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We examined the relations between mothers' reading skills, home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills and word reading and whether their relations vary across urban and rural contexts in China. Four hundred third-year kindergarten Chinese children (M[subscript age] = 74.50 ± 3.77 months) were recruited from Jining (N = 232) and the small towns of Luqiao and Mapo (N = 168). The children were assessed on emergent literacy skills (pinyin letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming [RAN], and vocabulary) and word reading. Their mothers were also assessed on reading skills and completed a questionnaire on HLE (direct teaching, shared book reading, and access to literacy resources [ALR]). Results of structural equation modeling showed that (a) mothers' reading skills correlated with shared book reading and ALR in both groups, (b) direct teaching predicted children's pinyin letter knowledge, and ALR predicted phonological awareness and vocabulary in both groups after controlling for mothers' reading skills and parents' education, and (c) mothers' reading skills had an indirect effect on children's word reading through vocabulary (in the urban group) or phonological awareness (in the rural group). Multigroup analyses further showed that the effect of direct teaching on RAN was stronger in the rural group. These findings suggest that HLE exerts its effect on children's emergent literacy skills and word reading across contexts, even after controlling for mothers' reading skills.

In this study, we examined the relationship between phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), and character reading in Chinese kindergarten children. One hundred and twenty children were assessed in each of their three years at the kindergarten, with 12-month intervals in between. Using cross-lagged panel modeling, we found that: (1) from Time 1 to Time 2, character reading predicted PA and MA, and PA negatively predicted illiteracy; (2) from Time 2 to Time 3, MA predicted PA and character reading; (3) significant autoregressive effects were found in all three main variables at the two time intervals. The results indicated the benefits of reading experience to the development of oral language skills and the pivotal role of MA in both reading and oral language skills in Chinese early readers.

Executive functions (EF) and task persistence are key factors in academic development. However, EF and persistence have rarely been examined together, and it remains unclear whether these two constructs are independently related to intellectual development. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether EF and persistence in kindergarten predict math and reading achievement in second grade. We assessed 88 children (51% female; mean age = 73.4 months) on EF and persistence tasks at T1 and obtained teacher ratings of their academic competence at T2 (mean age = 94.6 months). Regression analyses showed that both EF and persistence predicted math achievement, but only EF predicted reading achievement. To sum up, our findings suggest that persistence may be particularly relevant for math, reflecting the ability to endure and sustain. These are skills that are typically not captured by EF measures. Consequently, early interventions should target EF and persistence to support children's mathematical potential.

The present longitudinal study investigated the hypothesis that early musical skills (as measured by melodic and rhythmic perception and memory) predict later literacy development via a mediating effect of phonology. We examined 130 French-speaking children, 31 of whom with a familial risk for developmental dyslexia (DD). Their abilities in the three domains were assessed longitudinally with a comprehensive battery of behavioral tests in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we examined potential longitudinal effects from music to literacy via phonology. We then investigated how familial risk for DD may influence these relationships by testing whether atypical music processing is a risk factor for DD. Results showed that children with a familial risk for DD consistently underperformed children without familial risk in music, phonology, and literacy. A small effect of musical ability on literacy via phonology was observed, but may have been induced by differences in stability across domains over time. Furthermore, early musical skills did not add significant predictive power to later literacy difficulties beyond phonological skills and family risk status. These findings are consistent with the idea that certain key auditory skills are shared between music and speech processing, and between DD and congenital amusia. However, they do not support the notion that music perception and memory skills can serve as a reliable early marker of DD, nor as a valuable target for reading remediation.

Early literacy skill development predicts later reading success, and development of skills in specific domains during the preschool years has been established as both a prerequisite and precursory for reading. Early literacy assessments typically include measures of separate skills across domains, and results can assist with determining where instructions may be most needed. When multiple areas of need are identified, understanding which skills to prioritize can be a challenge. Therefore, empirically identifying the relative contribution of each skill measured in preschool to subsequent reading success can promote more efficient systems of assessment. This study, conducted in the United States, examined the predictive validity of early literacy skills measured in preschool compared to skills measured in kindergarten, with a specific practical focus on identifying the most efficient predictive model for understanding reading readiness. Participants were 119 preschoolers (mean age = 66 months) who mostly spoke English as their primary language (79%). Results indicated early literacy and language skills in preschool are highly predictive of early reading in kindergarten, accounting for 59% of the variance in a reading composite score. The most parsimonious model indicated that first sounds, letter sounds, early comprehension, and expressive vocabulary measures adequately explained 52% of the variance in children's kindergarten reading performance.

