This study aims to bridge a gap between Vygotsky's seminal framework on the importance of make-believe play and adult scaffolding in children's cognitive development (e.g. executive function [EFs]) and research in cognitive neuroscience. Kindergarten children (N = 160) and teachers (N = 12) took part in the study. EFs skills and make-believe play…

In Hong Kong, play-based learning has been highlighted in the latest curriculum guide in 2017. While adopting 'child-centredness' as the core value of kindergarten education can enrich children's play experiences. However, little emphasis has been placed on how young children perceive play-based learning in the classroom. The aim of this…

The present study examined teacher sensitivity as a potential moderator of the relationship between children's temperament in infancy and their social development in first grade. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD SECCYD), we found that first grade teachers who were sensitive and responsive to students'…

Parental involvement (PI) in their children's schools has been shown to have a positive influence on the children's behaviours and academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of PI and relations of PI in schools to child externalizing and internalizing behaviours. Data were from the fifth-grade wave of the Early Head…

This paper presents preliminary findings about how literacy is taught at the elementary level in three grade-one classrooms in Jamaica. While this might seem rudimentary, there is a dearth of information in Jamaica about how teachers teach reading and writing. We attempted to fill this gap by conducting an exploratory small-scale qualitative case…

Early childhood educators are concerned about a "shovedown" of elementary school expectations, standards, and curriculum on to young children due to policy-makers' moves towards utilising preschool programmes to address disparities in academic achievement. This study employs interviews and classroom observations to contrast the…

The focal point of this article is a discussion of pupils' opportunities to make their voices heard and influence the activity in a Swedish leisure-time centre. The study comprises six weeks of ethnographically inspired field work including data from participating observations and walk-and-talk conversations. Two voluntary activities, referred to…

Decades of research have associated effective emotion and behaviour regulation with learning and social competence among young children. However, further studies on children's use of emotion regulation in their everyday lives are required. This study focuses on investigating six- to nine-year-old children's (N?=?24) use of emotion regulation…

A small-scale feasibility study was conducted to explore the implementation of academic language time (ALT) in primary grade classrooms with and without access to digital devices. Academic language time is a structural change that dedicates a portion of language arts instructional time to direct vocabulary instruction using evidence-based…

Much research has been conducted on children's self-talk and its use to regulate thinking and behaviour, but research has typically been conducted on audible self-talk when undertaking specific tasks designed by researchers and in laboratory situations. Addressing the need to study self-talk in the classroom and by students of an age when…

The aim of this qualitative study was to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) and tablet computers use in the first grade of primary school from the perspectives of three groups of evaluators, namely the teachers, the pupils and an independent observer. The sample included three first grade classes with…

This paper reports the results of a study concerning the expectations for the transition from kindergarten to primary school amongst teachers, parents and children in Hong Kong. It probes the expectations that teachers and parents have about children's competence in five specific areas of child development thought to be essential for a smooth such…

The effectiveness of educational activities on changing the handwashing habits of preschool children was evaluated using parental surveys and direct observations. Baseline handwashing behaviors were observed and recorded, and parents completed a pre-intervention survey. After interventions were administered, post-intervention data was collected on…