Greater public and scholarly awareness of the educational influence of males (men and fathers) on child development has generated a parallel need for empirical research into the gender-related structure and dynamics of relationships between girls/boys and female/male educators in early childhood education institutions. The Austrian W-INN pilot…

Early school engagement patterns set the stage for short- and long-term academic behaviors and progress, and low engagement at school entry can give rise to dysfunctional school behavior and underachievement in later years. Relationships with parents and teachers provide a foundation upon which children develop the skills and behaviors that are…

In Sweden, preschool inclusion is embraced and preschools are open for children both with and without special educational needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of a number of preschool units in Sweden that provide education and care to children with special educational needs with regard to organisation, resources and…

This case study examined the effect of quality preschool programming on child outcomes in a blended inclusive preschool program implemented in an urban school system in the piedmont of North Carolina. The blended inclusive preschool program was a newly initiated program in this district and had been in place for only 1 school year. The purpose of…

What does it mean to be engaged, especially when it comes to literacy learning? It is this question that drove my doctoral research in 2007 when I became a participant observer in a grade two classroom with the goal of making the everyday visible while sharing a greater understanding of classroom life in relation to engagement. Six years later, I…

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…

This study considered the facilitators and barriers of successful inclusion in Head Start classrooms by examining the perspectives and practices of instructional professionals. A cross-sectional survey design was combined with direct observation in inclusive Head Start classrooms. Survey data were collected from 71 Head Start instructional…

This paper presents results of twin studies pertinent to the development of a rating scale designed for use by teachers to identify anxious and shy children, aged 5 to 7 years, in Kindergarten and Grade One. Currently, no instruments designed specifically for this purpose exist. Children experiencing difficulty with internalizing disorders such as…

Salient early intervention approaches for children below the age of 3 years, such as home visiting, seek to strengthen the pivotal role that parents play in fostering their young children's early learning. Yet, measures that identify and monitor the ways in which low-income parents support toddlers' learning experiences are lacking. Without parent…

This study of a preschool classroom of 4 year old children examines underlying skills of number sense such as counting and spatial skills and Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity. It also investigates children's patterns of engaging in spontaneous mathematical activities in free-play activity centers in relation to behaviors associated with…