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Research Findings: This study explored the relationship between family-work conflict and autonomy support among Chinese kindergarten teachers. Autonomous motivation and ego depletion were considered as the mediator and moderator, respectively. A total of 859 kindergarten teachers were recruited and surveyed online. The results showed that (1) Family-work conflict was negatively associated with autonomy support; (2) Autonomous motivation partially mediated the relationship between family-work conflict and autonomy support; (3) The relationship between family-work conflict and autonomous motivation was found to be moderated by ego depletion. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the contribution of resolving family-work conflict in improving kindergarten teachers' autonomy support. Effective policies should focus on enhancing autonomous motivation and mitigating the negative effects of ego depletion. These strategies are critical to fostering a supportive teaching environment that can benefit both teachers and young children.

This study examines the mediating effects of parental attributions of children's academic failures in the relationship between maternal failure mind-sets and their parenting styles. Participants were 323 preschool children aged 4-6 years old, with their mothers completing online questionnaires on failure mind-sets, parenting styles, and attribution of children's academic failures. "Research Findings:" The results indicated that: (1) a failure-enhancing mindset was positively related to authoritative parenting and showed no significant correlation with authoritarian parenting. Conversely, a failure-debilitating mindset was negatively correlated with authoritative parenting and positively correlated with authoritarian parenting; (2) the mediating role of attribution varied depending on the mindsets. Effort attribution did not mediate the association between failure-enhancing mind-set and authoritative parenting. However, ability attribution played a significant role in mediating the relationship between failure-debilitating mind-set and authoritarian parenting. Mothers with a failure-debilitating mind-set tended to attribute children's academic failures to a lack of ability, which subsequently increased maternal authoritarian parenting. "Practice or Policy:" These results provide valuable insights into the factors in influencing parenting styles, emphasizing the role of cognitive factors such as failure mind-sets and attributions of children's academic failures. The findings suggest that cognitive interventions targeting parental beliefs, including failure mind-sets and attributions, could be crucial for improving parenting style.

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; N = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP on measures of kindergarten readiness, chronic absenteeism, suspensions/expulsions, and grade retention. Phase 2 (qualitative; n = 20) explored the perceptions of school-based staff, principals, and district and community leaders on CPP's impact on parents, students, and parent engagement, and why they sought to continue CPP in the schools. Research Findings: No effects on student outcomes were found using administrative data. However, all of those interviewed described observed improvements in parent and student behavior and parent engagement and all schools have continued implementing CPP. Practice or Policy: Qualitative results highlight the importance of stakeholder perspectives and the limitations of administrative data for evaluating brief interventions serving families with complex needs.

Research Findings: Letter name knowledge (LNK) is essential for a good start in learning to read. However, the literature shows conflicting results. Using an associative learning theory framework, the present study examined the influence of child and letter characteristics on LNK in French-speaking children. Children aged 3 to 5-6 years were asked to name the 26 letters of the alphabet printed in uppercase (Study 1) or printed or cursive lowercase (Study 2). Several effects on their naming scores were tested: gender, letters in the first name, letter frequency in print, letter rank in the alphabet, shape similarity between letter cases, and phonological effects related to letter name type. Learning to name uppercase letters relied primarily on knowledge of the personal name letters, whereas learning to name lowercase letters relied heavily on the similarity in shape of these letters to their uppercase counterparts (or for cursive letters, to their lowercase printed analogs). Practice or Policy: Some practical consequences are drawn from the associative learning perspective, such as pairing uppercase and lowercase letters with their name and sound at the same time. In addition, grouping letters according to their shape stability through their case may be an advantageous strategy for teaching letter names.

Research Findings: This study explored the mathematical belief profiles of Chinese early childhood teachers and examined the associations with teacher characteristics. A total of 391 teachers completed the "Early Childhood Teacher Mathematical Belief Scale," of which 36 teachers were interviewed to provide further information. The latent profile analysis identified three distinct mathematical belief profiles: (1) Constructivist profile, (2) Mixed high constructivist and traditional profile, and (3) Mixed low constructivist and traditional profile. Teachers with "bianzhi," more than 15 years of teaching experience, and having received professional development in early math were more likely to adopt a Constructivist profile. Practice or Policy: The results showed there are intra-cultural variations in Chinese teachers' beliefs about early math teaching and learning. This study highlights the need for early childhood teacher educators and policymakers to consider how to help teachers find an appropriate balance between western pedagogies and Chinese traditions.

"Research Findings:" Sustained attention is a fundamental cognitive function for young children's development. We investigated the effects of school-based audiovisual game training with parental involvement on sustained attention (SA) in 5-6-year-old Chinese children. Totally 75 children and their parents participated and were assigned into three groups. The School Practice Intervention (SPI) group and the Parental Involvement Intervention (PII) group underwent an eight-week audiovisual game training, while the No Intervention (NI) group participated in regular activities and received no intervention. We tested participants' visual and auditory sustained attention at four time points, i.e., pretest, middle test, posttest, and follow-up test. Results indicated that (1) children in PII and SPI groups had significantly greater visual and auditory sustained attention than the NI group in posttest and follow-up test; (2) the PII group showed better SA than the SPI group in posttest and follow-up test; (3) visual SA of experimental groups improved significantly since the middle test, while the improvement of auditory SA emerged since posttest. "Practice or Policy:" The play-based audiovisual training in a school setting effectively enhances SA for 5-6-year-olds, and parental involvement benefits the intervention. More efforts should be made to improve auditory sustained attention. The educational implications of these findings were discussed.

"Research Findings:" Although the importance of block play to children's spatial ability has been recognized globally, little is known about children's use of spatial frames of reference during spatial processing. This study investigated the intervention with guided block play to promote children's use of their intrinsic frame of reference, an identified effective frame of reference for spatial information. Participants included 42 kindergarten children (M[subscript age]=67.12 months, SD = 3.91, 48% girls) and 42 pre-kindergarten children (M[subscript age]=55.80 months, SD = 3.63, 57% girls) from one public kindergarten in Shanghai, China. A quasi-experiment method was used with a four-month intervention program designed for the experiment groups. Statistically significant differences were identified in the performance of the spatial tasks between the experiment and control groups in both kindergarten and pre-kindergarten children after the intervention. The results revealed that block-play interventions can effectively increase children's ability to use their intrinsic frame of reference and their preference in using this frame for spatial representations. "Practice or Policy:" These findings provided a new perspective on analyzing children's spatial competence and supported the benefits of block play interventions with empirical evidence.

