Due to the lack of tools that can be easily used by practitioners, there is a need to develop acceptable embedded ways to assess children's fine motor skill development within early childhood education and care settings. This study examined the validity and reliability of a brief and ecologically valid fine motor assessment tool for preschool-aged…

The present study aims to examine the issue of peer aggression and victimisation in early childhood, with a focus on the associated social behaviour strategies (aggressiveness, prosociality, dominance and social insecurity). A sample of 227 children (58.1% girls, n = 132) between the ages of 4 and 7 years (M = 5.61; SD = 1. 03) participated in the…

Assessments provide teachers with essential information regarding children's learning. Alternative education systems offer insight into ways that assessments can be redesigned to be developmentally appropriate to particular ages, including unique stances on what defines assessment, who should assess, and what should be assessed. We examined themes…

This paper reports on a combined research-development project conducted in collaboration between researchers and preschool teachers in three Swedish preschools. The aim is to investigate how ongoing preschool activities may become the starting point for mathematics teaching in which toddlers are given the opportunity to distinguish necessary…

The aim of this study was to examine the design features of six outdoor play areas and the play preferences of children using these areas. Through the behavior mapping method, 102 preschoolers were observed for 3 days during their hour-long outdoor play time. The Playground's Physical Characteristics Scale and Play Observation Form were utilized…

During the early years of formal education, young students develop a number of formative academic, motor, behavioral, and socioemotional skills that lay the foundation for future learning. Since student mental health in the early grades predicts academic achievement in later grades, mental health interventions are essential at the primary school…

Building on aspects of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory centering around social interaction and adult scaffolding as essential to children's learning, this study investigated the most prominently used strategies by eight teachers to scaffold social and emotional learning (SEL) in preschool children (ages 3-4) in the context of remote instruction…

In this case study I explored the dilemmas of three early childhood care and education (ECCE) teachers in a poor community in the Cape Flats of Cape Town, South Africa during COVID-19, and how they used these dilemmas to transform their teaching. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and data was collected through a…

Most research on dual language learners (DLLs) in preschool has focused on language and literacy development. Less work has been done on their play and social interactions, in spite of the importance of these for development and learning. Although DLLs possess many social strengths, they also face challenges, particularly in an English-dominant…

This study explores Ohio Early Childhood and Care (ECEC) workers' perspectives about different prioritization for COVID-19 vaccine distribution between Ohio educators employed in ECEC and prek-12 settings. Days after Ohio's shutdown, ECEC programs began reopening for children of essential workers, and by June 2020 all ECEC programs could reopen…

Research shows that effective and high-quality instructional coaching that targets teacher-child interactions can improve the classroom quality, increase teacher job satisfaction, reduce attrition, and even improve young children's development, such as social emotional development, and literacy skills. Coaches likely develop and sharpen their…

This study sought to learn more about preschool teachers' self-reported classroom practices related to DLLs and how such practices might be linked to their language ideologies. This study further investigated whether any differences existed between teachers' classroom practices and language ideologies based on self-reported skills in their…

Reflective conversations between teachers and coaches are critical to helping teachers improve their classroom instruction. Coaches who encourage teachers to "see, think, and do" are better able to facilitate meaningful reflective conversations with teachers. The "See, Think, Do" framework consists of six steps (observe,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate current Chinese preschool teachers' use of behavior management (BM) strategies in preschool classrooms during the challenging juncture of routine care and their impact on children's behavior performances, as well as the features of high-quality BM. Using a stratified, random sampling procedure from data…

This mixed methods study examines the relationship between different components and characteristics of individualized lesson plans and children's social-emotional outcomes to develop a profile of effective planning. Sixty-one individualized SEL lesson plans written and implemented by 20 experienced early childhood educators from a large city in…