There is a lack of research on students' conceptions of giftedness and intelligence, despite recognition of their influence on real-life factors such as achievement and motivation. This paper presents a cross-sectional mixed methods study that investigated Finnish students' (age 6-16 years; N = 1282) implicit conceptions of giftedness and…

The transition to primary school is widely seen as a period of multifaceted transformations and adoptions of different strategies for parents, yet relatively little is known about the lived transition experiences of parents from diverse (linguistic, cultural, socio-economic) backgrounds. This article explores the issue by examining maternal…

The present study investigated bidirectional associations between teachers' sense of inadequacy and self-efficacy and factors related to them across one academic year. Teachers (N = 52) rated their sense of inadequacy and self-efficacy in fall and spring, and reported the number of students in need of support in spring. The results of cross-lagged…

This paper describes a randomised control trial (RCT) of a small group intervention targeting articulatory consciousness in first graders with a reading delay (control condition: n = 57, intervention condition: n = 64). The programme in the intervention condition consisted of basic decoding and spelling tasks using articulatory cards to symbolise…

This study investigated teachers' focus of attention and stress in first-grade classrooms. Teachers' (n = 53) focus of attention was recorded in fall and spring with a mobile eye-tracking device, and the teachers reported stress via questionnaires. Correlation analysis was used to examine association between teacher stress (exhaustion, cynicism,…

The aim of the study was to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy skills among monolingual Swedish (n = 269) and bilingual Finnish-Swedish (n = 229) children at the first grade in the Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The participants were assessed in phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN),…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Early Numeracy Screener. The Early Numeracy Screener is a teacher-administered, paper-and-pencil test measuring counting skills, numerical relational skills, and basic arithmetic skills. Three hundred and sixty-six first graders took the Early Numeracy Screener at the beginning of the…

Early identification of children at risk of developing reading difficulties is crucial for effective interventions. While orthographies and educational contexts differ, predictors included in early at-risk screening tend to remain rather homogeneous across countries. In this study, we compared longitudinal prediction patterns of being among the 20…

The outcomes of a longitudinal randomized number sense intervention including pre-, post- and follow-up tests are reported. The intervention was conducted in Grade 0 when children were six years old. Using Concrete-Representational-Abstract principles, a structured explicit 10-week program focusing on numbers and collective reasoning about…

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…

The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of teachers' perspectives on promoting reading and writing for pupils with various linguistic backgrounds in grade 1. Focus group interviews were conducted with 17 teachers who work in preschool classes and in grade 1. The teachers' perspectives on reading and writing can be characterised as…

Understanding how children experience life in educational settings should be an imperative for educational practitioners, evaluators, and researchers. Listening to children's points of views would facilitate the development of educational settings that meet the needs of children and contribute to their wellbeing and development so that their…

The present study reports on the psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM) in Finnish and Estonian first and third grade classrooms. The observation data were collected from 91 first grade teachers and 70 third grade teachers. Teachers' curriculum goals, teaching experience and the classroom size were…

The focus of our study is social status among first graders. In particular, we will consider the relationship between acceptance and rejection, and how these are connected to three social behavioral traits: bullying, victimization, and social withdrawal. The data set is from peer nominations of 748 children from 49 classrooms in the southwest of…

Despite the recent technical and theoretical advances in the investigation of children's social relations, the inherent complexity of these methods may prevent their easy integration into the classroom. A simple and effective tool can be valuable for teachers who wish to investigate students' social realities in the classroom. Therefore, the…