Purposeful play has many educational benefits that support the whole child. As academic rigor continues to rise, the need for developmentally appropriate practices that support both academic and social emotional learning increases. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand principals' perceptions of the incorporation of purposeful…

Play occupies a critical role in the kindergarten classroom, and the expansion of formal play-based learning programmes have brought connections between play and learning to the forefront. With respect to social and emotional learning (SEL), child-directed play has been viewed as critical, while teacher direction has been framed as a potential…

In this report, we perform a descriptive analysis of kindergarten readiness in Illinois. We use data on the population of Illinois kindergarteners between the 2017-18 and 2021-22 school years provided by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In our analysis, we build on the existing literature and examine readiness over time, by domain,…

How do young children learn, and what do educators need to know and do to teach them? Covering the full birth-8 early childhood age range, this introductory text delivers up-to-date answers through a unique lens: a deep focus on the neurological foundations of developmentally appropriate practices. Preservice and inservice educators will explore…

This systematic review aims to identify the dimensions operationalized in different instruments that assess the developmental domains in Early Childhood Education through play. Research between 2015 and 2021 that dealt with quantitative developmental assessment instruments from 2 to 7 years of age were included. Instruments without psychometric…

Over the past decade there has been an increase in K-12 schools integrating yoga and mindfulness as a tool for improving children's overall well-being. However, one of the main barriers to effectively providing such mechanisms in the classroom is teachers 'self-efficacy and preparation to implement children's yoga. To address this barrier the…

Transversal skills describe a broad spectrum of skills that are considered to be essential for thriving in today's society and tackling the challenges of the twenty-first century. Therefore, a high demand is placed on educators to teach these skills to their students. Unfortunately, the conceptualization of transversal skills remains vague with…

The preschool years, spanning from birth to age six, are crucial periods for acquiring social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. An effective way to address social-emotional learning deficits is to implement evidence-based intervention programs. The purpose of this article is to review specific evidencebased social-emotional learning intervention…

Learn how to cultivate a commitment to justice with young children in developmentally appropriate ways (pre-K-grade 6). Transformative social and emotional learning (TSEL) is an asset-based, culturally responsive way of teaching that sees social and emotional learning and social justice as inextricably linked. This practical guide will support…

This study investigated the pedagogical strategies implemented by preschool teachers to scaffold social and emotional learning (SEL) in socioeconomically disadvantaged children (ages 3-4) during the 2020-2021 school year amidst COVID-19 in the United States. The participants consisted of eight teachers (representing four teaching teams of one lead…

Developmentally and culturally appropriate program behavior policies that are clearly communicated and implemented successfully can prevent exclusion and positively impact teachers, children, and families. However, it is unclear if policies are high quality or designed to equitably support positive behavior. We examined behavior policies from 41…

Educators have embraced the promotion of social emotional development, student well-being, and mental health as essential educational objectives to promote academic readiness and growth. To address known research-to-practice gaps and limited availability of evidence-based, universal high school programs, we took a community-based participatory…