Teacher-child interactions in preschool children's play may enhance mathematics learning in several ways. As teachers interact with children, they may promote more complex, independent, and symbolic play. Resulting increases in play abilities, in turn, can enhance intellectual growth, including mathematical thinking. Teachers may also facilitate…

This study examined how early writing develops in Spanish-English-speaking children of Mexican and Central American descent who are dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. The emergent writing skills in Spanish and English of 140 preschoolers in a multisite study were assessed using name- and word-writing tasks during the children's…

This study describes initial development, feasibility, and fidelity of implementation of a vocabulary and language curriculum supplement that combined explicit instruction and educational television programming to enhance children's vocabulary acquisition. Efficacy of an intervention relies in part on its fidelity of implementation, but little is…

Internalizing problems are among the most common chronic psychological dysfunctions in childhood, yet the factors contributing to their emergence and persistence in preschool-aged children are still less understood. The contribution of specific individual variables (e.g. temperament), and that of proximal environmental factors, such as family…

The goal was to assess the role of invented spelling to subsequent reading and spelling as proposed by the Nested Skills Model of Early Literacy Acquisition. 107 English-speaking children were tested at the beginning of kindergarten and grade 1, and at the end of grade 1. The findings provided support for the proposed model. First, the role played…

The Goodness-of-Fit model [Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and development. New York: Brunner/Mazel] proposes that a child's temperament interacts with the environment to influence child outcomes. In the past, researchers have shown how the association between the quality of the teacher-child relationship in daycare and child…

In the present study, the associations between emotion regulation, temperament, and the quality of social relationships in early childhood were investigated. Thirty-one grade-one students were the focus of the study. Teachers completed the "School Social Behavior Scale" [Merrell, K. W. (1993). Using behaviour-rating scales to assess…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether preschool teachers' self-reported beliefs could predict their self-reported practices about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A related purpose was to examine whether classroom size and teachers' experience are significant predictors of their self-reported beliefs and practices. A total…

Children who expect they can bring about good outcomes and avoid bad outcomes tend to experience more personal successes. Little is known about factors that contribute to these "control expectancies". The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children's internal control expectancies occur in the context of parents'…

Relationships between exposure to preschool education and children's academic and social outcomes have been documented in Western countries. There is a lack of comparable research in China, where preschool education is relatively formal, but rather flexible in arrangement. We conducted research at six public kindergartens in a large Chinese city…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and parental involvement beliefs of preschool teachers and the parents of preschool children. Data were collected from 279 teachers and 589 parents via a demographic information questionnaire, "Teachers' Beliefs Scale"…

This study examined the association between early childhood classroom quality and preschool children's social skills and emotional problems. Teachers completed the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment-Clinical Form (DECA-C). Participants included 141 preschool children from 10…

The association between monolingual children's early language abilities and their later reading performance is well established. However, for English language learners, the pattern of associations between early language skills and later literacy is much less well understood for English language learners. This study examined language predictors of…

Home-based child caregivers face unique stressors related to the nature of their work. One hundred and fifty-five home-based child care providers in Oregon, USA, participated in this cross-sectional correlational study. We investigated associations between indicators of caregiver stress and child care working conditions, the quality of caregiver…

This study examined the relationships between the quality of parent-child interactions, specifically interactional synchrony (IS), and physical and relational aggression in young children. Seventy-three children (3-6 years; 44 males, 29 females) and their mothers participated in this study. The children's level of aggression was assessed through…