High-quality learning environments are critical to support students' learning and development. This study supported eight lead teachers of Starting Strong classrooms in four different early learning programs to try to improve teachers' knowledge, self-efficacy, and use of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) within their classrooms. Four…

The aim of the reported study is to evaluate the effectiveness of different intervention approaches to promote the self-regulated learning behaviour of preschoolers. The conception of an intervention for younger children requires special attention (Phillips & Shonkoff, 2000) because self-regulated learning in this age range is still in an…

In this study, the impact of the Map and Globe Use Training Program on the map and globe reading and interpretation skills of five-year-olds continuing to a preschool program was examined. A semi-experimental model with a pretest/post-test control group was used to assess the impact of a 10-week map and globe use-training program in the preschools…

How can online modules be used to teach undergraduate students or pre-service teachers the principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for guiding young children's behavior? To examine this overarching question, this study developed online modules with video teaching components, and conducted both formative and summative evaluations…

The project used a mixed quantitative and qualitative pretest-posttest design to determine the impact of consultation and collaboration of occupational therapy services in a faith-based preschool. Preschool teachers were educated on the importance of motor skill development in preschool students, as well as how to create motor skill opportunities…

In this study we investigated the effects of two naturalistic 2- to 4-year-old children's intervention programs aimed at promoting children's Spontaneous Focusing On Numerosity (SFON) and early numerical skills. The study consisted of a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design with a delayed posttest and an active control group participating in…

Instructional technology use in United States preschool classrooms remains a limited and widely debated practice. In urban communities, preparing preschool students for academic, social, and economic success is further threatened by the well-documented digital divide. This qualitative phenomenological study included ten subjects and examined the…

There has been a growing awareness of the contribution of play to the young children's learning and development. This study aims to investigate the implement of board games play on children's aesthetic experience and interpersonal understanding in Montessori and Constructivist classrooms. With the underlying framework follows a developmentally…

Evidence-based reform is transforming education at all levels, both in providing effective models for use in schools and in linking policy to effective practice on a broad scale. As early education moves from a concern with effects of preschool versus no preschool to focus on creating and evaluating effective preschool models capable of improving…

There are multiple explanations for why many children do not have access to well-prepared pre-K teachers. The five programs profiled in this report show that it is possible to give pre-K teachers rich, research-based training that prepares them to work with young children. However, there is a scarcity of opportunities focused on the developmental…

The present study examines how attending the German model project "Kindergarten of the Future in Bavaria" (KiDZ), which provided 138 children (aged 3 to 6) with traditional preschool stimulation combined with cognitive and domain-specific stimulation, is associated with children's competencies in mathematics over time to age 12 compared…

Research Findings: The early childhood years are critical in developing early mathematics skills, but the opportunities one has to learn mathematics tend to be limited, preventing the development of significant mathematics learning. By conducting a meta-analysis of 29 experimental and quasi-experimental studies that have been published since 2000,…

California's Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 established transitional kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for students affected by the change in the birthdate cutoff for entry into kindergarten from December 2 to September 1. This brief, the sixth in a series highlighting findings from the "Study of…

Research Findings: Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) is a mathematics curriculum developed for use with 4- and 5-year-old children. To investigate the BMLK curriculum's effect on children's mathematics knowledge, this cluster-randomized controlled trial randomly assigned child care centers to provide mathematics instruction to children, using either…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law. The law changed the kindergarten entry cutoff so that children must turn five by September 1 to enter kindergarten. The law also established a new grade level--Transitional Kindergarten (TK)--which is the first year of a two-year kindergarten experience for…