"Research Findings:" Playfulness is an important personality tendency with an important role in the well-being, mental health, and various other aspects of an individual's life. Previous studies have shown that the development of children's playfulness is related to parents' playfulness. However, limited research has been conducted on how parental playfulness influences children's playfulness. The present study used a mixed-methods design to examine the impact of parents' playfulness on their children's playfulness and explore the mechanism of the impacting process. Questionnaires were administered to participants, who comprised 360 parents of preschool children, to test the relationship between parental and children's playfulness and explore the roles of parenting styles and parent-child relationships as the quantitative element of the study. The qualitative element comprised semi-structured interviews with 10 parents selected from the quantitative part. The results suggest that there was significant positive correlation between parental and children's playfulness and democratic parenting and intimate parent-child relationships had a chain mediating effect on this relationship. Further, parents' attitudes toward playfulness, constraints on children's play, and parental support for children in play were also the factors that influence the relationship between parental and children's playfulness. "Practice or Policy:" These findings provide approaches of interventions aimed at cultivating a higher level of playfulness, and simultaneously promoting the overall development of children.

"Research Findings:" This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Puhui early education services (PEES) policy in China from the triangulated perspectives of stakeholders using a developed and validated scale. First, applying a stratified cluster sampling method, the Puhui Early Education Services Policy Effectiveness Scale (PE) was developed and validated with 85 principals, 909 kindergarten teachers, and 4,128 parents. Second, the psychometric properties indicated that the PE was a reliable and valid scale with three constructs: accessibility, affordability, and quality. Third, descriptive statistics found that Chinese stakeholders submitted a positive evaluation of the PEES policy effectiveness, with the construct of quality ranked the highest and that of affordability the lowest. Fourth, parents have fewer positive evaluations compared to principals and teachers, while stakeholders from Puhui private kindergartens have more positive evaluations compared to those from public kindergartens. Last, hierarchical regression analysis found that kindergarten type and rating were critical positive predictors after controlling for demographic and urbanicity factors. "Practice or Policy:" These findings indicate that it is necessary to understand parents' policy expectations and improve the financial distribution to ensure sustainable and high-quality development of the PEES.

Research Findings: Immigrant families who represent a growing share of the early schooling population face unique challenges related to involvement in their children's education. This study examined whether and to what extent home-based parent involvement and parental warmth are associated with the socio-emotional and academic outcomes of children of immigrant mothers during the kindergarten year -- a critical and sensitive period for later school success. The study sample included 9,187 children from the base year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11. Among the major findings, the study revealed that Hispanic and Asian immigrant parents, on average, were less frequently involved in home-based activities and reported less warmth than U.S.-born parents. Additionally, greater frequency of home-based parent involvement was associated with better interpersonal skills for both children of Hispanic immigrant mothers and children of Asian immigrant mothers, but home-based involvement was also positively associated with reading and math scores for children of Asian immigrant mothers. Moreover, the association between home-based involvement and socio-emotional outcomes was manifested broadly among poor children of immigrant mothers. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the importance of understanding cultural differences in parent involvement and parenting styles to enhance immigrant children's educational experiences.

Research Findings: With individuals' increased access to information and communication technologies (ICT) in many places around the world, the definition of the digital divide has become more complicated than referring to differences in accessing technologies. As early childhood education (ECE) may impact children's life-long learning and development, digital divides may cause differences in how individual children experience technology-related learning across settings and are therefore important for investigation. This qualitative study explores teachers' practices of implementation of ICT in three kindergartens in China. Individual interviews and classroom observations were adopted to collect data. In light of concepts of the educational technology divide and glocalisation, this study locates participants' ICT implementation practices in the local and global literature for an in-depth analysis. The study found that the educational technology divide does exist in teachers' practices of ICT implementation, which may result in children's different learning experiences. Additionally, this study found a hybrid of Chinese educational tradition and newly advocated educational ideas in participants' practices of ICT implementation. Practice or Policy: The implications of the study are discussed to help accelerate the curriculum reforms in China's ECE context in this digital era.

Research Findings: The transition to kindergarten can be challenging for children and families. Research shows that some transition activities implemented by elementary schools can have small positive associations with children's outcomes. Examining the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 dataset (N= 13813), we explored whether children and families had access to different combinations of transition activities and whether those combinations were associated with child and family outcomes. Using latent class analysis, we found four distinct groups based on teacher and parent reports. Two groups had opportunities for engaging in many transition activities, while the other two groups had fewer transition activities offered -- particularly face-to-face experiences. Children from low-income households were more likely to experience fewer types of transition activities, and children from higher-income households were more likely to experience a more comprehensive set of transition activities. Group membership predicted children's initial adjustment to kindergarten, parent involvement in school, and parent satisfaction with the elementary school. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that more work is needed to develop policies and practices that ensure children and families with low incomes have transition supports available to them. This research also highlights the importance of considering how transition supports benefit parents, not just children.

"Research Findings": The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand parents' perceptions of changes in early care and education (ECE) in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Thirty-three parents of young children who attend three different types of ECE programs (i.e. kindergartens, childcare centers, and non-accredited programs) participated in a 30-minute semi-structured interview. Through an applied thematic analysis, three major themes were generated: Structural Changes in ECE Settings, Support from ECE Programs and Teachers, and Changes in Parents' Perceptions of ECE. Parents reported that they wanted their voices to be heard going through the changes in ECE settings. Some parents expressed concerns about the changes and were not satisfied with support provided by ECE programs. However, when ECE programs maintained regular communications, parents felt grateful, and parent-program relationships remained uninterrupted. "Practice or Policy": The findings highlight the importance of recognizing parents as a meaningful part of the ECE community, understanding and addressing parents' perceptions, and engaging parents in the frequent and open communication. Understanding parents' perspectives can potentially improve the quality of ECE programs and promote high-quality parent-program relationships. Continuous efforts are needed to further explore parents' perceptions in ECE research and practice.