Young students at risk for reading difficulties are likely to have long-term reading difficulties if they are not provided with evidence-based, supplemental instruction. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a Tier 2 reading intervention ("Reading RULES! Kindergarten;" RRK) and its promise to improve outcomes for kindergarten students (n = 92) at risk of reading difficulties. Participating teachers (n = 21) were randomly assigned to deliver RRK or business-as-usual instruction. Although the results suggest null treatment effects, the intervention appears to have promising effects on students' word-reading skills when implemented with sufficient dosage. However, most teachers in the study struggled to implement the intervention with sufficient dosage and adherence, citing systems-level barriers to implementation such as insufficient time. The results suggest teachers may need more systems-level support to ensure the intensity of instruction required to improve the early reading skills of students at risk for reading difficulties.

Background: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed across the United States. Given the impact of virtual learning and lost access to school resources, schools eventually reopened with COVID-19 mitigation protocols in place. This qualitative study sought to understand parental perceptions of school-based COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Methods: Using a phenomenology approach, nine focus groups were completed with 40 parents of children in grades K-8 representing eight Maryland counties. Based on acceptance of masking policies (as indicated on a survey), parents were sorted into 2 groups--lower and higher masking acceptance. A thematic analysis was conducted for each group and themes were compared between the 2 groups. Results: The main themes were related to parents' general sentiments regarding COVID-19, compliance, pandemic-related changes over time, changes in personal opinions, and in-person learning. Both groups described challenges related to inconsistent COVID-19 mitigation policies and practices, the challenges of rapid and frequent changes in guidelines during the pandemic, and the benefits of in-person learning. Conclusions: Parents of elementary and middle school children, regardless of general acceptance of masking policies, shared concerns about implementation and guidance regarding school-based mitigation strategies.

Teacher education has begun to embrace the use of 360 videos to improve preservice teachers' (PSTs) engagement and immersion. While recent research on such use is promising overall, there are specific questions that have been left unanswered about the construct of presence in 360 videos. More specifically, research has yet to fully explore how video delivery devices and PST characteristics may impact presence. The purpose of this study was to respond to this gap in the literature by examining PST major, delivery device (ie, head mounted display vs. flat screen), and the interaction between the two in informing presence. A total of 93 PSTs watched 360 videos and then completed a questionnaire. Findings indicated that presence in head-mounted displays was related to emotions and agency. Conversely, presence with flat screens meant familiarity and control. Moreover, PST major was a predictor of presence, suggesting that 360 videos should be personalized according to PST career and professional goals. Finally, the interaction effect of preparing to teach K-12 mathematics and wearing a head-mounted display had a negative and statistically significant effect on participants' perceived presence, thus indicating a non-cumulative effect.

With a sample of 470 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong, this study first examined these teachers' emotion regulation strategies assessed by a newly adapted scale, the Kindergarten Teacher Emotion Regulation Scale. Then, the study adopted a person-centred approach and conducted the latent profile analysis, identifying different profiles of teachers' use of the emotion regulation strategies. It also examined the relationships between these profiles and teachers' self-efficacy and two contextual antecedents, instructional leadership and trust in colleagues in kindergartens. The study validated a three-dimensional measurement of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation in Hong Kong, namely cognition-focused regulation, (negative) emotion-focused regulation, and behaviour-focused regulation. Moreover, it identified four profiles of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation strategy use with distinctive characteristics, and revealed some significant relationships between teachers' emotion regulation and self-efficacy as well as school contexts. The findings highlight the role of beneficial school climate in eliciting teachers' effective emotion regulation and thereby enhancing their self-efficacy.

