology of professionalism. The typology comprises seven inter-related dimensions of early years…

This article draws on the sociology of childhood framework in order to examine one primary school girl's account of how the children in her classroom pass notes to each other when they are "not allowed to talk at all". Close examination of the account shows how the girls and boys in this particular classroom co-construct gendered membership…