Only about 1% of the children receiving special education services are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). This group of children is highly heterogeneous with respect to a range of factors such as age of onset, degree of hearing loss, language and communication choices and access, and educational settings. Capturing the complex background of a DHH…

The climate crisis encompasses a constellation of risks that threaten human livelihoods, well-being, and survival globally. In this article, we present a new framework based on bioecological and dynamic systems perspectives, and on evidence for conceptualizing how the distinctive dual time frame of both acute (e.g., extreme weather events) and…

The authors discuss loose parts -- pipe cleaners, acorns, fabric, stones, and so forth -- as versatile materials not originally intended for children's play that they can manipulate, modify, and use in their play activities. The authors review the historical foundations of loose parts play, focusing on influential individuals and theories, and…

The way a young child uses language has an impact on their future life. Early language acquisition is a determinant in adult employment, mental health and relationships with others. At the same time there is a broad evidence base that play and learning in the natural environment is beneficial for young children's physical, emotional, social and…

The responsive feeding style has been researched to date using indirect techniques, mainly in family contexts. This style supports children's capacity for self-regulation, which is why the present study aims to directly and systematically observe the method in a school context, focusing specifically on the behaviour of two educators working at the…

Research Findings: Outdoor environments have recently become part of the early childhood quality puzzle, which has long been important to trace relationships between children's experiences in child care and their development. However, fewer studies have analyzed the extent to which the quality of these outdoor spaces relates to young children's…

Sense enables babies to perceive the physical and chemical changes that occur in the external environment. It occurs as a result of the dynamic interaction of sensory stimuli with sensory receptors in the eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin. The stimuli that newborns see, touch, and hear affect their brain development. The brain develops faster in…

Recently, biological aging has been quantified in DNA-methylation samples of older adults and applied as so-called "methylation profile scores" (MPSs) in separate target samples, including samples of children. This nascent research indicates that (1) biological aging can be quantified early in the life course, decades before the onset of…

This research explored factors promoting physical activity and development in early childhood in urban and rural areas. A sample of 488 urban and 387 rural students was selected through random sampling. Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The findings revealed that urban schools have more…

Background &aims: Language abilities of autistic children and children at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings) are highly heterogeneous, and many of them develop language deficits. It is as of yet unclear why language abilities of autistic children and EL-siblings vary, although an interaction of multiple influential factors is likely…

The main purpose of this pilot study was to explore the rate and extent to which school psychologists are considering different developmental, linguistic, and environmental factors of English Learners. The sample of this study included coding bilingual psychoeducational evaluations (N=120) for such factors using the D-STPGE scale as a guide to…

Children's time use is a complex developmental phenomenon in need of a more in-depth, detailed understanding. The present study aimed to provide a comprehensive description of children's everyday lives in middle childhood and examine how different portfolios and patterns of daily activities occurring at home, school, and community are influenced…

Violent crimes and domestic violence are notoriously high in South Africa, which leaves many children defenceless to struggle with emotions such as loneliness and sadness. The healthy development and socialisation of children can be difficult in a society characterised by domestic tribulations, poverty, crime, single-parent homes, and absent…

School-based screening instruments have traditionally focused on assessing within-child factors, such as a student's academic, social, emotional, behavioral, or physical development. This emphasis in school-based screening may be a missed opportunity to assess and ameliorate contextual factors (i.e., social determinants of health) influencing…

Drawing on the bioecological theory developed by Bronfenbrenner, the researchers of this study examined four environmental systems--microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem--for gifted children in Israel as perceived by their parents, focusing on a comparison between rural and central contexts. The rural context comprises peripheral…