Research Findings: The present study focused on the affective quality of dyadic relationships between teachers and young children in China and the Netherlands. We examined whether there were cross-cultural differences in teachers' and children's relationship perceptions, as well as the degree to which teachers and children agreed on their relationship perceptions. The Dutch sample included 234 kindergartners and first-graders (47.7% girls; M[subscript age] = 5.82 years) and 35 teachers. The Chinese sample consisted of 190 kindergartners (50.5% girls; M[subscript age] = 5.60 years) and 19 teachers. Both teachers and children reported about their mutual relationships. Multiple group analyses showed that, unexpectedly, Chinese children experienced lower warmth and higher conflict with teachers than Dutch children. In contrast, teachers from China and the Netherlands did not differ in the degree of closeness and conflict they experienced in their relationships with young children. In both countries, teachers and children had significant agreement on conflict but lacked agreement on closeness. Practice or Policy: Thus, it seems important to include child perceptions in cross-cultural comparisons of early teacher-child relationships as well.

Associations between home learning opportunities, parental growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is malleable), and children's academic skills have been documented primarily in European descent communities. Less is known about other communities. This study examined associations among home learning opportunities, parental mindsets, and child academic skills in a sample of 107 Latino parents and their kindergartners (M age = 67 months; 51% girls). Home learning opportunities were measured via a survey that included conventional learning practices (e.g. book sharing) and food practices (e.g. mealtime conversations). Parental mindsets were assessed through a widely used mindset scale. Child academic skills were assessed using standardized and non-standardized tests. Research Findings: Parental growth mindsets positively related to food practices ([beta] = 0.29) and there was suggestive evidence that food practices positively related to child expressive vocabulary ([beta] = 0.35). Conventional learning practices and parental growth mindset did not relate to child outcomes. Practice or Policy: If replicated in larger samples, findings suggest that Latino parents might view food practices as prime learning opportunities for their children. In addition, results suggest that food practices might foster Latino children's academic skills. Findings have the potential to inform family interventions targeting Latino families.

Research Findings: Early elementary school is a crucial time for the development of executive functions, but less is known about the impact of parent-child narratives on executive function development in children of this age group. This study aims to investigate the influence of parental scaffolding styles in parent-child co-constructed narratives in the development of transitional kindergartners' executive function. The sample comprised 35 Hispanic and non-Hispanic parent-child dyads, who were video recorded discussing a past experience at home. Video recordings were transcribed and coded for parental scaffolding strategies. Through principal component analysis, three scaffolding styles were identified: elaborative, eliciting, and echoing. Children's executive function was measured using the pencil tap task. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that parents' echoing scaffolding style was positively and significantly associated with children's executive function outcomes, after controlling for child expressive language, maternal education, and parent dominant narrative languages. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight that the way parents scaffold their children's narratives can have a positive impact on their development of executive function. It also emphasizes the need for educators and practitioners to recognize the role of parent-child language interactions in supporting children's cognitive development, and to collaborate with families to promote positive developmental outcomes.

This secondary analysis study examined patterns, predictors, and outcomes of dual language learners' (DLLs') development in Spanish and English. Research Findings: Latent profile analysis identified three groups of DLLs: Balanced Bilinguals (54%), English-Dominant Bilinguals (25%), and Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals (21%). These groups had fairly comparable Spanish skills at Head Start (HS) entry but showed distinct learning patterns in English and Spanish during the 2.5 years in HS and kindergarten (K), which resulted in group differences in dual-language skills at K. When their home and classroom environments were compared, Balanced Bilinguals had more Spanish exposure than English-Dominant Bilinguals and more English exposure than Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals. Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals generally had more Spanish exposure at home and in the classroom, less English exposure at home, and had parents with lower English proficiency. English-Dominant Bilinguals had fewer home literacy materials in Spanish and had fewer opportunities for Spanish exposure in their first HS classrooms. Balanced Bilinguals presented the highest K achievement; the other two groups showed comparable skills. Practice or Policy: This study demonstrated variations in dual-language learning among DLLs in HS and indicated the need for tailored strategies that address the unique needs of diverse DLLs presenting varying proficiency in their two languages.

We examined the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) compared to a social-emotional empathy-based intervention (EBI), and a passive control group in promoting compassion among Jewish-Israeli kindergartners. Three middle-class public kindergartens were randomly assigned to the MBI (n = 26;M[subscript age] = 5.03), EBI (n = 24;M[subscript age] = 5.02), or control groups (n = 24;M[subscript age] = 5.16; N[subscript girls] = 40). The interventions lasted 12-weeks. Pre- and post-intervention, children's cognitive compassion was assessed utilizing computerized continuous performance tasks for attention/impulsivity, and structured observations of attention to teacher and on-task behaviors; emotional compassion was measured with structured observations of prosociality, negative affect, social-emotional difficulties, and aggression; intentional and actual compassion was measured using a compassionate responding paradigm. Research Findings: Results showed that MBI participants decreased impulsivity and improved sustained attention, increased attentiveness to the teacher, and reduced social difficulties and aggression - these effects did not appear for either other group. Additionally, the MBI and EBI participants increased prosociality and compassionate behaviors more than the control group, however the magnitude of change from the MBI was significantly larger. The MBI increased cognitive, emotional, intentional, and behavioral skills and understanding that are essential components necessary to engage in compassion. Practice or Policy: MBIs can be effectively led by teachers and integrated into school curriculum to facilitate just and caring educational communities.

