Search

This study explores the relationship between parental attitudes toward outdoor activities and children's health-related quality of life, focusing on the mediation of outdoor activity time and nature connections. Data from 399 kindergarten children, supplemented by parental insights, were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Positive parental attitudes toward outdoor activities were found to predict enhanced physical functioning and kindergarten performance. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed for social functioning, while emotional functioning remained unaffected. Parental attitudes directly influenced physical functioning, with indirect effects on kindergarten performance mediated by outdoor time and nature connections. These findings highlight the importance of parental attitudes in promoting children's well-being and suggest potential strategies to enhance their health-related quality of life.

This study addresses a gap in resilience interventions for rural preschoolers by validating a 14-week play-based picture-book reading program involving 80 Chinese preschoolers aged 4-5 years. Participants were randomly assigned to non-intervention (NI), play intervention (PI), picture-book reading intervention (PRI), or play-based picture-book reading intervention (PPRI) groups. Kindergarten teachers and parents reported children's resilience with the Chinese version of Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers at pretest, post-test, and follow-up. Results revealed that intervention groups (PI, PRI, PPRI) exhibited higher resilience gain scores than the NI group. Notably, the PPRI group demonstrated greater resilience gains compared to the PRI and PI groups. Furthermore, the intervention effects of the PPRI group were maintained for two months following the intervention. Those findings suggest that PPRI may be a valuable intervention for enhancing resilience in preschoolers, with potential applications in kindergarten classrooms.

Our article explores the challenges that faced Jewish and Arab kindergarten teachers, and their different ways of coping with those challenges, during the implementation of the programme 'My Diverse Kindergarten' in three mixed cities in Israel. The programme aimed at reducing prejudices and improving the relationship between Jews and Arabs in these cities. Based on data from a qualitative study, including interviews with Arab and Jewish kindergarten teachers, we examined the challenges related to the encounter with the other, and identified a variety of coping patterns, mostly related to the ethnic and professional identities of the kindergarten teachers. Our discussion relates to some of the factors that enabled the success of the programme in achieving its purpose.

The phenomenon of diverse families has expanded in recent years. Although it has important implications in the field of education, this issue has been largely overlooked in the research on early education in Israel. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes of Israeli kindergarten teachers towards diverse families and the practices they use in this context. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative study, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews among 20 Jewish-Israeli state kindergarten teachers. The main findings are that, overall, the attitudes of kindergarten teachers towards diverse families are positive, and they use different practices for dealing with family diversity and integrate this issue in their routine educational activities. Despite this, due to various factors, the positive attitudes are not always implemented in practice. These findings highlight the need to guide kindergarten teachers to work with diverse families, preparing them to adapt to the changing society.

This study examined the links between Israeli teachers' perceptions of children with developmental delay (DD) in special education kindergartens and changes in children's development. Participants were 47 teachers and children diagnosed with DD. At Time 1, teachers' perceptions were assessed via the valence of their narrative about the child and the extent to which the narrative was multifaceted (i.e. addressing more developmental domains). Kindergarten therapists reported twice, at Time 1 and at Time 2 (12 months later), on children's adaptive behavior in terms of communication, socialization, motor, and daily living skills and on children's peer acceptance. Positive valence of teachers' narratives was associated with more gains in children's adaptive behavior from Time 1 to Time 2. Multifaceted narratives were associated with children's increased peer acceptance from Time 1 to Time 2. Results highlight the importance of supporting teachers' construction of positive and multifaceted perceptions of children through training and supervision.

The kindergarten teachers of the Religious Kibbutz movement (RK) as a unique group are connected both to the educational approaches of the kindergartens in the general Kibbutz Movement and the state religious kindergartens. A qualitative study included semi-structured interviews with 15 RK kindergarten teachers in order to explore their self-identity. The identity of the RK kindergarten was designed to be an encounter between four axes: the connection to Jewish tradition, the kibbutz community, nature and agriculture, and a constructivist approach. The study findings brought to light the RK kindergarten teachers' unique educational approach, which includes both similarities and differences with the general kibbutz movement kindergartens and the state religious kindergartens. The study contributes to highlighting a specific group of early childhood (EC) educators, reflecting both the diverse mosaic of EC educational approaches among different groups in Israel and the potential that these groups have for enriching each other.

