Well-educated staff consists of multidimensional experts, and this staff is one of the strengths of the Finnish day-care system. The aim of this article is to clarify the development of the expertise of those early childhood educators who have qualified as kindergarten teachers. The data consisted of the early educators' stories (n = 80) of their…

Relations between socio-economic differences and health have previously been well documented, but women's education level and relative attitudes towards children's health development has been seldom found in studies. This paper examines the relation between women's education level and their attitudes in understanding kindergarten children's health…

The purpose of this research was to study the opinions toward self and task performance in childcare centres as perceived by caregivers under the jurisdiction of the Local Administrative Organization. The four areas evaluated were caregiver characteristics, task performance, objectives of caregiving and educating young children and problems and…

The main purpose of this descriptive research is to examine and document the development of a curriculum-based learning portfolio model for children in a preschool for three-six-year-olds in Taiwan. Data collection methods adopted include classroom observation, in-depth interviews, questionnaires and documentation. Participants include a preschool…

This study investigates the relationship between young children's habitual computer use and influencing variables on socio-emotional development. The participants were 179 five-year-old children. The Internet Addiction Scale for Young Children (IASYC) was used to identify children with high and low levels of habituation to computer use. The data…

Associations between preschoolers' attachment security, parenting behaviours (i.e. parent-child involvement, parenting consistency and co-parenting consistency) and parenting context (i.e. parents' internal working models (IWMs) and use of social support) were examined in a sample of 235 culturally diverse families. The authors predicted that…

Even in the absence of major disabilities, children born prematurely are at high risk for academic delays and deficits. Research suggests that some differences in outcomes may relate to problems with self-regulation, especially attention regulation. Previous research has demonstrated that individual differences in attention regulation is…

The present work addresses the associations between self-reported maternal parenting behaviours and aggression, personality and peer regard of children (n = 119) in early childhood (ages three-six years). A k-means cluster analysis derived types of mothers based on their relative use of autonomy support and restrictive control. Outcomes included…

We explored the everyday experiences of 18- to 36-month-old toddlers at two study sites and the influence of adaptation to the host culture on the everyday experiences of children from migrant families. First- and second-generation Puerto Rican families in Connecticut, USA, first- and second-generation Turkish families in Bochum, Germany, as well…

In an English sample of 1016 families, use of childcare was investigated at 3, 10, 18 and 36 months. Child behaviour problems and social competence were assessed at 36 months by maternal questionnaire. There was no effect of the amount or type of childcare on disruptive behaviour at 36 months, the main predictors being maternal minority ethnic…

This study aimed at investigating teachers' classroom practices, which either stimulate or inhibit the development of the creative environment of classrooms in Jordan, and determining the differences between practices according to educational level, experience level and type of teaching. The sample of the study consisted of 215 kindergarten…

This study examined the psychometric properties of a revised measurement, the "Teacher Beliefs and Practices Survey" (TBPS), devised for teachers of three- to five-year-old children. This measure was designed to reflect the concepts of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) as presented in the revised 1997 National Association for…

The study assessed the nature of teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms in India, from the teachers' and parents' perspectives. Specifically, the impact of teacher training, satisfaction with training and job, years of experience, and class size on the teacher-child interactions were examined. Sixty-five preschool teachers and…

The relationship between mothers' and educators' evaluation of 75 children's emergent literacy levels and actual levels were investigated. Two groups of mothers participated: mothers with a low education and mothers with a high education. The children's emergent literacy was measured. The mothers evaluated their own children and 40 teachers…

The goal of this study was to identify parenting behaviors practiced by a self-selected group of North American parents who identify themselves as attachment parents. This type of parenting is based on behaviors that are focused on infant needs and demands perhaps more strongly than are traditional mainstream western parenting practices. However,…