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to identify profiles of kindergarten teachers based on the observed quality of interactions with the children in their classrooms and to explore possible differences between the profiles in terms of teachers' occupational well-being and teacher and classroom characteristics. Participants were 54 Finnish kindergarten teachers whose interactions with children were observed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS Pre-K). The teachers also completed a questionnaire about their occupational well-being. Four interaction profiles were identified: Highest Quality, Moderate Quality, Lower Quality with Limited Negativity, and Lower Quality with Moderate Negativity. Differences between the profiles were found in teachers' teaching-related stress, general stress, and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the profiles differed, albeit marginally significantly, in terms of teachers' emotional exhaustion. Overall, teachers in the Moderate Quality profile reported the most favorable occupational well-being, whereas teachers in the Highest Quality and the two lower quality profiles reported challenges to their occupational well-being. The profiles did not differ in terms of teacher and classroom characteristics. Practice or Policy: Results suggest that teachers' professional development opportunities should focus on both improving the quality of classroom interactions and enhancing teachers' occupational well-being by reducing their stress.

Research Findings: This study examined the relationship between Chinese early childhood teachers' socioeconomic status and turnover intention during the COVID-19 pandemic, with relative deprivation and perceived support as the mediator/moderator. Altogether 1070 early childhood teachers were recruited and surveyed online. The statistical results indicated that (1) Socioeconomic status was negatively associated with early childhood teachers' turnover intention; (2) relative deprivation partially mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and early turnover intention; and (3) perceived kindergarten support moderated the relationship between socioeconomic status and relative deprivation and turnover intention. Practice or Policy: Boosting socioeconomic status might not be workable, but reducing relative deprivation and offering social support could be implemented to prevent turnover intention in Chinese early childhood teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Findings: The present study examined the transition practices reported by 59 pre-kindergarten (pre-k) and 186 kindergarten teachers in the rural Southeastern United States, and asked if transition practices related to skills at the beginning and end of kindergarten for 387 children. Analyses indicated kindergarten teachers offered more transition practices than pre-k teachers, and the transition practices children received varied depending on the students served. Pre-k settings with more students from families with low incomes were more likely to hold individual meetings with parents but less likely to offer classroom visits and orientations. Kindergarten teachers in schools with higher proportions of ethnically and racially minoritized students were more likely to engage in classroom visits and sharing individual child data. Although overall we found little to no association with child outcomes, data sharing on individual children was associated with higher literacy skills at entry to kindergarten. Practice or Policy: This study raises several future directions for policy and practice related to school transitions. Although most transition practices are designed to help children feel better about moving into kindergarten, it appears that some practices, such as data sharing, may also improve school readiness skills, making them a promising focus for future policy investments.

This study investigated the direct relationship between home play opportunity and prospective school readiness, and the indirect relationships as mediated through object and social mastery motivation among Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 106 local children (44.4% girls, mean age = 60.0 months) and their parents and teachers. Parents reported the demographic information and children's home play opportunity at time 1 (beginning of the school year), whereas children's object mastery motivation, social mastery motivation, and school readiness were reported by their teachers at time 2 (six months later). Research Findings: Results from the path analytic model revealed that children's home play opportunity significantly predicted their object mastery motivation, but not social mastery motivation or school readiness. Both object and social mastery motivation were positively associated with school readiness. Furthermore, the indirect relationship between home play opportunity, object mastery motivation, and school readiness was significant, but the one via social mastery motivation was non-significant. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the collective roles of object and social mastery motivation in predicting children's school readiness. The results also suggest the desirability of providing kindergarten children with a varied and accessible home play environment which may promote their mastery motivation and school readiness.

Research Findings: This study aimed to explore parental satisfaction with Puhui early childhood education (ECE) service in China using evidence from a national validation study. The Parent Satisfaction with the Puhui Early Childhood Education Service Scale (PES) was developed and validated with 4,134 Chinese parents, who were sampled using a stratified cluster sampling method. First, an examination of the PES's psychometric properties indicated that it was a reliable and valid scale with three constructs: government responsibility, kindergarten responsibility, and children's development. Second, descriptive statistics revealed that Chinese parents were generally satisfied with the Puhui ECE service, being most satisfied with child development and least satisfied with government responsibility. Third, latent profile analysis generated three profiles: low, medium, and high satisfaction parents. Fourth, hierarchical regression analysis found that kindergarten rating and urbanicity were significant predictors of parent satisfaction. Practice or Policy: The findings imply that more policy attention should be paid to the quality and fairness of the Puhui ECE. Moreover, this study extends the research on parent satisfaction with ECE services and provides useful tools to evaluate universal ECE services in China and beyond.

Research Findings: Kindergarten is the gateway to education and a point of great variability in children's knowledge and skills. As a result, there is keen interest in kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) to understand and address gaps in early skills. This study rigorously investigated the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Kindergarten Entry Inventory (PA KEI). Multilevel factor analyses provided evidence for three factors--"Emerging Academic Competencies," "Learning Engagement Competencies," and "Communication Competencies." Measurement invariance analyses indicated that these factors were invariant across gender, race/ethnicity, dual language learners, and special needs status. Support for concurrent convergent and divergent relations was found only for scores on the "Emerging Academic" and "Learning Engagement Competencies" factors. Analyses of classroom-level variance in PA KEI scores indicated that teacher education and experience predicted between-classroom differences suggesting that teacher characteristics may influence ratings of children's skills. Practice or Policy: This study provides evidence to support the use of scores on two factors of the PA KEI with all children to identify skill gaps and guide instruction to close them. Findings from this study can also be used to inform professional development on the PA KEI. Finally, this study provides a model for other investigations and efforts to improve teacher-report KEAs.

This study aimed to examine the influence of parent-grandparent co-parenting on children's problem behaviors and its potential mechanisms. Participants were 412 children aged 3 to 6 years from four kindergartens in Shanghai, China. Their mothers were asked to complete a series of questionnaires including the parent-grandparent co-parenting scale, parenting style scale, parent-child relationship scale, and their grandparents were asked to complete children's behavior evaluation scale. Research Findings: The results showed that--(1) Supportive co-parenting was associated with less internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in preschool children, and unsupportive co-parenting was associated with more internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors; (2) Supportive parent-grandparent co-parenting was negatively associated with children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors mainly through maternal authoritative parenting and mother-child conflict, and unsupportive parent-grandparent co-parenting was positively associated with children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors mainly through maternal authoritarian parenting and mother-child conflict, or directly through mother-child conflict. Practice or Policy: These findings provide valuable information on the importance of parenting styles and parent-child relationships between parent-grandparent co-parenting and children's problem behaviors in Chinese culture.