The article discusses the role of the different forms of capital within the patterns of relationships between kindergarten teachers (KTs) and parents in kindergartens located in one medium-high socioeconomic status neighborhood in Israel. The qualitative analysis conducted reveals how the parents' cultural capital serves as a resource to advance the kindergarten in functioning and marketing, and for the KTs, to improve trust, cope with solitude, and receive parents' feedback. The benefits for parents include furthering their children's educational progress and enhancing their well-being, dealing with the municipal bureaucracy, and controlling the kindergarten's operation. At the same time, it was found that capital resources may generate costs. For KTs, these may stem from parents' interfering, crossing boundaries, and bullying, and cause KTs to placate the parents; for the parents, the costs may come in the form of anxiety about their children's well-being.

The current study examines the challenges and coping of Arab women employed as child caretakers in kibbutz kindergartens in Israel. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Arab caretakers. Three themes were identified: (1) Self-perception as secular Israelis versus a combined Muslim-Arab one Israeli-civic identity; (2) The families' reaction to their decision to work in a kibbutz and to their adoption of Western and kibbutz norms that clash with traditional Arab ones; (3) Conditional acceptance by Jewish kibbutz society. The main recommendations following this study are to create a training model that would include both the Arab caretakers and other staff members in the kibbutz education system to heighten their awareness of these issues. In addition, since the entry of Arab women caretakers into the Jewish-Israeli early childhood education system is a growing trend, it is important to raise awareness in Israeli society of the complex issues raised by this phenomenon.

Kindergarten teachers' work is unique because they juggle the roles of caregiver to young children, tending to their physical, emotional and educational needs, and managing their kindergarten unit. The year of internship and transition into teaching is particularly intense. For new kindergarten teachers (NKTs) to fully integrate in the kindergarten and pursue a teaching career, they need varied support schemes. This study is part of an international project supported by the Erasmus+ program. A total of 230 and 80 kindergarten mentors answered survey questionnaires. Findings show that NKTs are satisfied with their induction program and report a high level of integration into the education system and in the workplace. This study identifies relationships between a high level of NKT integration in the workplace and varied support schemes. The significance of self-efficacy as a major resource for support and mentors' contribution specific to the kindergarten setting are highlighted and discussed.

To examine the relationship between early number sense and later symbolic arithmetic competence and how they are connected in young Chinese children. The present study utilized a longitudinal sample of 115 Chinese children aged 3 to 6. Young children completed measures to assess number sense, visual spatial skills (in the fall of their second kindergarten year, K2), arithmetic competence (in the spring of their second kindergarten year, K3), working memory, verbal comprehension, and inhibitory control (in the fall of their first kindergarten year, K1). The results showed that number sense predicted arithmetic competence six months later. Meanwhile, visual spatial skills played a mediating role in this association, but it became non-significant when working memory, verbal comprehension, and inhibitory control were added as covariates. These longitudinal findings confirm the close association between number sense and arithmetic competence in young Chinese children.

Studies have demonstrated a significant correlation between the approximate number system (ANS) and early mathematical achievement. However, various explanations exist regarding the underlying cognitive mechanisms that underpin this association. The present study investigated whether the two hypotheses of inhibition control and visual form perception could explain the relationship between kindergarteners' ANS and mathematical achievements. In spring, data were collected from a sample of 180 kindergarteners (M[subscript age] = 5.77 years, SD = 0.59). A parallel mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of inhibition control and visual form perception in the link between ANS and math achievement. The results indicated an indirect effect of ANS on mathematical achievements through both inhibition control and visual form perception, with both mediators exhibiting a comparable magnitude. These findings highlight the significance of distinct cognitive abilities that can potentially enhance early mathematical advancement.

The fertility policy liberalization in China has meant that many firstborn children are stressed by a newborn sibling's arrival. This case study explores creative arts intervention as an innovative stress management approach to alleviate a Chinese girl's maladaptive reactions during her transition to siblinghood. A weekly 17-session tailored creative arts program used diverse art forms for self-exploration, emotion regulation, and family dynamics reconstruction in stages. The study employed an AB single-case design and utilized a mixed-methods approach for data collection. The results demonstrated that the child's maladjustment appeared closely tied to the cultural context of Chinese families. Creative arts intervention effectively improved the child's emotion regulation, family involvement, and social confidence as well as sibling warmth and managing jealousy. This case offers culturally situated insights to guide future child-centred, arts-based transition support research in Chinese families undergoing rapid structural shifts.

The present study aimed to examine the effect of activity engagement, age, language proficiency, and time elapse on children's response accuracy to adult's questions. A total of 70, 3- to 6-year-old children participated in the study, engaging in a story-telling activity, a proficiency test, and two interviews. Additionally, 57 of these children participated in a delayed interview about the same event one week later. The findings indicated that children's language proficiency has a significant impact on the accuracy of their answers. Moreover, age appeared to contribute to children's response accuracy. However, children's activity engagement and the one-week time elapse did not significantly influence the accuracy of their recall. Results suggest that interviewers should consider children's age and linguistic proficiency levels while conducting interviews. This research contributes to the existing literature on factors affecting children's response accuracy.

