Measures of teaching are used internationally to understand and improve quality in early education with little consideration for ecological validity. In this study, we analyze videos gathered in 58 K-1 classrooms in Central Mexico to evaluate the validity and reliability of scores from an observational tool developed in the U.S. and used…

Young children develop understandings about literacy from birth through experiences of print in their home environments. Today, written text is often present in children's homes in both print and "digital" forms. What kind of technologies are young children accessing at home and for what purposes? This paper discusses research findings…

This study was designed to investigate the reflective comments of 55 first grade children regarding their experiences in kindergarten and first grade. Data collection involved a conversational interview during which children voiced their reflections and comparisons on specific issues (e.g. friends, teacher, learning) they had encountered during…

After one year of implementation, this paper describes a programme designed to support literacy learning in low performing schools from poor sectors in Santiago, Chile. School-based intensive training on theory and practice of a literacy learning framework for classroom instruction and long-term support were used to impact the achievement of…

In English schools, transition from the Foundation Stage (at age five) into Year 1 (the first year of "primary school") has been identified as lacking continuity. A range of government initiatives has led to marked differences in the pedagogy that underpins classroom practice in these two consecutive year groups, which, in turn, has…