Aims: To determine the associations between COVID-19 school closures and school readiness skills for Chinese kindergarteners. Design: We utilized the natural experimental condition created by local COVID-19 outbreaks in 2022 (Study 1) to compare school readiness skills of children whose kindergartens were closed for 5 months (Group 1) with children whose kindergartens stayed open (Group 2). We further compared the school readiness skills of one pre-COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2019) with one COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2021) from a fifth kindergarten (Study 2). Samples: For Study 1, Group 1 included 445 children and Group 2 included 584 children aged 4-6 years. For Study 2, Cohort 2019 included 156 children and Cohort 2021 included 228 children aged 3-6 years. Measures: For both studies, survey data on four school readiness skills were collected from parents. Additionally, Study 1 collected parental locus of control data from parents. Results: Controlling for covariates, Study 1 revealed that Group 1 and Group 2 did not differ in terms of language and emergent literacy or approaches to learning. However, Group 1 scored lower than Group 2 on health and well-being and arts and imagination. Study 2 revealed that Cohort 2021 scored higher than Cohort 2019 on language and emergent literacy but lower on the other three skills. Conclusions: The associations of COVID-19 school closures with Chinese children's school readiness skills were not uniform, with a positive relation with language and emergent literacy and negative associations with health and well-being, approaches to learning, as well as arts and imagination.

Background: Parents' high academic expectations are positively associated with young children's mathematical abilities. However, minimal attention has been devoted to whether, and how, different ways of conveying the performance targets would result in different outcomes. Aims: The current study investigated whether and how parents' perfectionistic strivings and concerns were associated with young children's mathematical abilities through home mathematical activities, children's approach motivation to learn mathematics, and children's avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Sample: Participants included 211 kindergarteners in Hong Kong and their parents. Methods: Data were collected through individual child tests and parent questionnaires. Results: Structural equation modelling revealed that parents' perfectionistic strivings had a direct positive link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via home mathematical activities, and then approach motivation. Parents' perfectionistic concerns had a direct negative link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Conclusions: Early childhood practitioners are recommended to raise parents' awareness of how to communicate high-performance targets to children in a constructive manner.

Evolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation). Describing and refining those ideas has increasingly received attention over the last two decades. However, we see two scopes of improvement in the field: (1) There is a need to examine children's ideas about evolutionary concepts holistically rather than focusing at specific aspects. (2) Although research has shown that older students have different ideas about animal and plant evolution, there is little data on children's ideas about plant evolution to compare with their ideas about animal evolution. All of this results in an incomplete record of children's pre-existing ideas that would help to design assessments or interventions. Consequently, we developed a set of questions, about the evolutionary principles and interviewed 24 kindergarten children. Most children had basic ideas about individual variation in animals and plants but experienced a lack of knowledge about the origin of variation. Most children seemed to acknowledge plants as living beings and reasoned equally about animals and plants for most concepts. However, many children failed to reason about reproduction and inheritance in plants because they believed plants would not reproduce sexually. Confronted with a selection scenario, most children struggled applying concepts previously shown on an individual level to a population level. Considering our findings, we propose ideas about how to measure and foster children's pre-existing ideas about evolution.

International research suggests that the success of re-entering school for cancer survivors is multifactorial. The quality of the school-family-hospital liaison and the promotion of social links between the child with cancer and his or her classmates appear to be central points. In France, the schooling of children with cancer is not frequently examined, and the teachers' experiences are never discussed. The aim of our study is to investigate the professional practices and experiences of French teachers in kindergarten and primary schools welcoming students with cancer, regarding international studies, to contribute to improving the handling of these children. By using an international survey based on the Delphi method as well as qualitative data, we investigated the point of view of 66 French teachers working in kindergarten and primary schools. Both methods highlight that strong collaboration with parents, the information provided by medical staff, and social connections with classmates constitute needs for interviewed teachers. In parallel, keeping a constant link with the children and their families, raising the awareness of peers, and providing personalized support to the survivor student appear to be major resources for these teachers. In terms of difficulties, both methods attest that teachers request training and more support to manage both survivor students' academic difficulties, peer awareness, and mutual understanding. Besides, qualitative results suggest a lack of efficiency in school-hospital liaison and in institutional support, which might be strengthened through standardization of the re-entry process and systematic monitoring of the school career of these children.