This study aims to investigate the impact of digital storytelling activities on children's language skills, specifically focusing on expressive, receptive, and narrative abilities, as well as their utilization of technological elements in their stories. The study involved 18 children who were enrolled in a public kindergarten classroom, and it employed a mixed-methods design. Over six weeks, the children participated in digital storytelling activities twice a week. Pre- and post-intervention assessments measured children's language skills, and digital stories were evaluated for technical elements. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted to gain insights into the children's experiences. The findings revealed significant improvements in the participants' receptive, expressive, and narrative skill scores following the six-week digital storytelling intervention. The children expressed high levels of enjoyment and interest in the digital storytelling activities. These results were discussed in relation to existing literature, and the implications of the findings were explored.

Adverse health events within families can harm children's development, including their early literacy. Using data from a longitudinal Wisconsin birth cohort, we estimated the spillover effect of younger siblings' gestational ages on older siblings' kindergarten-level literacy. We sampled 20,014 sibling pairs born during 2007-2010 who took Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening-Kindergarten tests during 2012-2016. Exposures were gestational age (completed weeks), preterm birth (gestational age <37 weeks), and very preterm birth (gestational age <32 weeks). We used gain-score regression -- a fixed effects strategy -- to estimate spillover effects. A one-week increase in younger siblings' gestational age improved the older siblings' test score by 0.011 SD (95% confidence interval: 0.001, 0.021 SD). The estimated spillover effect was larger among siblings whose mothers reported having a high school diploma/equivalent only (0.024 SD; 95% confidence interval: 0.004, 0.044 SD). The finding underscores the networked effects of one individual's early-life health shocks on their family members.

This study investigated the development of computational thinking (CT) in young children within the specific context of Hong Kong. The researchers utilized an unplugged digital arts activity to explore the CT knowledge exhibited by children and document their developmental trajectories. A sample of 23 children aged 3 to 6 years participated in an animation art workshop conducted in a Hong Kong kindergarten. The video data were recorded and analyzed in terms of content. Drawing on a three-dimensional framework combining powerful ideas for teaching coding, the observations and field notes revealed that children's CT knowledge construction aligned with the CT conceptual framework. Notably, older children demonstrated more advanced competences and more complex cognitive structures in terms of the design process, representation, algorithms, modularity, sequences, connecting, choices of conduct, and utilization of hardware/software. These findings emphasize the importance of designing age-appropriate curricula that foster children's CT skills through the animation art.

This study analysed the total words and emotion words, narrative styles, and narrative content of low-income parent-child conversations about past emotions in Taiwan. We recruited 38 low-income parents and their children (20 boys and 18 girls); the parents were recorded in their homes as they discussed past events with their children. The average age of the children was 72 months. The results highlighted the absence of gender differences in the number of words, narrative styles, and narrative content in the low-income parent-child emotion talk. The parents favoured a low-elaborative style with minimal conversational turns. Our analysis revealed that the physical discipline of low-income parents was a notable emotional theme prompting negative emotions, particularly anger, in children. In terms of emotional resolution, the parents in our sample did not provide moral lessons; moreover, when managing children's negative emotions, these parents did not adopt resolution, reassurance, or reestablishment strategies.

The relationships students form with their teachers are critical to children's early school adjustment and later school success. While previous research has relied on teachers' single-point ratings of student-teacher relationship (STR) quality, this study included data provided by children and teachers at two time-points in the kindergarten year. Children's drawings of themselves and their teacher were coded using Fury, Carlson, and Sroufe's (1997) attachment-based scoring of Relational Negativity. Children's feelings about their teacher were rated on the School Feelings Questionnaire (Bowes et al., 2009). Teachers completed the Student Teacher Relationship Scale (Pianta, 2001) and Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment (Birch & Ladd, 1997). Results showed that Relational Negativity at the start of school aligned with teachers' STR ratings, but by the end of the year, children's and teachers' ratings had diverged. Children were twice as likely as teachers to express increased negativity. Possible explanations for different perceptions of STR are proposed.

