The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomena of play by exploring kindergarten teachers' perceptions of play, specifically investigating teachers' perspectives on the importance of play, the role of the educator in play, and the changing face of play in response to evolving academic standards. This study utilized the qualitative approach…

Background: Early childhood leadership leads to positive outcomes for young children, including social competence. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the leadership behavior exhibited by three preschool aged children and to determine if teacher prompting could increase the frequency of leadership behaviors exhibited by…

The kindergarten classroom changed over the past few decades from an environment focused on developmental needs toward an environment that focuses on the academic expectation. Educational mandates for standards-based curriculum reduced the social interactions for children to support development and academics in the kindergarten classroom. It is…

This action research study guided teachers in the development of a growth mindset approach to reading instruction during 4 pivotal years of reading development. To address the academic and cognitive needs of emerging readers, teachers developed an approach to reading instruction with specific growth mindset applications by adapting existing…

Demands placed on early childhood teacher development, teacher candidates, and professionals who prepare future teachers, continue to increase. Although inquiry addresses high-stakes teacher development, research on programs in early childhood professional development schools as a pathway to mediate the increased demand is needed. The purpose of…

With a heavy increase in academic expectations and standards to be learned in the early years, educators are facing the challenge of integrating important academic standards into developmentally appropriate learning experiences for children in kindergarten. To meet this challenge, there is a need to become familiar with the role of play in the…

The overall purpose of this dissertation was to examine how school climate, leadership, and teachers' belief systems are interrelated and how they jointly influence teachers' classroom practices and students' learning and development. This dissertation is structured as follows. In chapter 1, the overarching themes of the dissertation are…

Caring and curiosity are fundamental to learning and working well with others. Individuals who are both caring and curious have empathetic curiosity and want to know about other people and take the initiative to learn about perspectives, needs, and goals of those around them. Empathetic curiosity can be enhanced through activities in schools. The…

Even though small group instruction is a research-based intervention and has many benefits, researchers have shown that many students are reading below grade level and struggle with mastering reading skills, and this may be due to the ineffectiveness of small-group reading instruction. The problem that was addressed in this study was teachers'…

Puppetry plays an edutainment role in playing and learning activities for nursery and kindergarten children. This qualitative study was aimed to investigate the benefits of puppetry activities for children who were enrolled in early childhood programs. In-depth interviews were conducted with four respondents, two of whom were child care providers…

This research aims to compare the social studies curricula of Thailand and New York State, USA, analyze their similarities and differences, and propose guidelines for improving the Thai social studies curriculum. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, using documentary analysis of the Thai Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551…

This study examined the impact of a commonly adopted elementary universal social-emotional learning program, Second Step, on student social-emotional and academic outcomes following 2 years of implementation. The cluster-randomized wait-list control trial included 61 schools, 321 teachers, and 8,941 early elementary students across 2 states, with…

The aim of this study was to assess whether children's development benefited from teacher-and child-managed academic activities in the preschool and kindergarten classroom. Extensive systematic observations during four half-days in preschool ("n"?=?8) and kindergarten ("n"?=?8) classrooms revealed that classrooms differed in…

The purpose of this study was to identify the different incidents of critical thinking in five preschool classrooms in one school, and the instructional strategies preschool teachers employed in the development of children's critical thinking. The participants in this study were five self-contained preschool teachers and their corresponding…

This article provides a brief review of the main phases and findings of the Froebel Research Fellowship project, which has been funded by the Froebel Trust (previously the Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute) since 2002. The project is investigating the extent to which Froebelian ideals, such as the notion that children's knowledge should…