Research Findings: An emerging consensus is that casual, direct contact with nature influences the development of children's biological knowledge. Here we review the existing literature on this topic, focusing on the effects of (a) rural versus urban rearing environments and (b) pet ownership and care on children's biological concepts and…

Research Findings: Research on the effect of experience on the structure and function of the brain across the lifespan pertains directly to the concerns of professionals involved with children's early development and education. This paper briefly reviews (a) the role of experience in shaping the developing brain, (b) individual adaptation to the…

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to test the premise that children's effortful control (EC) is prospectively related to their academic achievement and to specify mechanisms through which EC is related to academic success. We used data from 214 children (M age at Time 1 [T1] = 73 months) to test whether social functioning (e.g.,…

Research Findings: In the past 20 years school districts have increasingly adopted classroom-based social and emotional development programs. The dissemination of these programs, however, has surpassed our understanding of and ability to assess factors that influence program implementation. The present study responded to this gap by developing a…

Research Findings: This essay offers a review of challenges that university laboratory preschools face in providing a site for research that fits with other components of the program mission. An argument is made to consider paradigm shifts in research questions and methods that move away from traditions within the fields that study children's…

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool children's social outcomes in the classroom (including hyperactivity, aggression, and social skills) and their media viewing habits (including the amount of television they watch and whether they watch videos/movies that are rated as inappropriate for…

Research Findings: The influence of preschool quality on the development of 67 4-year-old children from poor and rural families in South India was examined. Children's developmental status was assessed using a modified version of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities and through physician ratings. Preschool quality was assessed through…

Research Findings: This article describes research into leadership practice for school improvement in Hong Kong preschools at a time when there was a move toward increased accountability. Two schools were selected for study, both of which were rated as excellent in the quality assurance inspections of the Education Bureau. Leadership practice for…

Research Findings: Social-emotional competence is especially important for children living in poverty, and effective assessment of social-emotional skills is critical. This study examined parent-teacher agreement and reliability of the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA; P. A. LeBuffe & J. A. Naglieri, 1999) English and Spanish forms in a…

Recently a school district colleague recounted a conversation with a young kindergarten teacher that had shaken her to her core. The kindergarten teacher (let's call her Ms. Post) said that nobody talks about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) anymore--everyone is way past that. The author and her colleague, two mature early childhood…

Research Findings: A description of the development and preliminary validation of the Affect in Play Scale-Preschool version (APS-P) is presented by demonstrating associations among preschool children's play, creativity, and daily behavior using multiple methodologies. Thirty-three preschool-age children completed a standardized 5-minute play task…

Research Findings: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the efficacy of a practice-based approach to professional development for family child care providers working in low-income communities. This approach included a literacy coaching component that anchors knowledge in practice. One hundred and twenty-eight family child care…

Research Findings: This article is a natural follow-up to intent-to-treat findings indicating that the MyTeachingPartner Consultancy, inclusive of online video resources and Web-mediated consultation, improved the quality of pre-K teachers' interactions with children. This study takes a close look at implementation fidelity within the effective…

In the current research project, the relationship between neighborhood environment and school readiness was investigated. To measure neighbourhood environment, data from the 2001 Canadian Census were used, while school readiness was measured using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). EDI data were collected for kindergarten children across…

Research Findings: The toddler stage is a unique developmental period of early childhood. During this stage, children are developing autonomy, self-regulation, and language capabilities through interactions with significant adults in their lives. Increasing numbers of toddlers are being enrolled in child care. This article focuses on the need to…