In this study, we investigate the relationship between social preferences (material preference and group preference) and indirect reciprocity and the role of empathy in 3-5-year-old children in China. The first study involved 94 children and aimed to investigate the relationship between social preferences and indirect reciprocity and the moderating effect of empathy on the aforementioned relationship. In Study 2, 128 children were selected to examine the effect of empathy induction on indirect reciprocity. Our results indicated that preschool children showed certain social preferences and paid forward both positive and negative outcomes to others. However, these social preferences would not jointly affect children's indirect reciprocity. Cognitive empathy could moderate the relationship between social preferences and children's positive indirect reciprocity. Additionally, empathy induction could promote the positive indirect reciprocity and inhibit the negative indirect reciprocity.

This study aims to bridge a gap between Vygotsky's seminal framework on the importance of make-believe play and adult scaffolding in children's cognitive development (e.g. executive function [EFs]) and research in cognitive neuroscience. Kindergarten children (N = 160) and teachers (N = 12) took part in the study. EFs skills and make-believe play (Child and Teacher dimensions; e.g. adult' level of scaffolding) were assessed through observation with the "Executive Functions Observation Tool" and the "Mature Play Observation Tool." Results from stepwise polynomial regressions and mediation analysis showed a significant mediating effect of the context on the curvilinear relationship between teacher scaffolding of play and the child's level of EFs. These results show the importance of observing each child and the context in which they learn and play to understand their EFs. Observation of EFs manifestations could allow for better planning of intentional interventions to support the child's skills in accordance with their developmental needs.

This study utilized six focus groups to explore 49 early childhood teachers' perspectives and reported use of Pyramid Model practices to support young children's social emotional competence in the Republic of Georgia. Constant comparison analysis was used to analyze participants' responses. Early childhood educators described implementing some social emotional interventions and supports across tiers of the Pyramid Model in Georgian early childhood classrooms. Early childhood teachers across regions expressed the need for additional personnel, training, and social emotional resources. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the importance of ensuring the cultural fit of frameworks such as the Pyramid Model.

Concentrated pockets of under-resourced neighbourhoods and schools exist in urban areas in which there are overwhelming numbers of children labelled 'at-risk.' Structural equation modelling was used to predict the associations between family social capital in kindergarten and third-grade learning and development outcomes for low-socioeconomic children in urban areas. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 were analyzed. Child outcomes included third-grade language/literacy, cognitive development/problem-solving, and approaches to learning. Findings indicate that family social capital has a significant longitudinal impact on children's development and learning. Early factors influencing children's later development and learning can inform intervention strategies, potentially moderating gaps in these areas between socioeconomic groups. Findings can be used to inform practice and policy for children and families.

Working memory (WM) is highly predictive of academic performance, and individual differences in WM can already be observed in early childhood. However, obtaining accurate measures of WM in kindergarten-aged children is labour intensive. From an intervention perspective, identifying correlates of WM that are more readily measured can help identify children who require assistance more efficiently. This study examined the associations between socioeconomic status, parents related variables, and WM. The children (N = 258), recruited from Hong Kong kindergartens, were administered three WM tests. Their caregivers completed a questionnaire on socioeconomic status, financial worries, parental stress, psychological distress, parenting style, and the home learning environment. The results showed that socioeconomic differences were not associated with WM. However, children with parents who were more permissive had lower WM. It is suggested that the lack of parental demands that characterizes permissive parenting practices may reduce children's engagement in activities that improve WM.

The importance of teaching kindergarteners to be effective writers has been emphasized in recent years. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of current experimental and/or quasi-experimental studies investigating writing instruction in the kindergarten setting. Framing the literature within three philosophical approaches, we identified instructional strategies related to increases in emergent literacy outcomes and gaps in the literature. The results from 15 intervention conditions from 2010 to 2020 indicated the overall effect size for kindergarten writing instruction was g = 0.37, 95% CIs [0.09, 0.64], suggesting that kindergarten writing instruction enhanced children's early literacy outcomes. The findings from this article provide important instructional implications for kindergarten writing instruction.

This study examined the effects of maternal and children's resources on school readiness, literacy achievements, and reading motivation in children. The participants included children (N = 180) (124 girls; 56 boys) from 19 kindergartens, their mothers, and their kindergarten teachers. Mothers reported on their working hours, interaction quality, and learning stimulation range at home. Data on children's literacy achievements and school readiness were gathered from the teachers. Data on reading motivation and task persistence were obtained directly from the children. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated that maternal working hours affect interaction quality, and the quality of maternal interaction affects children's reading motivation. Children's task persistence affects literacy achievement. Both maternal interaction quality and children's task persistence affect their readiness for school. The analysis also revealed association between the pre-academic skills. Maternal availability and children's reading motivation and persistence are critical factors in children's development of academic skills.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, children have presented with increased psychiatric symptoms. Little research has been done regarding early childhood mental health, particularly those from vulnerable socioeconomic contexts who are exposed to adversity. We aimed to assess mental health and the impacts of the pandemic on this population. A survey and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered to the caregivers of preschoolers who were enrolled in a food-assistance programme. The participants were 807 preschoolers from the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was ranked among the cities with the longest lockdown. Around 39% of preschoolers were classified as having a 'possible/probable' psychiatric disorder. Externalizing problems were predominant. Most caregivers (82.78%) reported increased psychological symptoms during the lockdown, mostly externalizing problems. Caregivers' burdens were associated with the severity, duration, and exacerbation of their child's symptoms. Further research should continue to monitor preschoolers' well-being, with the goal of preventing future problems.

