This study examined the amount and quality of educational dialogue in relation to student math performance in Grade 2. Domains of teacher occupational stress were considered predicting variables for dialogue and math performance. Video-recorded lessons (N = 151) of 50 teachers were analysed in terms of dialogic episodes to determine the amount…

Low cost, non-invasive instruments for the identification of high academic potential in early childhood education and care are scarce, and the complexity of cognitive development indicates that combinations of screening instruments are needed. This study investigates the reliability and validity of three instruments (individually and in…

Low academic achievements are predicted by early disadvantages. Because achievement gaps typically escalate with age, early efforts to prevent future academic disadvantages are called for. The current study examines whether exposure to structured pre-academic activities in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a compensatory role for the…

Controlled Drawing Observation (CDO) was developed by Tove Krogh and it has been used in Denmark, Finland and Estonia for assessing a child's readiness for school. CDO is a group test, it gives information about a child's functioning in an educational setting and it serves as a starting point for later individual assessment. The goal of the study…

Each child In Finland and in Estonia receives preschool training for a year before going to school, based on a new national framework curriculum of preschool education. The aim of the present study was to compare children's learning achievements in nine target areas, based on the teacher's evaluations at the end of the preschool year, in both…