The inclusion of social and emotional learning (SEL) curricula in preschools may help prevent emotional and behavioral problems. This study evaluated the effects of a SEL curriculum, "Strong Start Pre-K," on the social and emotional competence of 52 preschool students using a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design.…

Early reading exposure is important in setting a foundation for students to acquire the basic literacy skills that set them up for school and life success. More importantly, parent involvement at an early age is a critical component of reading skills development. This report presents an overview of the Reading Together Program that introduced…

Infant brain development is a dynamic process dependent upon endogenous and exogenous stimulation and a supportive environment. A critical period of brain and neurosensory development occurs during the third trimester and into the "fourth" trimester (first three months of life). Disruption, damage, or deprivation in the infant's social and…

The developmental outcomes for children born preterm have been examined by many, with results unequivocally indicating that children born preterm tend to have poorer cognitive outcomes and more developmental difficulties. Less attention has been paid to academic outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review the academic skills assessment of…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D'Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners' letter formations. Forty-one participants received D'Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end…

This project explores how one early childhood preparation program integrated applied ethics in introductory coursework. Recognizing that students enter teacher education with well-formed values and beliefs regarding children and teaching, carefully planned learning experience and encounters in real life learning contexts expand their understanding…

In an effort to improve preschool education, the Singapore government has embraced the need for change by identifying needed policies related to preschool education. These changes require teachers to rethink their approach to learning and teaching. A proposed tool suggested in this paper that may help facilitate curriculum change is the use of…

The exploratory study focused on describing typical routines of preparing for winter outdoor play with preschool children and their teachers. Naturalistic observations, interviews and photographs resulted in extensive examples of children's development in cognitive understanding of winter and winter-related concepts. Observations of teachers and…

This article focuses on a parent literacy project that included shared reading and how to support this strategy with families who have a home language other than English and live in poverty circumstances. Literature about the importance of shared reading to children's literacy development is shared in tandem with the importance of building parent…

Approximately 1.4 million school-aged children entered their families through adoption. As such, adoption represents a real and complex social issue with which young children--adopted or not--can grapple. Adoption picturebooks provide a medium by which children can explore this complicated concept. This manuscript analyzes a standard library…

By utilizing all of the voices of homeless children and families we can gain a better understanding of their needs and thus be more effective in designing programs that can support them in becoming more independent. This article reviews the importance of the voices of homeless preschool children and their parents as well that of the professionals…

This article adds to the existing body of data that demonstrates how the use of in-depth case studies that include social episode analysis can deepen the teaching students' and researchers' understanding of the perceptions and skills needed for Classroom Management (CM). In this article, CM is defined as a meta-skill that integrates cognitive…

An approach to early childhood education that integrates visual and performing arts throughout the preschool curriculum--"Art as a Way of Learning"--was implemented in a program (Promoting and Supporting Early Literacy through the Arts) designed to improve the emergent literacy and school readiness of at-risk young children in community-based…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if an educational package used for animal welfare teaching would have significant effects on the knowledge of first grade children in a rural area of Mexico. The research was conducted with 276 students in six public schools. In the experimental group, 177 children participated in a 10 week-long animal…

This article describes kindergarten from the perspective of the whole child. Specifically, it reviews current research on best practices to improve children's math and language arts competencies, memory skills, and the role of kindergarten in beginning science. It also describes the social experiences children have in kindergarten with respect to…