Education researchers and practitioners have been exploring for years the key factors impacting children's academic engagement. Still, relatively little is known about the role of children's social cognition in their academic engagement. Accordingly, the current study focuses on the potential indirect associations between young children's social information processing patterns (SIP) and their academic engagement through their social behaviors in class, specifically their prosocial and problem behaviors, and following by the quality of their relationship with their main kindergarten teacher. The study examines these indirect effects in one dual-pathway model which includes both a pathway from children's competent SIP patterns to higher levels of academic engagement and from children's aggressive SIP patterns to lower levels of academic engagement. The sample included 300 kindergarten children (151 girls; Mage = 68.76 months). Results showed that competent SIP patterns were positively linked to children's academic engagement, which encompasses both their academic self-perceptions and their attitudes toward learning, via children's prosocial behaviors in class and subsequently teacher-child relational closeness. In addition, aggressive SIP patterns were negatively linked to the kindergarteners' attitudes toward learning via the children's problem behaviors in class and subsequently teacher-child relational conflict. Results have implications for both research and practice in the understanding of the influence of social cognition, behavior, and social relationships on academic engagement for young learners.

Values, defined by Schwartz (1994) as basic motivational cognitive structures, guide life goals, transcend contexts, and affect individuals' courses of action differently depending on their preferred values. With young children, an important question that emerges is what factors underlie the linkages between their preferred motivations (i.e., preferred values) and their behavior tendencies in key social contexts. This study proposed one potential socio-cognitive mechanism that may explain how children's values are linked to their prosocial and antisocial behaviors in kindergarten via their values-oriented social information processing patterns (SIP) and their attitudes toward their kindergarten. The sample included 121 children (59 girls; Mage = 67.45 months). Children's values, values-oriented SIP patterns, and attitudes toward kindergarten class were examined in one-on-one interviews. Teachers reported on the children's social behaviors. Results showed children's preferences for self-transcendence values were linked to their more prosocial behaviors and less antisocial behaviors in class via their self-transcendence values-oriented SIP patterns and their positive attitudes toward kindergarten. The findings offer important insights into the socio-cognitive elements that drive values-behavior relationships, as well as the links between various facets of young children's social cognition and their social behavior in kindergarten.

Background: Digital literacy instruction is increasingly common in contemporary practices and can accommodate learners with a range of needs. This systematic review explores the use and effects of technology during reading comprehension instruction involving school-aged children learning English as an additional language (EAL). Our aim was to provide broad, global coverage that reflects the state of research in the field. Methods: We searched databases using terms related to EAL, reading comprehension and digital literacy instruction to identify relevant studies published on the topic between 2010 and 2023. Data were extracted regarding study context, participant characteristics, methodology, instruction characteristics and outcomes. We quantified the outcomes of instruction using standardised measures of effect size where possible and appraised the research quality of each study. Results: A total of 4382 studies were identified. Of these, 53 met our inclusion criteria. Studies were conducted across a variety of low- and high-resource environments, including countries where English is a majority language and those where it is a non-majority language. Learners from kindergarten through 11th grade were included across the studies. A range of reading comprehension strategies were utilised within the context of digital instruction, with multiple-strategy instruction the most common. Digital instruction resulted in statistically significant gains in reading comprehension in 32 studies (small to large effect sizes). Our research quality analysis revealed variability in terms of rigour, further adding to the diversity across studies. We conducted a sub-analysis of eight studies that met the highest standards of research quality. Like the full set of 53 studies, these eight studies reported on diverse types of digital instruction and diverse reading comprehension outcomes but tended to result in smaller effect sizes. Conclusions: Digital reading comprehension instruction can result in reading comprehension gains for children learning EAL, though findings are mixed. Further high-quality research is needed.