This study examined the effect of dialogic reading intervention on improving the theory of mind of rural Chinese children. A 12-week-randomized controlled trial design with two intervention groups, i.e. school practice intervention (SPI), parent-involved intervention (PII), and one control group with traditional reading intervention (TRI) that provided data at pre-, mid-, post-test, and follow-up tests, was adopted. Seventy-five children participated in the study, with twenty-five participants in each group. Results indicated the gain scores of ToM score from pre to mid-tests and pre- to post-tests of the two intervention groups were higher than the control group. The PII group showed higher gain scores in the mid- and post-test than the SPI group. The intervention effects were well maintained in the SPI and PII groups during the two-month follow-up assessment. The findings indicated school-based dialogic reading can effectively promote ToM development and has a maintenance effect, especially when parents are engaged.

In Germany, there is still a great need for research on the quality of teacher-child interactions in ECEC institutions. Especially, because social interactions and relationships are crucial for (early) learning and development (Ulferts et al., 2019). However, there are hardly any results on factors influencing the interaction quality. This paper addresses the issue by assessing interaction quality of 48 ECEC teachers in German Kindergartens using the CLASS (Pianta et al., 2008). The influences of two factors - the activity setting and the attributed social disadvantage on the child - are explored. Interaction quality analyses show mid to high quality scores for Emotional Support and Classroom Organization whereas the Instructional Support domain is rated low. Concerning the influencing factors, we find significant differences in interaction quality between the activity settings and significantly higher Instructional Support scores for the dyads with the child with an attributed social disadvantage.

In order to explore the development mechanism of construction theory in the field of moral judgment, this study investigated the influence of age and social distance on such moral expectations in positive moral context and negative moral context. In both positive and negative moral contexts, 5-6-year-old children had the highest moral expectations of people who are socially closest to them. In negative moral contexts, 3-4-year-old children had significantly higher moral expectations of people who are socially closest to them, whereas in positive moral contexts, no significant difference was noted in their moral expectations of others for various degrees of social distance. These findings suggest that children have lower moral expectations of strangers and exhibit a preference for familiar person in moral expectations as they grow older. And this preference was first observed in contexts which the child thought that someone close to him or her was less likely to do immoral things in negative moral context than to do moral things in positive moral contexts. In conclusion, our study provides empirical evidence for construction theory in the field of moral judgment, proving that social distance, age and moral context strongly affect children's moral expectations of others.

Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the predictive associations between kindergarten developmental, socio-behavioural, and biotic influences on third grade achievement among a nationally representative sample of low-SES children. The findings validate the understanding that developmental and learning trajectories start early in children's lives and are influenced by multifaceted factors. Findings also elucidated areas where predictive influences were different among low-SES children than they were for the general. Children residing in low-SES homes are at risk for academic and developmental difficulties. Study findings have established that within a low-SES group of children, disparities in early learning and development exist. Understanding the factors that positively and negatively affect learning and development among low-SES children informs intervention strategies that may moderate the gaps that exist in these areas among SES groups as they progress through school. There were several noteworthy findings related to within-SES differences that potentially impact children's academic trajectories.

Outdoor play comprises a highly significant play category through which children learn, develop, express themselves, socially and physically interact with their surroundings. Research, however demonstrates outdoor play is not substantially utilized within Greek preschool environments. This study was conducted during the 2019 academic year, aiming at examining, via questionnaire, the views of current (N:100) and prospective (N:100) Kindergarten Educators regarding outdoor play's importance and utilization as a learning and development asset within Greek preschool environments. Findings establish that current and future educators acknowledge outdoor play's contribution into children's learning and development and promote natural materials playing into Kindergarten. Nevertheless, they fail to exploit exterior settings for organized play activities; prospective educators but occasionally evaluate toy-objects or the play equipment of the school yard. This study, finally, highlights the need for retraining Greek educators towards a better utilization of outdoor play and its incorporation into Kindergarten's educational process.

