Reading aloud to young children can positively impact their social and emotional development during preschool. However, further exploration is needed to determine how drama-based read-alouds (DBRAs) could enhance these benefits. In this sense, this study examined the effects of the DBRA intervention on preschoolers' social understanding, social…

There is a growing recognition that using engineering design process as an approach to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) produces good learning outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of an integrated STEM with Design Thinking (iSTEM-DT) module on preschoolers' science process skills. It adopts a single…

Educators and researchers are becoming interested in cultivating computational thinking (CT). However, in the Hong Kong context, CT-related studies regarding young children are rarely found. The present study aimed to use an unplugged digital arts activity to examine the CT concepts that children performed and document their CT developmental…

Substantial research has documented that Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) programs have important benefits for the school readiness of young children, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Recent studies in this arena have taken advantage of the Regression Discontinuity (RD) design to evaluate the impacts of Pre-K, due to ethical and pragmatic…

Interactive picturebook reading is an easily accessible and enjoyable activity that provides preschoolers with opportunities to practice problem-solving skills. Increasingly, preschool age is considered the ideal time to foster problem-solving skills. This paper examines the effect of interactive picturebook reading on the problem-solving skills…

A multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of progressive time delay (PTD) during small group instruction to teach social problem-solving to preschoolers and to assess generalization to novel contexts. PTD was used to teach children to both name and use a variety of problem-solving solutions. Target…

This study aims to conceptualise a drama-integrated curriculum devised from process drama as an approach to play-based pedagogy and curriculum to realise the policy initiative of learning through play. By investigating teachers' perspectives and practices in relation to the curriculum of a local kindergarten, examples of effective…

This paper presents the findings of a study conducted with preschool teachers trialling an intervention in which executive function activities are embedded in teachers' daily practices and imaginary play is used to build meaningful problem situations that children solve using executive functions. The participants were 227 preschool children (53%…

Background: A large evidence base suggests that without effective early intervention, young children who exhibit persistent challenging behavior often face a host of long-term social and academic challenges (Bulotsky-Shearer & Fantuzzo, 2011; Hauser-Cram & Woodman, 2016; Kazdin, 1995; Lane et al., 2008; Miller et al., 2017). Challenging…

In the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), problem-solving skills are part of science and engineering practices for K-12 students in the United States. Evaluating these skills for the youngest learners is difficult due to the lack of established measures. This paper reports on our process of developing an observation instrument to measure…

This is the executive summary for the report "North Carolina Pre-K Pyramid Model Evaluation Study: Implementation and Outcomes Evaluation Study Final Results." The report is an assessment of a pilot implementation of the NC Preschool Pyramid Model (Pyramid Model), a social-emotional coaching program to support NC Pre-K teachers to engage…

Research Findings: The present study investigated the effects of a 12-week inquiry-based science and engineering (IBSE) program on preschoolers' science and engineering learning experiences. The treatment versus control condition was randomly assigned to four preschool classes, which included 122 preschoolers (M = 61.10 month, SD = 3.73).…

Professional development (PD), which includes coaching, has demonstrated the capacity to affect preschool teachers' use of evidence-based practices. The present study explored how coaches facilitated conversations within practice-based coaching (PBC) partnerships. A direct behavioral observation coding system was developed to investigate (a) the…

Early intervention is valuable in preventing negative behavioural outcomes and promoting positive social competence in young children with externalizing behaviours. Interventions that teach social problem solving (SPS) are a promising solution, as children with behavioural difficulties often have deficits in these skills. School-based SPS…

Professional development (PD), which includes coaching, has demonstrated the capacity to affect preschool teachers' use of evidence-based practices. The present study explored how coaches facilitated conversations within practice-based coaching (PBC) partnerships. A direct behavioral observation coding system was developed to investigate: (1) the…