Many K-12 computer science (CS) education initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels have recently started to focus on engaging the young children. Although most CS education research has focused on the secondary level, only minimal research has explored how computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) can be taught in elementary and especially at kindergarten. Understanding how CS and CT are taught at the youngest levels is critical to support the creation of progressive quality curricula and professional development. Therefore, in this study, we delved into the CT/CS curriculum design considerations of five teachers for kindergarteners. Our findings revealed that the primary learning objectives encompassed: (1) Social skill acquisition, (2) Fostering a growth mindset, and (3) Developing basic CT competencies. Moreover, when crafting their CT/CS curriculum, teachers weighed factors such as (1) Their approach to adapting the CT/CS curriculum--whether it be a personalized approach or relying on a pre-packaged curriculum--and (2) Adhering to Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), which took into account individual abilities, interests, and socially relevant contexts. We conclude by discussing the ramifications of these findings in terms of professional development and the shaping of future CT/CS curricula for young learners.

The significance of teachers' self-efficacy in coding education within K-12 settings has grown substantially. However, the literature lacks subject-specific measurement tools tailored to assess teachers' self-efficacy in coding instruction. This study adopted a mixed methods approach to develop a reliable and valid instrument for measuring computer science (CS) teachers' self-efficacy in teaching coding. The scale development involved a rigorous process encompassing item generation, expert validation, and pilot testing. Importantly, this process unfolded in seven steps with two distinct phases, and each phase involved independent sample groups. Subsequently, a comprehensive survey was administered to two samples of CS teachers (n = 318, n = 295) to assess the scale's psychometric properties. The results revealed robust internal consistency and construct validity of the 20-item Coding Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (CTSES) with four intercorrelated dimensions: student motivation, subject knowledge, classroom management, and material development. Furthermore, additional analyses revealed the significant impact of teaching experience and self-reported coding knowledge level on teachers' self-efficacy in teaching coding. The implications of this study hold significance for both practitioners and researchers to understand teachers' self-efficacy in teaching coding and to explore its relation to teacher training, curriculum development, and the broader advancement of coding education within school settings.

Many K-16 educators agree that active learning is a key component for student success in life sciences. At the same time, some instructors are frustrated by inconsistent student participation in these activities and may revert to traditional teaching strategies. Horse caregivers face a similar frustration when they lead a horse to water and it will not drink. However, they do not stop offering water. Instead, horse caregivers consider two possibilities: the horse is not thirsty or the water is not good. In this article, we apply horse sense to student engagement. We start by framing common challenges within two larger categories: student mindset ("Are the student's thirsty?") and activity design ("Is the water good?"). For each challenge, we subsequently provide strategies to intentionally increase student learning while also empowering instructors to keep perspective.

Individual characteristics of neighborhood context, like concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage, are associated with children's cognitive development, including their academic skill development and executive functions. However, questions remain regarding how neighborhood structural, process, and physical features uniquely predict children's cognitive skills when measuring neighborhoods more holistically. Exploiting within-child changes in neighborhood conditions over time in a nationally representative sample of children followed from kindergarten through fifth grade (N ˜ 13,550), this study examined unique associations between structural (i.e., concentrated disadvantage), process (i.e., violent crime, learning resources, and aspects of school quality), and physical (i.e., green space and pollution) characteristics of neighborhoods and children's achievement skills and executive functions. Fixed-effects models demonstrated that increases in neighborhood violent crime and pollution predicted decreases in children's reading and math skills, while increases in neighborhood school quality, learning resources, and green space predicted increases in reading and math. Children's executive functions were better when neighborhood pollution was lower and when school quality was better. Our results suggest that improving neighborhood structure, processes, and physical conditions may foster children's cognitive skill development, especially academic achievement.

The strong association of early language skills to later reading ability suggests that supporting the development of these skills in children who enter preschool or kindergarten with below-average language abilities may lead to stronger reading skills. Despite this, few evidence-based supplemental language instructional programs exist for school-based implementation. The current study reports on two large-scale randomized trials of combinations of small-group, intensive language-focused instructional component lessons implemented in preschool and kindergarten settings. After screening on two listening comprehension measures, 740 preschool and 870 kindergarten children were randomized to business-as-usual general education or to 18 weeks of instruction that paired two of three possible 9-week component programs. Children were assessed pre- and postinstruction on a battery of proximal, instructionally aligned measures and on standardized language and early literacy measures. Results indicated significant and often sizeable impacts on measures aligned with the content of instruction received. Moderation by order of instructional components and child characteristics provides insight into the overall and specific benefits of early intensive support for language development.

Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is an autoimmune disorder associated with sudden onset of behavior changes. The prevalence of PANDAS is increasing in schools and interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge, and the use of referrals to the school nurse are important for supporting students. This project sought to provide education on PANDAS to the interdisciplinary school team and implement a referral process for students exhibiting behavior changes. A self-directed online educational intervention was employed. A pretest-posttest design was utilized to assess knowledge before, immediately after, and six-weeks after the educational intervention. A referral log was implemented to track the number of referrals to the school nurse. The final sample size included 19 participants. Mean scores increased from pretest to posttest, and the implementation of a referral system produced 12 new school nurse referrals. Further strategies are needed to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and support students experiencing health-related issues.

Purpose: The present study investigated school absence among 1,076 5-15 year-old children with neurodevelopmental conditions (intellectual disability and/or autism) approximately one year following the start of COVID-19 in the UK. Methods: Parents completed an online survey indicating whether their child was absent from school during May 2021 and the reason for each absence. Multi-variable regression models investigated child, family and school variables associated with absenteeism and types of absenteeism. Qualitative data were collected on barriers and facilitators of school attendance. Results: During May 2021, 32% of children presented with persistent absence (missing = 10% of school). School refusal and absence due to ill-health were the most frequent types of absence, accounting for 37% and 22% of days missed, respectively. COVID-19 related absence accounted for just 11% of days missed. Child anxiety was associated with overall absenteeism and with days missed because of school refusal. Parent pandemic anxiety and child conduct problems were not associated with school absenteeism. Hyperactivity was associated with lower levels of absenteeism and school refusal but higher levels of school exclusion. A positive parent-teacher relationship was associated with lower levels of absenteeism, school refusal and exclusion. Child unmet need in school was the most frequently reported barrier to attendance while COVID-19 was one of the least frequently reported barriers. Conclusion: COVID-19 had a limited impact on school attendance problems during this period. Findings highlighted the role of child mental health in different types of absence and the likely protective role of a positive parent-teacher relationship.

Aim: This study sought to investigate the relationship between knowledge and the practical application (including grocery lists, meal plans and food-related pedagogical plans) of Norwegian national guidelines for food and meals in kindergartens, together with the quality of food served in adherence to these guidelines. The study also examined the frequency of daily meals provided and the quality of food served. Moreover, it explored whether pedagogical staff's knowledge of these guidelines was linked to their practical application. Method: Data were collected from 324 kindergarten staff members by means of a web-based questionnaire distributed to both public and private kindergartens in Norway between 2018 and 2020. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were employed to explore associations between pedagogical staff knowledge of the content of national guidelines and food quality in line with national guidelines. Results: Of the 324 participating kindergartens, two-thirds were private providers and one-third were public. A total of 155 kindergartens were in eastern Norway, 41 in mid-Norway, 50 in the west, 48 in the south and 26 in northern Norway. The study found that pedagogical staff's knowledge and the use of national guidelines were positively associated with better food quality and adherence to guidelines for food and meals in kindergartens. In addition, the frequency of daily meals provided by kindergartens was associated with food quality. Conclusions: An association was found between pedagogical staff's knowledge and application of national guidelines for food and meals, and the quality of food served in adherence to these guidelines. In addition, a correlation was observed between the frequency of meals provided by a kindergarten and food quality. These findings suggest that stressing the development of a better understanding of the content of national guidelines for food and meals could potentially enhance food and meal practices in kindergartens, but further research to explore this possibility is warranted.

Continuing education programs for educators are designed to advance educators' teaching practices and ultimately advance students' academic success. However, many non-traditional wilderness-based programs lack evidence of proven efficacy. Experiential wilderness-based programs are believed to enhance participants' character traits through challenging recreational activities and experiential teaching methods. A mixed survey methodology examined the influence of an experiential wilderness-based training on K-12 school educator participants and used Kirkpatrick's (1959, 1976) taxonomy framework to organize findings into three categories: satisfaction, learning, and behaviors. The results suggest participants were highly satisfied with the program, developed positive character traits, advanced in professional development, and integrated experiential teaching methods in their schools. The results support promoting wilderness-based professional development activities for school educators to improve student outcomes.