Young English learners (ELs) whose home language is Spanish continue to lag behind in several school readiness areas including language and literacy skills in spite of their strong social skills, which are positively related to language and literacy. The purpose of this article is to identify challenges that preschool Spanish speaking ELs face, explore theoretical underpinnings of context-based instructional models, and discuss implications for research, practice, and policy making. Based on sociocultural theory and social transactional theory, we propose a conceptual framework that consists of embedding a teacher-scaffolded instruction within reciprocal peer mediated interactions to promote preschool Spanish speaking ELs' English language and literacy skills for kindergarten readiness. Given the transactional nature of peer tutoring, we hypothesize that children receiving the scaffolded reciprocal peer tutoring will have increased social interaction. Additionally, we expect a mediating effect of children's social interaction on their language and literacy development.

There is a consensus that the crises children encounter during the transition period might impact negatively on children's learning and development. However, from cultural-historical perspective, qualitative leap in development can hardly be achieved without crises. This paper, drawing upon cultural-historical theory as the framework and by using 'role adjustment' as the unit of analysis, discusses what the crisis means for children's learning and development. Through a case study of two second generation Chinese Australian children's role adjustment in school transition, this paper finds that the crises provide both potentials and dangers depending on how the crises are managed within the child's social situation of development. It argues against the advocates for making children's transition seamless, as it is important to utilize the developmental potentials of crises instead of eliminating them. It also enriches the cultural-historical studies by exploring not only the developmental aspect but also the dark side of the crises.

This study examined early development of cool and hot self-regulation and how they were related to Chinese preschoolers' early achievement. A total of 951 children (448 girls) aged three to five in Hong Kong participated in this study. Children's self-regulation was assessed with a battery of five tasks tapping either cool or hot self-regulation; early child development was assessed with items selected from the Hong Kong Early Child Development Scales. Mothers reported children's behaviors according to items selected from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to understand children's emotional and behavior problems. The results identified a complex relationship between cool and hot self-regulation and cool and hot self-regulation were also found to predict children's achievement differently. These findings suggest the unique role of cool and hot self-regulation in early years and the importance of integrating both the cool and hot aspects of self-regulation in the research and practice arenas.

We examined an intervention in kindergarten using an e-book for vocabulary enrichment. In programme (a), the children read the e-book with a dictionary and the teacher's support. In programme (b), the children read the e-book with the dictionary independently. In programme (c), the children read the e-book without a dictionary (control). The participants included 103 children (aged 5-6) from LSES families. They read the e-book in the kindergarten class six times. The children were tested pre, post 1 and post 2, on story focal words at the receptive, explanation and production level. Children who read the e-book with the dictionary and the teacher's support learned more words than those, who read the e-book with the dictionary independently, and more than the control. Achievements were maintained after one month. Children with an initial low level progressed more than those with a high level. The findings and their implications are discussed.

We investigated whether the cool and hot executive functions (EFs) exhibited by kindergarteners could predict their academic achievement in the middle grades of elementary school. The study assessed the cool and hot EF of 48 Japanese kindergartners (M = 78.12 months) and then measured these same children's academic achievement in language and mathematics between grades one to four. The study's confirmative factor analysis indicated that early childhood EFs have both cool and hot factors. Its structural equation modeling revealed that although both cool and hot early childhood EFs can directly predict academic achievement in grade one, cool EFs had a greater predictive effect. It also found that cool and hot early childhood EFs had an indirect effect on academic achievement between grades two to four insofar as children's academic achievement in grades two to four was predicted sequentially by their previous academic achievements.

The study presented in this article is part of a larger study called Progressive Feedback (blogs.helsinki.fi/orientate), which is an early childhood education and care (ECEC) research and development project. The aim of this article is to find out: (1) how children's tested creative thinking abilities, fluency, originality and imagination correlated with children's social orientations in kindergarten; and (2) how children's participative orientations occur in relation with the teacher and peers. The data consist of Reunamo's child interview tool and the Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) test. The data (280 children from 23 kindergartens and pre-primary schools) were gathered from two municipalities in southern Finland. The results show that the participative orientation was strongly connected with creative thinking abilities, but it was rare in social situations concerning adults. In participative orientation, children concern the situation and intend to change it.

