The early childhood sector in Singapore has witnessed vast changes in the past two decades. One of the key policy aims is to improve classroom quality. To ensure a rigorous evaluation of the quality of early childhood environments in Singapore, it is important to determine whether commonly used assessments of quality are valid indicators across…

This study adopted a case study design with mixed methods to examine Chinese kindergarten children's body size perceptions. Forty-two Chinese kindergarten children between ages five and six were interviewed through child-friendly language. Results showed majority of children could describe the image provided to them and explain the differences…

In the quest for quality in early childhood education, it is important to explore the subtleties that define socio-culturally relevant pedagogy. A qualitative, multi-case study approach was used to explore perspectives of teachers about socio-cultural influences on their teaching in kindergarten classrooms in Ghana. Four teachers from two…

Many young children spend a significant amount of time each day in preschool settings. It is important to understand how teachers create and maximize opportunities for children's social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classrooms. This research was conducted in Singapore and explores how SEL is supported by teachers in areas identified in the…

Children's agency accords with the principles emphasised by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations in Convention on the rights of the child. UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva. Retrieved from, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx, 1989). This study focuses on children's…

Children's authentic participation is increasingly recognized in early childhood education as a basis for improving children's engagement and learning outcomes. This study explored the implementation of the Photo Projective Method in a kindergarten in Japan. Participants were two teachers and 35 children, aged 5 years, enrolled in one kindergarten…

The importance of professional learning and development for quality in kindergartens has been established in international research. The fact that the kindergarten is a learning organization can be crucial in achieving necessary professional learning. The aim of this study was to investigate what characterizes Norwegian kindergartens as learning…

In the school's conception of learning, the cultural aspect of children's play has often been lacking. In different countries, it is emphasized that play is important for learning (Dockett and Fleer, Play and pedagogy in early childhood: Bending the rules. Harcourt Brace & Comp, Sydney, "1999"; Lillemyr, Nordisk Pedagogik/Nordic…

Performance-based tools to assess school readiness domains such as Approaches to Learning are lacking in Low and Middle-Income Countries such as Kenya. This study aims to develop the Kenyan version of the FOCUS app (Finding Out Children's Unique Strengths), a game-like computer tablet assessment of two Approaches to Learning domains: mastery…

Consistent over-enrollment, together with low official repetition rates, in the early years of school indicates inaccurate reporting of repetition, which may mask the reasons for low primary school completion. Actual repetition rates may be higher and pose issues for teachers through overcrowding of classrooms and issues for governments through…

The benefits of outdoor play for children's well-rounded development are maximized when children experience enjoyment and, at the same time, gain physical, motor, cognitive, and social-emotional competence. This study examined the quality of outdoor play in Chinese kindergartens, the dominant form of full-day early childhood education program…

This research focuses on young children's understandings about economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Participants were 43 children, aged from 3 to 7 years of age, recruited from two kindergartens in Croatia. Children's ideas were discussed through semi-structured interviews that focused on saving, spending, recycling, justice,…

Using action research, this study examined the professional development of teachers through the reflections that kindergarten teachers obtain from children's voices and the relevance between the working environment and teachers' reflection at teacher conferences in Japan. Four teachers participated in the study. Data sources included teachers'…

This international research project examined the value of utilizing an early childhood program assessment instrument as a tool for in-service professional development and self-reflection for kindergarten teachers in Parma, Italy. Teacher educators from universities in Italy and the USA conducted the study collaboratively. Goals of the study were…

This study explores patterns of development in cognitive, as well as social and emotional skills for children in the first year of school in Russia. The data analyzed are drawn from the International Performance Indicators in Primary Schools project. This is a large-scale assessment project involving 2741 children from two Russian regions. A…