Digital technology has long been ubiquitous in many communities within Australia and internationally, thereby requiring suitable digital proficiencies. While a majority of Australian children experience digital literacies as part of their everyday lives, limitations in access disadvantage others. In educational settings, there is a clear need for teachers to incorporate the digital literacies of learners while also working towards addressing inequities by providing rich literacy experiences that bring together print and digital forms of texts. Well-established understandings about the importance of literacy development early in a child's life support teachers of the first years of school to teach essential digital literacies. In Australian schools, teachers are mandated by a range of documents, including the Australian Curriculum, that provide content for teachers to teach. Situated within a frame of New Literacies theories, this paper reports findings from analyses of the ways these mandated documents may support teachers in the first years of school to design learning experiences that respond to learners' needs in producing digital texts. We then determine implications for teachers' responsiveness to these documents. With the recent release of the Australian Curriculum version 9.0, we argue for the pedagogical knowledge that teachers require to implement digital text production experiences within the mandates of the curriculum and, consequently, the professional learning they need for realising the potential of all children's digital capabilities in their classrooms.

STEM literacy is a desired principal outcome of STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. With the increasing popularity of Early STEM learning, it is believed that STEM literacy could be developed in the early years. However, relatively few studies have examined STEM literacy in young children. This study utilized the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to elicit the opinions of a panel of experts with diverse backgrounds and to construct a framework of STEM literacy for kindergarten children. The findings of the study illustrate what young children could achieve from high-quality early STEM experiences. This would help to promote curriculum development, performance assessment, and best practices in early STEM education.

Introduction: There are major differences when children with blindness perform construction tasks using haptics, without relying on sight, compared to when children with typical vision perform them through sight. When using sight, in all of the processes, the overall image can be grasped simultaneously while executing the task. When using haptics, the construction must be made by touching each piece sequentially and successively. In this study, framed block puzzle construction tasks that can be implemented by haptic means are developed with the objective of considering the order of difficulty of the task. Methods: In all, six framed block puzzle construction tasks were performed by 39 children with blindness, and the analysis was conducted from the perspective of the task-completion ratio. These six tasks were established on the basis of factors such as wood panel division and dimension, symmetry and asymmetry, and the number of block patterns. Results: A significant difference was observed in the completion ratio between one- and two-dimensional tasks, between two-dimensional symmetrical and asymmetrical tasks, and between two-dimensional asymmetrical tasks with multiple and single correct patterns. Discussion: This study clarified that the task order of difficulty is influenced by the factors of division and dimension, symmetry and asymmetry, and number of block patterns. Thus, we identified a task order wherein difficulty increases in the order of one- and two-dimensional symmetrical tasks and two-dimensional asymmetrical tasks with multiple and single correct patterns. Implications for Practitioners: Based on these hypotheses, providing instructions to children with blindness, in the order of simple to difficult tasks, is vital after ascertaining each child's level of capacity for spatial cognition.

Purpose: This study used structural equation modeling to investigate the dimensionality of language in Spanish-English bilingual kindergartners. Five theoretical models were compared, including (a) a unidimensional model; (b) a two-dimensional model by language (Spanish, English); (c) a three-dimensional model by domain of language (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); (d) a second-order model organized first by language (Spanish, English), with each language dimension comprising three domain-specific dimensions (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); and (e) a six-dimensional model with freely covarying language-specific domains. Method: Participants included 238 Spanish-English bilingual kindergartens, as identified by parent report of current language exposure and direct language measures. All participants completed a battery of phonology, semantics, and morphosyntactic test items in English and in Spanish. Results: The six-dimensional covarying model constrained by domain and language provided the best fit for the data, with six separate factors for phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics in English and Spanish. The excellent model fit is supported by findings of a [chi-squared] to df (degrees of freedom) ratio < 2 with no significance, comparative fit index > 0.95, standardized root-mean-square residual < 0.08, and root-mean-square error of approximation values [less than or equal to] 0.05. Conclusions: Results support emergent theories of bilingual language development. Application of the results to the evaluation and intervention of oral language abilities in bilingual children entering the formal education setting are considered.