This study provides estimates for the impact of centre-based care participation during pre-kindergarten on Latino children's academic readiness skills at kindergarten-entry. Using the ECLS-K:2011 dataset, findings indicate that Latino children who participated in centre-based care during their pre-kindergarten year had significantly higher English oral language (ES = 0.112, p < 0.05), reading (ES = 0.151, p < 0.001), and math scores (ES = 0.117, p < 0.05) than their peers who did not participate in such programmes. Additionally, children from lower SES homes especially benefitted in terms of oral language skills from participating in centre-based care. These results suggest that efforts should be made to increase the participation of Latino children in centre-based preschool, which can play a role in increasing their academic readiness skills.

This study examines preschool children's play tendency and their prosocial behavior. The screening method was used in the study, and it was carried out with a total of 319 four- to six-year-old children who attended state kindergartens. "Children's Playfulness Scale" and "Child Prosocialness Scale" were used as data collection tools. According to the results, no significant difference was found in the play tendency and prosocial behavior scores in relation with gender and parent's employment status. However, a significant difference was found in the play tendency and prosocial behavior scores in relation with age and family income. In terms of the number of siblings, while there was no significant difference in prosocial behavior scores, a significant difference was found in the play tendency. A significant positive relationship was found between the play tendency and prosocial behavior scores. The findings are discussed with regard to the relevant literature.

The purpose of this study is to examine who young children (3-7-year-olds) would depend on for asking information, and whose information they would endorse: the one provided precise expressions which were the mathematical presentation of several measurements or the other by a person who provided relative expressions which were assistant's personal opinions did not depend on a metric measurement. The participants consist of 102 young children in Sanliurfa province in Turkey. The participants interacted with two assistants, one of whom provided precise expressions and the other provided relative expressions about weight, length and quantity comparison of several pictures and materials. Mann-Whitney U Tests revealed that for asking questions children preferred relative assistant significantly more than a precise assistant. Mann--Whitney U Test did not reveal any difference for endorse questions, and also, there was not any difference appear among ages.

The purpose of this study examines the impact of an instructional strategy on kindergarten children's narrative skills. The strategy was based on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) principles and was adapted for kindergarten children. The sample consisted of 85 children aged 5-6, attending six kindergarten classes in Crete, Greece. The intervention programme was implemented over an eight-week period. After book reading, the experimental group was trained in narrating fictional stories, whereas the control group was led in a brief discussion where they expressed their thoughts about interesting parts of the story. The results showed that the SRSD as a model of instruction helped children assimilate story structure and enabled them to apply it effectively when asked to create a personal or fictional story. The results suggested that the multilevel intervention programme engaging children in various ways (linguistically, cognitively, emotionally) have a positive impact on the development of children's narrative skill.

The purpose of the present study was to clarify comprehensively how and to what extent inhibition, spatial working memory (WM), and auditory WM influence agility, balance, and dexterity of motor coordination and comprehensive physical ability in kindergarteners. Participants were 43 children between the ages of 4 and 5 years old. The children performed executive function (inhibition and WM) and motor coordination tasks, and a teacher evaluated their comprehensive physical abilities. Results showed that spatial WM was significantly related to auditory WM, executive functions were significantly related to agility, and agility was significantly related to comprehensive physical ability. Furthermore, using structural equation modelling, we investigated whether executive functions influenced comprehensive physical ability via motor coordination. Results showed a significant correlation between spatial WM and auditory WM. Executive functions, including inhibition, spatial WM, and auditory WM, predicted comprehensive physical ability via agility of motor coordination in the kindergarteners.

Children exhibit a self-relevance effect whereby they share more candies with close friends and acquaintances than with strangers. The present study aimed to reduce the negative consequences of self-relevance effects by enhancing the behavioural control of sharing behaviour. This study initiated two behavioural control levels to investigate sharing behaviours in children aged 5-6 years. Results revealed that children with high-behavioural control had elevated sharing levels compared with those with neutral behavioural control. Compared with strangers and acquaintances, children shared more with those who have close relationships with them. Switching from neutral behavioural control to high behavioural control can improve the range of children's sharing level to strangers more than acquaintances and close friends. This suggests that the behavioural control did reduce the self-relevance effect, and the behavioural control was more effective in improving the children's sharing behaviour with strangers than acquaintances and close friends.

During preschool age, three precursors to self-regulated learning (SRL) can be identified: general self-regulation ability, speech competence, and executive functioning. There is evidence for a large interindividual heterogeneity in these precursors which may have an impact on the development of SRL. This study (a) examined heterogeneity in SRL precursors by identifying different SRL precursor profiles and (b) examined the influence of the SRL precursor profiles on the benefit of an SRL intervention and the developmental time course of SRL. A latent profile analysis was conducted with 230 preschoolers. Four SRL precursor profiles were identified. In a sample of 191 preschoolers, we examined if these profiles showed differences in the benefits accrued from an SRL intervention. Higher general self-regulation ability and speech competence resulted in a large increase in SRL. The results confirmed the heterogeneity in SRL precursor abilities in preschoolers and suggested such precursors can influence the development of SRL.

