This article presents some findings of a small-scale research study carried out in 1 kindergarten in Hong Kong. The study looked at the problems associated with the transition of families from one culture (mainland China) to a new culture (Hong Kong), concentrating on the children's development of a sense of belonging in Hong Kong. Specific issues…

This study investigated the relationships and interactions between childcare quality (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised edition [ECERS-R]/Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Extension [ECERS-E]) and children's social skills (SSRS) in different sociodemographic areas within one Australian city. Multiple regression analysis…

Most Mauritian children face a language challenge as they leave their homes and start school. While most Mauritian children speak a French-lexified Creole as home language, the Mauritian primary education programme promotes English as the main language of literacy and the only written medium of instruction. In such a context, the preschool has the…

Concerts designed to introduce young children to music and live performance are staged by a variety of organisations and ensembles across Australia. Shows featuring a wide range of performers are advertised for young children. Such concerts include Babies' Proms, Family Concerts by symphony orchestras, Play School Concerts, performances by…

The daily reality of working with a group of young children presents many demands for adults in early childhood programs. There are the ongoing chores of caretaking and cleaning up, planning and providing an engaging curriculum, communicating with families and coworkers, and the ever-growing pressures for outcomes, assessment, and documentation to…

In this article, the author presents the challenges faced by early childhood education in 29 countries, according to the World Forum National Representatives and Global Leaders for Young Children. The countries represented in these responses include: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan,…

The purpose of this 4-year efficacy trial, funded by IES under the Mathematics and Science Education topic, is to study the efficacy of a (Tier 1) core kindergarten math curriculum, "Early Learning in Mathematics" (ELM), when implemented under rigorous experimental conditions. In the first year of this study (2008-09), kindergarten…

"Early Learning and Development" provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the 20th century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and…

Early childhood programs are growing increasingly concerned about the number of preschoolers exhibiting challenging behavior. This case study describes how educators at the Visiting Nurses Association Child Care and Family Resource Center program addressed this concern by implementing the systems, data, and practices of Program-Wide Positive…

In this article, getting access to children's perspectives is presented as a prerequisite for assessing as well as developing children's understanding. Children's perspectives are analysed through examples taken from three domains of knowledge: music, mathematics and nature. The issues of assessing and developing children's knowledge are discussed…

Children's vocabulary development represents a critical foundation for their reading skills. This article describes a curriculum-based vocabulary progress monitoring tool that was used to track the development of Head Start children--and particularly those at highest risk for later reading difficulty--as they learned new words during the school…

As a teacher who loves to bring botany into her preschool classroom of 4- and 5-year-olds, the author makes edible plants a regular, popular feature of her students' environment. The author is fascinated when her students become increasingly adventurous in their tastes for vegetables the more they handle and understand plants. The author decided…

Synthesizing cutting-edge research from multiple disciplines, this book explores how young children acquire knowledge in the "real world" and describes practical applications for early childhood classrooms. The breadth and depth of a child's knowledge base are important predictors of later literacy development and academic achievement. Leading…

This brief describes the findings of a study that tested preschoolers' executive function skills after participating in a program designed to enhance them vs. a standard curriculum. A total of 147 5-year-olds in their second year of preschool from a lower-income, urban school district participated in this study. The preschoolers were in 18…

The kindergarten year symbolizes entrance into formal schooling and is a critical juncture for young children. Easing the transition into kindergarten to ensure the maximum success in that pivotal year merits much attention and careful planning. Since the National Education Goals Panel made public its readiness goals (1997), many states across the…