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical measurement model representing four proposed dimensions of the classroom ecology in pre-K to third-grade classrooms. The four proposed dimensions of Classroom Composition, Peer Network and Norms, Teacher Practices, and Student Experiences were evaluated using data collected in 182 classrooms and 2,662 students in two districts spanning rural, suburban, and urban settings. Overall, the theoretical measurement model supported the multi-dimensional nature of the classroom ecology across the early primary grades, although specific characteristics and relations within the four dimensions may vary somewhat in pre-kindergarten settings compared to kindergarten through third grade. Practice or Policy: The overarching goal is to advance research that conceptualizes the classroom ecology more broadly to reflect both the academic and peer environment. The study is important for advancing understanding of salient characteristics of the classroom ecology that may foster learning and achievement. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED619913.]

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to examine the moderating role of child effortful control (EC) in the relation between shyness and social-emotional adjustment difficulties among young Chinese children. Participants included 195 children (117 boys, 78 girls, Mage = 4.28 years, SD = 0.31) enrolled in 6 classes attending kindergartens, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers provided ratings of their children's temperament (shyness, EC) at Time 1, teachers and mothers rated children's social-emotional adjustment at Time 2 (one and a half years later). Results from SPSS PROCESS MACRO revealed several significant interaction effects between shyness and EC in the prediction of outcome variables. Follow-up simple slope analyses indicated that among children with higher levels of EC, shyness was negatively related to mother-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties, while among children with lower levels of EC, shyness was not associated with mother-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. However, among children with lower levels of EC, shyness was positively associated with teacher reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. In contrast, among children with higher levels of EC, shyness was not associated with teacher-reported social-emotional adjustment difficulties. Practice or Policy: The findings provide evidence to suggest that the combination of shyness and EC may contribute to children's social adjustment, which in turn may promote or attenuate socio-emotional adjustment difficulties.

This study investigated associations of three teacher-reported health indicators--hunger, tiredness, and sickness--with kindergarten readiness skills in San Francisco Unified School District (N = 12,423; female = 48%; M[subscript age] = 5.47, SD[subscript age] = 0.30, range[subscript age] = 4.67--7.00; Asian American = 26%, Black = 5%, Latinx = 20%, Multiracial/Other = 23%, White = 18%). Research Findings: Accounting for demographic characteristics, each teacher-reported health indicator was negatively associated with measures of students' academic and social-emotional readiness. These relations did not differ by student race/ethnicity despite a disproportionately high prevalence of health concerns among Black and Latinx students relative to White students. Moreover, teacher-reported hunger, tiredness, and sickness partially explained racial/ethnic disparities in kindergarten readiness skills, especially among Black students compared to their White, Latinx, and Asian American peers. Practice or Policy: Results demonstrate the feasibility and utility of universal teacher-administered basic health screening and underscore the importance of early childhood health for efforts to redress educational inequality.

Research Findings: Self-regulation is an important determinant of children's developmental outcomes, but little research has explored its different facets simultaneously. This study aims to explore a sample of Chinese children's behavioral, cognitive and emotional self-regulation characteristics by examining their gender and age differences, associations with academic outcomes and the moderating effects of age and gender on these associations. Results show that girls outperformed boys in behavioral and emotional self-regulation and K2 children failed to show any advantages on behavioral and emotional self-regulation compared with K1 children. All facets of self-regulation associated with children's numeracy and literacy scores, while emotional self-regulation's contribution was negative; neither age nor gender moderated these associations. Practice & Policy: The study considers Chinese children's characteristics of self-regulation in terms of gender and age differences in the context of the broader literature. This study supports the contention that self-regulation may consist of different facets. Findings from this study also show the significance of self-regulation in preschoolers' academic outcomes and the complex nature of these facets when they function on academic achievement.

Research Findings: The present study examines the unique and joint effects of individual teacher-child relationships and overall quality of teacher-child interactions on the motivation of 2,745 kindergarten children (51% girls; ages 5--6) from an ethnically and linguistically diverse county. Teachers reported the closeness and conflict in their individual relationships with each child. The quality of teacher-child interactions was measured via classroom observations using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Motivation was measured using children's self-reports of their school enjoyment, feelings toward the teacher, self-concept, and growth mindset. Multilevel models showed that teacher-child relationships characterized by high closeness were positively associated with children's motivation, whereas highly conflictual teacher-child relationships were associated with negative motivation outcomes, especially for boys. No significant associations were found between teacher-child interactions and children's motivation. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the role of supportive relationships between teachers and children in the early development of motivation, and potential gender differences that may emerge. Professional development and training that help teachers form positive relationships with different children from diverse backgrounds may support teachers in fostering young children's motivation.

Research Findings: The study examined the latent profiles of approaches to learning (ATL) in Chinese preschoolers and the association of profile membership with their academic school readiness. A total of 235 preschoolers (M[subscript age] = 58.07 months, SD = 10.09 months) were sampled and evaluated with the School Readiness Composite (SRC) of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised, and early achievement tests in language and literacy and mathematics excepted from the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS). The children's class teachers (N[subscript teacher] = 18) rated their ATL using a newly developed teacher-rating scale, and one of their parents (N[subscript parent] = 235) completed a survey questionnaire measuring family demographics. Results of latent profile analysis have yielded four latent profiles of ATL: the low group (27.66%), the positive group (20.85%), the middle of the road group (37.87%), and the social and persistent group (13.62%). The hierarchical regression analysis indicated that ATL profile membership was significantly related to academic school readiness, in terms of basic concept readiness and early language, literacy, and mathematics achievements. In addition, higher levels of ATL were associated with higher levels of academic school readiness. Policy and Practices: The findings highlighted the importance of ATL in young children, and positive ATL should be nurtured during the early years to promote their school readiness.