Purpose: In this validation study, we examined the factor structure of the mediated learning observation (MLO) used during the teaching phase of dynamic assessment. As an indicator of validity, we evaluated whether the MLO factor structure was consistent across children with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). Method: Two hundred twenty-four children (188 typically developing and 36 DLD) from kindergarten to second grade completed a 30-min individual mediated learning session on narrative production. Performance during the session was rated using the 12-item MLO by clinicians on affect, behavior, arousal, and elaboration. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to establish the factor structure and reliability of the MLO. Results: Factor analysis of the MLO suggested a stable three-factor model with adequate fit indices across kindergarten and school-age samples, across both typically developing and DLD subgroups with good to excellent reliability. The final 11-item MLO (one item was removed due to low factor loading) comprises three subscales including (a) cognitive factor, (b) learning anticipation, and (c) learning engagement. Conclusions: The MLO is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing language learning skills in children with and without DLD during dynamic assessment. Practical implications and suggestions for future research addressing the utilization of MLO in dynamic assessment are provided.

A student's socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant relation to their academic achievement. Much of this work has explored this in math and reading, but less is known about how SES relates to science achievement, particularly in the early grades. Using quantile regression with nationally representative data, we explored this relation in 12,676 kindergarten students (51.2% boys, 52.2% White, 21.8% Hispanic, 12.7% Black and 6.6% Asian) and 10,339 fifth-grade students (51.3% boys, 49.4 White, 27.2% Hispanic, 9.4% Black and 8.2% Asian). We found less variability in science achievement scores for those high on SES than those low on SES. The scores of the high SES students cluster together on the high end of science achievement, whilst those from low SES score across the distribution. These findings highlight the need to explore what can mitigate the relation between SES and science achievement and where resources to support science achievement are most needed.

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has been implicated in increased mental health concerns for families of low income, we aimed to describe maternal perspectives about the pandemic's impact on their kindergartener's mental health during the 2020-2021 school year. We conducted 22 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with U.S. mothers with low income who had kindergarten-age children (50% male and 50% female). All participants were female, ranging in age from 24 to 44 years, and reported the following ethnic/racial identities: non-Hispanic Black or African American (41%), Hispanic of any race (36%) and non-Hispanic, White (23%). With a team comprising multiple researchers from varied disciplines (e.g., medicine, education and public health) our analytic process used an iterative approach for developing and revising codes and themes until we reached thematic saturation. Most mothers described negative impacts on social, behavioural and emotional aspects of mental health. Some described positive social impacts, including strengthened family relationships. Mothers described no positive changes to behavioural or emotional aspects of mental health. Maternal perspectives suggest the importance of prioritising access to screening and treating mental health needs to support children's kindergarten transition, mitigate pandemic impacts and plan for future disruptions.

An overarching framework in the field of developmental psychology highlights the close linkage of cognition with emotion; however, the extent to which this framework supports the relationship between executive functions and emotion understanding in young children remains unclear. Hence, we employ a longitudinal tracking study to investigate the bidirectional relationship between emotion understanding and executive functions. A total of 112 children (M = 48.01 months, 68 boys) were recruited to perform tests at three time points within 2 years. Results from our cross-lagged model analysis indicated that early executive functions significantly predicted the development of emotion understanding at Time 2 and Time 3, while emotion understanding at Time 2 significantly predicted the subsequent development of executive functions in Time 3, controlling for age, gender, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, the latent change score model analysis further revealed the developmental trends and interrelations of executive functions and emotion understanding over time. Specifically, children with higher initial level of executive functions exhibited faster growth in emotion understanding over time, and then this improved emotion understanding predicted the changes in later executive functions. Overall, these findings elucidate significant developmental progressions for how emotion understanding and executive functions interact with each other during early childhood.