In 2015, Innovation Edge commissioned the development of South Africa's first national-level preschool child assessment tool. The project's key innovations were that the tool should fairly assess children from across the cultural and socio-economic spectrum, be inexpensive in terms of equipment and administration costs, and be administered in…

Background: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and critically appraise empirical research regarding attachment theory among adults with an intellectual disability. Method: A systematic search was carried out in Psycinfo and CINHAL databases. Only five studies met selection criteria. Results: Three main findings were identified: (1)…

Background: In typical development, primarily contextual factors at the family level are clearly associated with child developmental outcomes. In contrast, knowledge about the contextual factors influencing the developmental characteristics of children (0-12 years) with severe to profound intellectual disability is scarce. Method: Through…

Infants' pointing gestures are a critical predictor of early vocabulary size. However, it remains unknown precisely how pointing relates to word learning. The current study addressed this question in a sample of 108 infants, testing one mechanism by which infants' pointing may influence their learning. In Study 1, 18-month-olds, but not…

This article approaches the study of children's literature as a threshold of change that allows readers to explore the reality around them, imagine other worlds and understand other perspectives. Based on the notion of the child's cognitive development organized into four stages--pre-reading, fantastic stage, fantastic-realistic stage and…

This essay aims to map uses and attributions of the word "appropriate" as they occur in various disciplines related to children's literature. Three competing interest areas--publishing, education, and societal ideologies--provide insight as to how "appropriate" developed into an abstract cover-word for a variety of outside…

Humans are capable of extracting recurring patterns from their environment via statistical learning (SL), an ability thought to play an important role in language learning and learning more generally. While much work has examined statistical learning in infants and adults, less work has looked at the developmental trajectory of SL during childhood…

Adults need to recognize and understand the importance of the parent-child relationship in supporting infants and young children who are exposed to traumatic events. All children need the support, security, and safety that come with a consistent, emotionally available relationship. For young children who have a more limited understanding and…

Good nutrition during the 1,000-day window between pregnancy and 2 years old can give children the opportunity to reach their full potential. Conversely, malnutrition early in life can cause irreversible damage to a child's brain development and physical growth, leading to a lifetime of poor health and lost potential. Each year, malnutrition costs…

Teachers face a growing call for implementing inquiry-based teaching and learning in a current pedagogical environment that contradicts this through educational practices that silo content, disseminate knowledge, and produce classrooms of passive learners. We address a hot topic in the United States on how a push for more "academics" is…

With decades of evidence to support early childhood development (ECD) programs and policies, investment in early childhood policies has expanded globally. The development of about 250 million children is at risk due to extreme poverty or stunting. Effective programs can support children's development, but must target risk level and be implemented…

Background: Child development and life outcomes are partly linked to prenatal and maternal conditions such as mother's age at birth. Thus, the issue of teenage motherhood has attracted significant concern from researchers and policymakers because of its potential implications for children. The existing literature on effects of teenage motherhood…

The parent-child relationship has been presented as one of the most important contexts in the early stages of life, but not all caregivers provide an optimal environment for development. Some parental and environmental factors exert a particularly strong influence on development. Parental practices and socioeconomic status are the factors most…

This article explores how conceptions of responsible parenting are re-negotiated in present-day Singapore. It discusses how policy changes in the pre-school area have affected parental practices and notions of morally worthy parenting. Pre-school reform promoting children's holistic development and less intensive parenting is part of a wider…

There is now wide consensus that the quality of family relationships is involved in the development of child executive functioning (EF), a set of cognitive skills that bear critical importance for social and academic adjustment at school. This body of research has, however, focused almost exclusively on dyadic parent-child interactions and failed…