This article uses a comparative case study to examine how a methodological approach called interaction geography provides alternative ways to animate space, movement, and affect within the context of early childhood education. We take animation to incorporate the methods for representing space, movement, and affect; the social-material environment…

The transition between kindergarten and school life has long been an international focus. In Denmark, political attention is given to the idea of community as a key element to children's wellbeing in general and during times of transition in particular. Inspired by sociological theories we set out to explore the ambivalence of community. We…

Children identified with developmental disabilities or delays (DD) are increasingly being educated in inclusive mainstream classroom environments. At the kindergarten level, there have been pedagogical shifts towards the promotion of play-based learning, with few resources addressing how teachers can support inclusion in play. Forty-two Ontario…

Classroom space is a fundamental field of interaction in which all interchange and determination activities between the person and the social environment can be developed. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the systemic relationship between places and groups. It specifically investigates how the pedagogical reorganization of classroom…

Research indicates that early intervention can improve long term outcomes for students who struggle early in school. However, in multi-layered organization such as the school system, many elements may come into play when deciding which students will receive support. This study examined these elements including system requirements and expectations…

Studies have found a relationship between pretend play and self-regulation both during and outside pretend play; however, very few have investigated these three variables simultaneously. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between the frequency of role-play (a type of pretend play), self-regulatory behaviour during role-play, and…

Elasticity, the capacity for students to explore or investigate their own questions of interest during or after teacher-directed events in the classroom, is highly beneficial for students in terms of their retention and deeper understanding of the content. An elastic environment is child-centered and inquiry-based. An inelastic environment…

This paper implements a feminist new material lens to illuminate how the spaces and objects of play are actively involved in the enactment and normalisation of gender violence in kindergarten. Findings from data collected in two Canadian kindergartens show how the familiar and mundane spatial-material arrangements of play, namely the use of…

Research Findings: This study employed multiple approaches to examine the stability of teacher--child interaction quality in Chinese preschools. Teacher-child interaction quality was measured using the "Classroom Assessment Scoring System" (CLASS) on five observational cycles within a school day. Several different metrics of stability…

This article describes how kindergarten scientists at Caldwell Heights Elementary School in Round Rock, Texas created what they named a "Light Circle" using their classroom's south-facing window, its windowsill, and a small round mirror. The tilt of the Earth and the latitude of one's location combine to determine if the Sun ever shines…

Prior research suggests that visual features of the classroom environment (e.g., charts and posters) are potential sources of distraction hindering children's ability to maintain attention to instructional activities and reducing learning gains in a laboratory classroom. However, prior research only examined short-term exposure to elements of…

The modeling of a modern preschool curriculum is contextually conditioned and represents a complex process. Each kindergarten has its "own identity," its "DNA," just as children, preschool teachers and other participants in the educational process have their "own individual equations." Contextual learning is at the…

Previous research has established long-term benefits for children's successful transition to kindergarten. Yet a majority of the research focuses on teacher and school practices that occur before the first day of school, and less is known about instructional practices teachers use to build community and establish procedures at the beginning of the…

Innovations, such as novel evidence-based practices, are not likely to diffuse to practice without explicit effort and design (Rogers, 2003). In an effort to understand how interventions should be designed to meet teacher preferences, the present study utilized a full-profile two-alternative forced-choice experiment to examine teacher preferences…

The role of play in early elementary education (K-2) generates dichotomous opinions, and more research is required to support efficacious pedagogical decision-making. This pilot study explored the effects of pedagogical approaches on Title I kindergarten students' executive function (EF) to test the hypothesis that children, especially those from…