4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension and has identified Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) as a national priority. Conducting STEM education during summer months for hard to reach youth can be a challenge. However, it is during summer when vulnerable students most often experience learning loss. During…

Literacy is a powerful tool against poverty, leading to further education and vocational success. In sub-Saharan Africa, schoolchildren commonly learn in two languages--African and European. Multiple early literacy skills (including phonological awareness and receptive language) support literacy acquisition, but this has yet to be empirically…

The Attachment Aware Schools (AAS) project was a targeted and collaborative intervention between academics and school-based practitioners. The aim of the project was to promote practitioner awareness of attachment in relation to child behaviours and learning. It focused on using relational-based strategies and interventions to address the needs of…

This article describes a study of early childhood teachers' understanding of teaching and learning in children 4 and 5 years of age in technology education. The research aimed at assisting teachers' understanding of learning in technology using a developed framework. This study investigated the development of dispositions and attitudes including…

Maria Montessori developed a form of education in the first half of the last century that came to be called by her surname, and research indicates it often has positive outcomes. In the years since its development, tens of thousands of schools worldwide have called their programs "Montessori," yet implementations vary widely, leading to…

The emotional aspects of children's social relations have generally been marginalised in social science discourse. Children, who participated in the Australian segment of the Children's Understandings of Well-being (CUWB) project used various media to 'voice' the importance for their well-being of emotional relatedness with family, friends,…

Cross-system collaborations are central to the provision of services for young children with disabilities who have experienced abuse. While multiple position papers and policy briefs emphasize and encourage these cross-system collaborations between the Early Intervention and Child Welfare systems, very limited empirical research has examined these…

This brief outlines the important role state policymakers can play to ensure equity in their states' early education efforts. High-quality child care and early education is critical for child development and family economic security--and it can have a particularly positive impact on the wellbeing of families with low incomes. CLASP's action agenda…

Interactions between reactive and regulatory dimensions of temperament may be particularly relevant to children's adjustment but are examined infrequently. This study investigated these interactions by examining effortful control as a moderator of the relations of fear and frustration reactivity to children's social competence, internalizing, and…

This study used an observational measure to examine how individual children's engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks was associated with gains in self-regulation. A sample of 341 preschoolers was observed, and direct assessments and teacher reports of self-regulation were obtained in the fall and spring of the preschool year. Research…

This study compares the views of the concept of school readiness held by 50 pre-service preschool teachers and 50 pre-service primary teachers. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview protocol, and the word-list and key-words-in-context techniques were used for qualitative data analysis. Findings show that pre-service preschool…

"Sounds of Intent in the Early Years" explores the musical development of children from birth to five years of age. Observational evidence has been utilised together with key literature on musical development and core concepts of zygonic theory (Ockelford, 2013) to investigate the applicability of the original "Sounds of…

Parent- and lab-based observer ratings were employed to examine genetic and environmental influences on continuity and change in inhibitory control (IC) in over 300 twin-pairs assessed longitudinally at 2 and 3 years of age. Genetic influences accounted for approximately 60% of the variance in parent-rated IC at both ages. Although many of the…

In the absence of intellectual impairment, girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder significantly less and later than boys. This study explored potential reasons for why autism spectrum disorder may be more difficult to identify in girls, based on carer concerns during the pre-diagnosis period. Carers of 92 boys and 60 girls diagnosed…

There is a dearth of research on the experience of motherhood within the Irish prison system. This paper considers the specific issue of facilitating contact between incarcerated mothers and their children. It is based on a study which explores the views of practitioners working directly with mothers in prison on how the mother-child relationship…