Research Findings: The present study analyzes whether child factors are linked to variations in teacher cognitive activation (CA) among individual children in math-related activities within Chinese kindergarten classrooms. The findings show that teachers tend to provide direct CA with high concreteness and that child engagement with tasks is significantly positively associated with the ratio of teacher CA to individual children. Moreover, a child's math ability is significantly negatively associated with both the ratio and overall contingency degree of CA that a child experiences. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that teachers should improve their knowledge and competence to adapt their teaching behaviors to child characteristics to provide children with high-quality and equitable math learning opportunities and that children should be taught to highly engage to obtain more proactive reactions from their learning environments.

Research Findings: The goal of this longitudinal study was to examine persistence development during the transition to school. The sample consisted of N = 88 children from Caucasian, middle-class families (51% female). Participants were recruited through advertisement in public kindergartens and were tested twice, in kindergarten (mean age = 73.4 months) and second grade (mean age = 94.6 months). We computed latent profile analyses to examine different behavioral approaches during a persistence task. Furthermore, we analyzed change and stability in these task approaches during the transition from kindergarten to elementary school. Analyses revealed three different latent profiles for both measurement points: a persistent profile, a mixed profile, and an engaged-disengaged profile. Most children were best described by the persistent profile, which was also the most stable profile over time (stability rate: 0.74). A less persistent task approach characterized children in the mixed profile and engaged-disengaged profile. Covariate analyses revealed differences between the latent profiles in terms of cognitive flexibility ([eta][superscript 2] = 0.102) and in terms of learning-related behavior ([eta][superscript 2] = 0.085). Practice or Policy: The results indicate that persistence difficulties can be found in two different task approaches. Consequently, we argue that these children need different types of assistance to address their persistence difficulties. Overall, the findings offer new possibilities to develop suitable intervention programs to support the ability to persist in the face of a challenge.

Research Findings: This study provides psychometric validation of the Classroom Engagement Scale (CES), a 14-item, teacher-report, formative assessment of behavioral engagement. It is currently used for all kindergarten children in a large, urban school district where it is embedded in the report card. Multi-level factor analysis revealed two distinct dimensions of the measure -- academic engagement and social engagement -- that comport with the educational research literature. Measurement invariance investigations provided initial support for the applicability of the CES across student subgroups and time. Finally, the two dimensions of the CES were found to be differentially predictive of important kindergarten and third-grade outcomes, providing evidence of concurrent and predictive validity. Practice or Policy: This study was designed in response to both the national call for routine monitoring of critical engagement competencies and the lack of validated teacher-report measures of these skills that can be used to inform ongoing instruction. This initial validation is an important step in institutionalizing practical, quality measurement within schools. Because of its strategic placement on the kindergarten report card, the CES provides an opportunity for teachers and families to share information about students' engagement skills and coordinate confluent supports to foster these critical competencies.

This study evaluated the emergent literacy profiles of preschool Spanish-speaking children. Participants included 440 children in dual-language classrooms who were assessed in English and Spanish at the beginning and end of their preschool year. Research Findings: Through latent profile analysis, conducted with fall data, four empirically derived emergent literacy profiles emerged. Further analyses were conducted to determine if there were differential relations between the literacy profiles and spring early reading measures of alphabet knowledge and oral language, measures that are typically used to evaluate kindergarten readiness for literacy instruction. Practice or Policy: Results highlight the heterogeneous nature of emergent literacy development in Spanish-speaking children and demonstrate the need for individualized literacy instruction during the preschool years.

Research Findings: The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of student-teacher ethnoracial matching in early elementary school by exploring two executive function outcomes -- working memory and cognitive flexibility. Drawing on nationally-representative, longitudinal sample of kindergartners (N = 18,170) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Kindergarten Class of 2011, we relied on a fixed effects methodology and found student-teacher ethnoracial matching benefits on working memory skills, though not on cognitive flexibility. Observed associations for working memory are of similar size to those for academic achievement outcomes and are largest for Black and Latinx students. Policy or Practice: The benefits of student-teacher ethnoracial matching on academic outcomes--ranging from academic achievement to postsecondary attainment--are well documented. Yet, we know far less about the role of student-teacher ethnoracial matching on human development. This study helps to address this missing understanding of the importance of teacher diversity in supporting students' outcomes.

Research Findings: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of social competence and the moderating role of teacher-child conflict in the relation between maternal overcontrol and Chinese preschooler's internalizing problems. Participants were 216 children aged 3-4 years, from two kindergartens in Shanghai, China. Mothers completed the observation of mother-child interaction task. Teachers completed the assessment of children's social competence, internalizing problems, and teacher-child conflict. Result of mediation showed that maternal overcontrol indirectly predicted child internalizing problems through its negative association with child social competence. Moderated mediation results show that teacher-child conflict moderated the relation between maternal overcontrol and child social competence. Moreover, lower levels of teacher-student conflict can buffer the negative impact of maternal overcontrol on child social competence, and thus reduce children's internalizing problems. Practice or Policy: Maternal overcontrol as a negative parenting is related to children's maladjustment in current China. Reducing teacher-child conflict might alleviate the negative effects of maternal overcontrol on child social adjustment.

Research Findings: This study examined age-based developmental trajectories of four key number sense (NS) skills within an accelerated longitudinal design. Using data from 408 preschoolers, ages 45 to 68 months, linear and latent basis growth curves were evaluated. Results indicated growth across NS skills was best represented as nonlinear for all but number naming. Significant variation in initial performance at 45 months was evident across skills, as was significant variation in growth for all skills but number naming. Practice or Policy: Mathematical skills at kindergarten entry have been supported as strong predictors of subsequent academic achievement as well as social emotional skills. Results of this study advance our understanding of the development of key skills in early mathematics during the preschool period and provide additional information about patterns of development of key NS skills across the preschool years. This information can be used to inform measurement development, consider timing of assessment practices, and promote targeted instruction in early education.

