Attending to distracting or competing information is typically considered detrimental to learning, but the presence of competing information can also facilitate learning when it is relevant to ongoing task goals. Educational settings often contain contextual elements such as classroom decorations or visual aids to enhance student learning. Despite…

Epidemiological data reveal that there is a need for prevention measures specifically targeted at children with low SES. In the German federal state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania preschools in socially deprived regions can apply for additional funds to support children with developmental risks. Mandatory criteria for obtaining these funds involve…

Verbally reported long-term memory for past events typically improves with age. However, such findings are based exclusively on studies, where children are directly asked to recall. The present study showed that when 3- (n = 113, 59 girls) and 4-year-olds (n = 113, 62 girls), predominantly White, were brought back to a distinct laboratory-setting…

The impact of children's health, wellbeing, and family environment on their learning and development is evident. Identifying the needs of children and their families is the first step to effectively developing and implementing programs that promote child development. This research employed a convergent mixed methods design and incorporated…

Deficits in working memory have not been fully explored in toddlers and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated the relationship between language (verbal ability, verbal self-talk) and visuospatial working memory in 2- and 4-year-olds with ASD (n = 65) and typical development (TD) (n = 54). Children with ASD displayed…

The concept of emergent literacy presents the view that from the time they are born, young children develop their knowledge about language and literacy through their sociocultural interactions with others. Emergent literacy encompasses knowledge about the alphabet, letter sounds, words, and language, and such skills are predictive of future…

This study aims to investigate the effects of early childhood Children's Rights and Democracy Education on children's democratic behaviors. The study group consisted of a total of 53 children (28 experimental, 25 control) aged between 60-72 months, who were attending two kindergartens affiliated with the Directorate of National Education in…

This study examined how deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) and typically hearing (TH) children may differ in their family system and emotional functioning and examined the relations between family system and children's emotional functioning. Parents of 106 DHH and 99 TH children (2-6 years) reported on family cohesion and adaptability, parental emotion…

Parents offer unique information and are recognized as the main informants about children's social emotional functioning across time and situations. Inter-parental agreement was analysed with 100 preschoolers (M[subscript age] = 54.94 months) being rated independently by their mothers and fathers, using the Portuguese version of the Preschool and…

This study was conducted to test the effect of the augmented reality-based program on the motivation, attention and conceptual skills of preschool children. The research was conducted according to the pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design: 13 participants (6 girls, 7 boys) in the experimental group and 13 (5 girls, 8 boys) in…

Previous studies have found correlations between parent input and child language outcomes, providing prima facie evidence for a causal relation. However, this could also reflect the effects of shared genes. The present study removed this genetic confound by measuring English vocabulary growth in 29 preschool-aged children (21 girls) aged…

"What Are Preschoolers Thinking?" dispels common misconceptions about the cognitive abilities of preschoolers and demonstrates how effective early instruction can help eradicate achievement gaps. More Judith A. Schickedanz, Molly F. Collins, and Catherine Marchant, educators and researchers with combined decades of experience in early…

This study aimed at investigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic period on the language development of preschool children according to the opinions of teachers. A qualitative case study design was adopted, with data obtained from preschool teachers (N=21) working in independent kindergartens, kindergartens within primary schools, and private…

Although substantial research has established how to teach word reading, the research base for teaching skills related to language and reading comprehension is more limited. We report a multistate experiment of a supplemental, whole-class, language-focused curriculum delivered in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms that was designed to…

In Australia, there have been a growing number of nature-based early childhood education initiatives [Alme, H., and M. A. Reime. 2021. "Nature Kindergartens: A Space for Children's Participation." "Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education" 24: 113-131]. Research into early years' nature education internationally remains…