"Research Findings": Empathy is a relevant component of social interactions that can be observed from early childhood. Validated tests for young children are still scarce. This study has two goals: (1) to validate the modified two-factor version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in Spanish children between the ages of 3 and 8;…

The early childhood education teacher workforce is consistently relied upon to bolster children's academic and socioemotional development in preparation for kindergarten and long-term outcomes. This is especially true of children who, historically overlooked and marginalized, are labeled "at risk." While research has focused on pervasive…

Infancy, a formative period for development, has been identified as an advantageous time to provide family-centered support for children with delays. Families should be included as stakeholders during development of such interventions to ensure social value. We describe a preliminary randomized controlled trial evaluating Infant Achievements (IA),…

Quiet shy and/or anxious (QSA) children are often viewed negatively in primary school. This study employed two six-week intervention programmes entitled Special Me Time (SMT) for children in the Early Years (ages 3-7) and Quality Me Time (QMT) for children in years 3-4 (ages 7-9). Interventions were designed to support children: in vocalising…

Songs seem popular for achieving educational purposes other than teaching music in early education, despite scant evidence to support this 'folk pedagogy'. To investigate why teachers use songs, this mixed-methods study explored teachers' self-reported purposes for using songs in an online questionnaire (n = 103) and semi-structured interviews (n…

"Research Findings:" Despite the prevalence of integrating early childhood education (ECE) into formal schooling, there is limited evidence on how school-based ECE affects children compared to other types of ECE, particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Therefore, this study examined school-based ECE programs compared…

Research Findings: There is limited research regarding socio-emotional development in low-income Latino Dual Language Learner (DLL) children. A total of 14 studies have been identified in a comprehensive review of the literature (Halle et al. 2014). Within these studies the majority have focused on problem behaviors within this population. Through…

The need for a new measure of social-emotional wellbeing for children 6--12 years emerged in our collaboration with schools and community agencies in a disadvantaged region of Brisbane, Australia. Our search for an age-appropriate medium led us to develop "Clowning Around", a computer game generating data which was assessed for validity…

The authors discuss how board games offer individuals with autism (who often struggle with social settings and require structured outlets for building relationships) an affordable, naturalistic, collaborative environment that is stimulating, engaging, and educational. Board games, they assert, provide opportunities to practice social skills,…

Large class sizes have been a topic of continuing discussion for many years between parents, teachers, and legislators. This literary review aims to analyze the effects of large class sizes and the need to investigate their relationship to students' achievement gap, socio-emotional development, and teacher effectiveness in low socioeconomic…

Public and private research funding to academic institutions is increasingly conditional on demonstrating societal impact. Research is expected to produce new knowledge that is both relevant in academia and of direct practical use in society. Universities are well placed to serve as links between global academic communities and local problem…

Youth sport coaches have an incredibly complex and challenging role. The physical developmental changes that youth and adolescents go through can seemingly happen overnight. It is not surprising, therefore, that coaches spend most of their time thinking about how to help players with their physical skills. However, the significant developmental…

The study was conducted to assess social-emotional competencies among Indian and Ethiopian undergraduates. A total of 400 (200 each) participants, with an equal number of 100 male and female were selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure from Punjabi University (India), and Wollega University and Ambo University (Ethiopia). The…

Background and aims: Play is used by practitioners from across disciplinary backgrounds as a natural and enjoyable context for providing intervention and support in early childhood. In the case of autism interventions, many therapies are based on the association between social play and the development of social skills, language development, and…

Research directed at institutions focusing on diverse aspects of childrens social and cognitive development outside school is a growing field. This article discusses Swedish school-age educare centres for children between 6-12 years of age before and after school. These centres are regarded as important for young children's learning and care,…