Research Findings: The present study examined the extent to which instructional practices, including curriculum, in pre-K through third grade are vertically aligned. Attention was directed to teachers' grouping practices, academic content, and pedagogical methods given their importance for students' learning. Variable- and person-centered analyses examined these practices for a sample of 1,095 students in 179 pre-K through third-grade classrooms. A comparison of practices indicated that pre-K practices were significantly mis-aligned from those used in kindergarten through third grade, whereas kindergarten practices were well aligned with practices used in the older grades. Examination of profiles of classroom practices showed there to be four profiles, one of which was considered as "academic-light group work," which was dominated by pre-K and kindergarten classrooms. Practice or policy: Overall, this study found that instructional practices in pre-K were starkly different from those in kindergarten through third grade, and that kindergarten appears to be highly academic for about two-thirds of classrooms. This work underscores the importance of practices and policies that promote alignment from pre-K into the primary grades and how it might be enhanced. [For the grantee submission, see ED620343.]

Research Findings: In this study, a combination of variable-oriented and person-oriented statistical analyses was used to examine the links between three temperament factors (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, effortful control) evaluated before entry into kindergarten and the cognitive and socioemotional dimensions of school readiness measured at the end of kindergarten. The sample included 98 children considered to be at risk because of their poor school readiness seven months before kindergarten entry. Multiple linear regressions showed that the temperament factors were associated differentially with the school readiness dimensions at the end of kindergarten. Three school readiness profiles (moderate cognitive and socioemotional risk, high socioemotional risk, high cognitive risk) were identified through latent profile analyses. A multinomial logistic regression showed that the temperament factors helped predict membership in the profiles. Practice or policy: Temperament thus represents an important determinant of school readiness and could be used to identify, within an at-risk population, children who are likely to present risks of a different nature at the end of kindergarten. Prevention programs and closer supervision during the transition to school could then be offered to these children.

Research Findings: Parental responsiveness and social mastery motivation are important correlates of children's social-emotional development, but little research has examined the relationships among these factors. The present study investigated the direct and indirect relationships among paternal and maternal responsiveness, social mastery motivation, and social-emotional competence of Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 188 children (105 boys; mean age 3.82) and their parents recruited through local kindergartens' parent groups. Parents reported their parental responsiveness, and children's social mastery motivation as well as social-emotional competence. In addition, children's receptive and expressive vocabulary were individually assessed as control variables. Results from the path analytic model revealed that social mastery motivation partially mediated the association between maternal responsiveness and children's social-emotional competence, but that paternal responsiveness did not significantly predict children's social mastery motivation or social-emotional competence. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the differential associations of paternal and maternal responsiveness with children's social-emotional competence. The results also suggest the desirability of encouraging children's social mastery motivation to promote their social-emotional competence.

Research Findings: This cross-sectional study examined the class- and child-level associations of social-emotional competence with behavioral and academic adjustment among Chinese kindergarten children and tested teacher collectivistic socialization goals as a moderator. Participants were 523 kindergarten children and their mothers and class teachers from Hong Kong, China. The mean age of children was 4.37 years (SD = 0.60), and 53% of them were boys. Using paper-and-pencil questionnaires, class teachers rated children's social-emotional competence and their own socialization goals, and mothers rated children's externalizing behaviors and school readiness and provided demographic information. Also, in structured interviews, children completed a Chinese word reading test. Multilevel models indicated that, controlling for child gender and age, mother age and education, and teacher experience of teaching, the class average of child social-emotional competence -- which indicated the overall social-emotional climate of the classroom -- was linked negatively to child externalizing behaviors and positively to child school readiness and Chinese word reading ability. Moreover, children who scored higher on social-emotional competence -- compared to their own class average (i.e., their everyday companions) -- scored lower on externalizing behaviors and higher on school readiness. There was no evidence of the moderating role of teacher socialization goals, however. Practice or Policy: Findings pointed to the utility of using class-wide initiatives to promote the overall classroom climate and using child-specific activities to promote individual social-emotional development.

School-based Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs emerged in North America and have not traditionally focused on embodied learning processes that are situated in the learners' contexts and lived experiences. Thus, we present evidence and advance the case that transferable social-emotional competencies are inherently culturally responsive or situated in learners' authentic experiences and are inherently embodied. We also introduce a conceptual model grounded in bioecological and embodied theoretical frameworks to help guide future research and practice for culturally relevant SEL. Research findings: We used parts of the scoping review methodology to search and screen the published empirical literature on SEL and embodied learning. Findings highlight the increase in SEL research over the past 2 decades but with extremely limited work done outside of North America, particularly in Japan and South Africa. Consequently, we explored what culturally responsive, situated, and embodied SEL would look like across three different cultural contexts (i.e., in North America, Japan, and South Africa). Practice or Policy: While the principles, goals, and key skills of SEL might apply to most or even all cultures, an emic approach where culture-specific values, beliefs, or customs drive the development and implementation of SEL curriculum, and incorporates the meaningful inclusion of key community members is needed to be effective for specific groups of students. To implement and facilitate effective SEL programs within diverse and multicultural settings, policies and practices related to SEL curriculum need to consider the backgrounds and needs of the children, families, and communities that are being served.

Social-behavioral functioning during early childhood is associated with children's academic and social success concurrently and over time. This study explored how concurrent, year-to-year, and sustained parent--teacher and student--teacher relationships predicted children's social skills and problem behaviors across the preschool to Grade 1 transitions. Participants were 233 children (M = 5.32 years [SD = 0.27] in preschool), their parents, and their preschool (n = 65), kindergarten (n = 116), and first grade (n = 117) teachers enrolled in low-income public schools in rural and urban communities. Research Findings: Children's relationships with teachers were associated with social-behavioral functioning immediately and over time. Positive, sustained relationships from preschool through first grade predicted social-behavioral benefits. Conflictual relationships related to higher problem behaviors. Parent-teacher relationships as reported by teachers predicted children's positive social-behavioral functioning in the same year. Parents' reports of close relationships with teachers predicted more problem behaviors in the following year. Sustained relationships between parents and teachers during the transition from preschool through first grade predicted improved social skills and fewer problem behaviors over time. Practice or Policy: Providing targeted training and support for educators to develop and maintain relationships with students and parents can improve social-behavioral outcomes for children across the preschool to 1st grade transition.

