This paper employs critical discourse analysis to examine the conceptualisation of disability within Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and to investigate how DAP addresses the role of early childhood educators working with children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. The research questions guiding this study are: 1) How is…

Professional development is an important tool for supporting early childhood teachers in implementing developmentally appropriate practices and child-guided instruction in the classroom. This phenomenological study explored five U.S. novice early childhood education teachers' experiences with professional development. Specifically, we explored how…

Organized out-of-school time (OST) activities can provide youth with developmentally enriching experiences. Summer camp is one such activity, offering opportunities for positive youth development and, in some cases, promoting socioemotional learning, character development, resilience, and academic and career-related outcomes (Garst et al., 2011;…

Play-based classroom learning environments have an immediate and long-term impact on children's optimal growth and development. With the continuing efforts of state and federal government agencies to fund early childhood programs with the intention of assuring that all children enter school ready to learn, enrollment into these programs continues…

Preschool through third grade (P-3) alignment is regularly named as a key aspect of early childhood education and the transition to formal schooling. However, little is known about P-3 alignment in practice. Using data from 265 observations of math instruction in preschool, kindergarten, first-, and third-grade classrooms in New York City public…

This article analyzes the perspectives of three preschool teachers on integrative STEM practices and the facilitating and hindering factors in their implementation. The participants were preschool teachers working at public preschools. They volunteered to participate in a 14-hour STEM professional development program and to share their…

Practice guidelines for early childhood education (ECE) and clinical autism interventions (Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention, NDBI) have emerged separately in history, represent different disciplines, and operate within different service systems in the United States. This article identifies priorities, principles, and practices…

Programs that seek to engage participants in arts-based programming may be drawn to creative youth development (CYD), a youth-focused, holistic approach to learning through creative expression. As the Creative Youth Development National Partnership (2018) defines it, "'Creative youth development' is a recent term for a longstanding theory of…

Background: Emergent evidence suggests a positive school climate may be a promising population-level intervention to promote academic achievement and student well-being. However, researchers have called for expanding the school climate evidence-base to better describe how the construct is associated with student outcomes. The purpose of this study…

School motivation as a construct is increasingly surfacing in classrooms across the United States. The research on achievement and intrinsic motivation has become more complex, given contemporary inquiries on trauma-informed practices, special education-related services. With the absence of culturally empathic practices, each of these factors can…

The purpose of the study on which this article rests is to supplement ECERS-3 observations of the learning environment (n = 31) for 3-5-year-old children attending preschool activities in Favrskov Municipality, Denmark. The paper gives an in-depth analysis of characteristic features of high-quality preschool activities within the areas of…

Two years after the State of Illinois enacted an extensive non-exclusionary discipline reform in schools, 322 key discipline gatekeepers were surveyed about the extent and impact of the new state policy. The results showed that several core provisions of the reform had not been fully implemented or addressed through professional development.…

Literature continues to suggest that physical activity is a viable modality in promoting positive mental health outcomes among youth. School psychologists may be well-positioned to incorporate physical activity within school-based mental health intervention service delivery. This study explores school psychologists' perspectives of using physical…

This article presents the findings from a national study on the experiences of educators with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in elementary schools and recommendations for practice based in our experiences as classroom teachers and teacher educators. Using responses to open-ended questions that were part of a…

There is growing community and policy interest in educational efforts among children and young people to address pornography. Education on pornography increasingly is seen as a necessary strategy in the context of young people's widespread exposure to pornography and the potential shifts in young people's sexual and gendered lives and relations…