Inspired by the educational approach in the municipal pre-primary schools and infant-toddler centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, two studio teachers and a researcher participant in Portland, Oregon capture classroom work, make investigations and interpretations in the studio as a laboratory space of learning, help children represent thinking, and…

This article reports an aspect of a life historical study which investigated the part that "love" played in mothers' decision-making about returning to work and placing their babies in day care. The article begins with a brief discussion of the context, including 21st-century policies in England to encourage mothers to return to the workforce…

In London, Ontario, approximately 45 percent of preschoolers are insufficiently active.With the large number of preschoolers who attend childcare (54%), and the low levels of physical activity among preschool-aged children, daycare centers may be an appropriate avenue to intervene. This study sought to collect childcare providers' suggestions for…

Research about health is concerned with physical and mental well-being, illness and injury. Directly or indirectly, health relates to almost every aspect of early childhood. This article reviews the enormous range of research available, examining the aims and purposes of the studies, their methods and findings and the ways in which childhood and…

This article reports the effects of pre-school quality on children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes at age 11 using a large-scale longitudinal study of 3000+ children in England (EPPE/EPPSE). The ECERS-R and a curricular extension to it (ECERS-E) were used to assess the quality of provision in 141 pre-school settings attended by the children.…

Since 1997 there has been an unprecedented expansion of the childcare for-profit market in the UK. The repercussions of this for understanding of "quality" and definitions of good practice for early education and care have barely been explored. But in the current economic recession the market is now beginning to shrink, and there is considerable…

In this article we unravel the difficulty of being researchers in the homes and classrooms of children and their families whose origins are, for one of us, very different and, for the other, very similar to our own. We first situate our work within theories of early socialization and literacy teaching which underpin our understanding of how young…

This article presents the findings of a large-scale survey (n = 1049) of ethnic awareness and attitudes among three to four-year-old children in Northern Ireland. In drawing upon and applying Bourdieu's notion of habitus, the article demonstrates how, even at this age, the children are already beginning to embody and internalize the cultural…

Recent developments in early childhood research in the UK suggest there is a good deal of current knowledge as to "what works" in early education, including what helps to narrow the gap between more and less advantaged pupils. A broad consensus now exists in many parts of the English-speaking world as to the forms of provision, including…

The study analyzes the lexical properties of the linguistic context that children from marginalized urban neighborhoods from Buenos Aires, Argentina, are exposed to in the literacy situations generated by an at-home early literacy program. The analysis is focused on the comparison of the vocabulary that these children are exposed to daily with the…

A capacity-building approach to natural learning environment intervention practices was the focus of the study. Capacity-building early childhood intervention promotes parents' or other caregivers' skills, abilities, and confidence to provide children development-enhancing learning opportunities. Natural environment practices use everyday…

Sixty-five mothers reported on their toddlers' attention regulation and negative emotional intensity and provided information about the toddlers' empathy and aggression. Toddler concerned attention was also observed during a laboratory session as was mothers' discourse about mental states. Toddlers reported to have better attention regulation and…

Using the recently available wave of a large nationally representative sample of American elementary school children (ECLS-K data), this study examined the relationship between 6-7 year old students' behaviors exhibited in the 1st grade (approaches to learning, interpersonal skills, externalizing and internalizing behavior) and their reading and…

Early childhood education and care has become the norm for children in the United States and most European countries. In the United States, immigrant children, a growing demographic, are under-enrolled, particularly in formal settings. This research revealed that younger children of immigrant mothers were less likely to be in non-parental care,…

The Internet provides remarkable opportunities for children's learning and development. Nevertheless, it is unregulated and hard to control, which potentially places children at risk of exploitation. This study examined five-eight-year-old children's understanding of dangers associated with the Internet, management strategies and sources of their…