This study was conducted to examine the predictor effect of parents' emotional literacy level on the emotion regulation and social problem-solving skills of children. The sample comprised 480 individuals, including 240 children aged 4-6 years, who attend independent kindergartens in Ankara province, and 240 parents. Data were collected using the General Information Form, the Emotion Regulation Checklist, the Wally Social Problem-Solving Detective Game Test and the Emotional Literacy Scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. According to the results, there is a significant correlation between the emotion regulation skills of a child and the emotional literacy skills of the parent. Furthermore, the emotional literacy level of the parent predicts the emotion regulation skills of the child. However, there is no significant correlation between the parent's emotional literacy skills and the child's social problem-solving skills.

The mechanisms by which high quality, two-generation early childhood services promote healthy child development remain unclear. This research examined how participation in Early Head Start (EHS), a U.S. two-generation programme for children under 3, was associated with healthy child development to age 5 through parenting processes. Using four time points of data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, we tested a theory-driven model of direct and indirect pathways from EHS to children's language, social-emotional, and behavioural skills from age 1 to age 5 via parenting stress and practices. Results from longitudinal structural equation models for 2,555 mother-child dyads indicated that EHS participation was associated with increased responsive parenting during the very early years, improvements in children's language during the toddler years and, in turn, sustained language improvements through age 5. Long-term impacts of two-generation programmes may promote positive child outcomes in part by facilitating responsive parenting.

Fredrich Froebel was a scientist, both in instinct and in training, and his life coincided with an important and dynamic period of scientific growth. I take this opportunity to delve both into some history and futurology to examine the heritage and legacy of his work. The usual of interpolation is of reading into data: where there exist some consistent trends within a broad set of data then the reader can reasonably infer the value of intervening points, to 'read between the dots.' Here, I explore known features of Froebel's scientific life and then read--interpret--between the lines. Extrapolations, in turn, are inferences made beyond the data, surmises drawn from datum points already established. This is 'informed speculation'. In the latter part of the paper, I run with some of Froebel's seminal ideas into the near future, peering forward for issues in science education that might plausibly have Froebelian antecedents.

Friedrich Froebel is well-known for the invention of kindergarten and the pioneering educational philosophy he developed in the 1800s, which respected children's self activity and women's capabilities for the role of teacher, while promoting play as the primary medium for learning. His radical ideas and principled approach to early childhood education and care have inspired generations of educators to hold true to creative progressive pedagogies and the integrity of early childhood in its own right. Illustrated by examples from Scotland and Aotearoa New Zealand, a new era in Froebelian education is aligned with the concepts of revolutionary critical pedagogy [McLaren, P. (1999). "Schooling is a ritual performance: Toward a political economy of educational symbols. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Incorporated"] and teacher activism [Sachs, J. (2003b). "Teacher activism and mobilising the profession." Plenary address presented to the British Educational Research Association Conference. Heriot Watt University, 11-13 September 2003. https://researchgate.net/profile/Judyth_Sachs].

This study investigated endogenous and exogenous predictors of early literacy in Turkish-speaking children. Whether children's language and working memory performances (as the endogenous factors) and home literacy environment (as the exogenous factor) in the beginning of kindergarten predict the children's current and year-end early literacy skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, receptive and expressive vocabulary) was examined. The participants consisted of 441 kindergarten children. Results showed that language development, working memory, and home reading environment predicted children's both current and year-end phonological awareness. Language and home writing activities were significant predictors of the year-end letter knowledge. Working memory was a significant predictor for both the current and year-end letter knowledge. Language, working memory and home reading environment significantly predicted the acquisition of receptive and expressive vocabulary. In conclusion, results suggest that each of the early literacy skills is related to both the developmental characteristics of children and their home literacy environment.

Educational pioneers believed that the early childhood curriculum was inappropriate for most of the children. It needed to be modified to meet each child's maturing needs, abilities, and interests. The pioneers advocated that education should be more hands-on and assist children to function successfully in society. They recommended the initiation of project learning, which would be a preparation for the children's roles in life and creation of kindergartens. The practices in early childhood education have changed gradually. Numerous practices reemerge with novel materials that appear to indicate they are actually original. When present-day practices surface, early childhood professionals respond by generating other practices. Therefore, current practices in early childhood education appear to be associated to past early childhood educators, which are the pioneers. This article describes a few examples.