Research Findings: This study examines the development of problem behavior in classroom contexts characterized by peer interaction among a nationally representative sample (N = 3,827) of U.S. low-income children from preschool entry to first grade. Latent growth mixture modeling was employed to identify unobserved subpopulations (latent classes) with shared trajectories of change, examine subpopulation members' social and academic outcomes in first grade, and identify demographic characteristics that serve as risk or protective factors for membership in different trajectory classes. Analyses reveal four common change trajectories (Progressive Optimal Adjustment, Stable Good Adjustment, Stable Adequate Adjustment, Progressive At-Risk Adjustment), which are differentiated by higher versus lower levels of problem behavior and relative change versus relative stability of the problem behavior trajectory. Classes with greater peer context behavior problems had typically poorer student-teacher relationships, greater parent-observed behavior problems, and lower reading and math skills at the end of first grade. Multiple child and family characteristics were differentially associated with class membership. Practice or Policy: These findings highlight the transition to formal schooling as a critical period in the development of peer context behavior for some--but not all--children, and suggest that children with peer context behavior problems may benefit from targeted academic and social-emotional support before entering first grade.

Research Findings: Early childhood educators play an important role in promoting children's social emotional learning (SEL). This study proposes a comprehensive coding scheme to explore teachers' strategies and children's responses in shared book reading (SBR), which create opportunities to share pictures and storylines to examine social circumstances and emotional situations. Drawing on videotaped observations of nineteen classrooms from a larger study in Singapore, SEL-related interactions consisted of illustrations or discussions with indicators from the five SEL areas outlined in the national curriculum. Results revealed that teachers' support for SEL occurred more frequently when facilitating interpersonal learning over intrapersonal learning, while children's responses accorded with the types of teachers' input. In response to teachers' strategies within the intrapersonal dimension, children provided responses to teachers' prompts for identifying self-abilities and preferences most frequently. Within the interpersonal dimension, children provided responses to teachers' prompts for labelling others' emotions most frequently. Practice or Policy: Our findings demonstrate that SBR can be useful in promoting SEL even without books that explicitly convey skills and messages relating to SEL. The results imply that teachers should increase their input on facilitating intrapersonal learning topromote children's balanced development in the understanding of themselves and others.

Research Findings: This study evaluated the impacts of a bilingual Chinese-English reading program on Chinese children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families. Ninety-nine children in the third year of kindergarten (K3) were recruited from five local kindergartens in two low-SES districts in Hong Kong, China. Children in the intervention group who participated in 15-weeks of language and literacy intervention were compared to a control group of 40 children who attended only regular literacy classes in their kindergartens. ANCOVA analyses revealed that after controlling for child gender and age, the intervention group performed significantly better than the control group on the posttest in Chinese phonological awareness and morphological awareness, English phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and English word reading. These results point to a reading program's utility, emphasizing multi-component interventions for early bilingual language and literacy learning. Practice or Policy: Findings support the development of locally derived, evidence-based reading programs to cater to low-SES children's learning needs. These findings may also provide research-based evidence for formulating public policies and services, targeting the early language and literacy issues for low-SES children and their families and raising public awareness of the influence of poverty on child development in the early years.

Research Findings: The present study examined patterns of executive function (EF) development among socio-demographically diverse children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort: 2011, we estimated children's growth in working memory and cognitive flexibility across four socio-demographic profiles of children, which we identified using cluster analysis. We then explored the extent to which child, family, and classroom characteristics explained heterogeneity in EF development across the child profiles. Results indicate that low-SES and Hispanic dual-language learning children with immigrant parents entered kindergarten with the lowest average EF skills but then made remarkable EF gains. This catch-up was largely explained by a negative association between initial EF skills and subsequent EF gains. However, low-SES, non-DLL Black and Hispanic children had similarly low initial EF skills, but did not exhibit the same pattern of catch-up, in part due to their reduced likelihood of enjoying positive relationships with their teachers. Practice or Policy: The findings add to the growing literature on heterogeneity in EF development and demonstrate the need to assist teachers in forming positive relationships with all children in socio-demographically diverse classrooms.

Research Findings: In order to investigate the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on preschooler's social-emotional learning skills, the present pre-post test pilot study assessed prosocial behavior, self-regulation and perspective taking in 21 preschool children, randomly assigned either to the experimental or the control group. Children who received the intervention showed significant improvements in prosocial behavior, in the inhibitory processes of self-regulation and in the ability of perspective taking, particularly in its emotional and cognitive components. Practice or Policy: These preliminary findings, which should be supported by further empirical investigation in larger samples, encourage the use of mindfulness-practices in preschool-age children in order to enhance social-emotional competence.

Studies with extensive observations of real-life emotions at school are rare but might be especially useful for predicting school-related outcomes. This study evaluated observations of negative emotion expressivity in lunch and recreation settings across kindergarten, first grade, and second grade (N = 301), kindergarten teachers' reports of children's effortful control, and kindergarten and second grade teachers' reports of their perceived conflict with children. In latent growth curve analyses, we tested whether individual trajectories of negative expressivity from kindergarten to second grade, based on estimated slopes, predicted teacher-student conflict in second grade, and whether effortful control in kindergarten moderated this association. Research findings: Negative expressivity levels in kindergarten significantly predicted higher levels of teacher-student conflict in second grade, controlling prior teacher-student conflict. Furthermore, greater increases in negative expressivity from kindergarten to second grade were associated with higher teacher-student conflict in second grade especially for children who had difficulties with effortful control in kindergarten. Practice or Policy: Results from this study have the potential to inform programs focused on reducing teacher-student conflict. The findings highlight the possibility of targeting both effortful control and negative emotion in the early elementary school transition as a means to improve teacher-student relationships.