Quality teacher-child interaction is considered one of the primary mechanisms through which educational experience fosters the development of children's competencies. Teachers' self-efficacy and beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices influence the quality of classroom interaction. However, the findings are mixed, and more research…

The purpose of this preliminary pilot study is to identify how imaginative teaching methods and low-technology prototyping promote social-emotional (SE) skills development in elementary school students. Particularly, two are the objectives of the study, firstly to test the research designs feasibility and validate the research tools and secondly,…

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…

Since the first release of NAEYC's guidelines, DAP has received a lot of attention from childhood professionals in the United States. Internationally, many countries have also shown a growing interest regarding DAP, yet interest in DAP is new to the Saudi educators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' subjective…

Although the social-emotional competence of preservice early childhood professionals (ECPs) has been associated with the quality of their interactions with young children, there is limited understanding of these associations during preservice training. Utilizing a sample of students with career goals in early childhood (N=473), we examined the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the transference of an informational brochure elucidating the importance of developmentally appropriate practice, along with assessing the interplay between prior implicit beliefs about educating and raising children and the informational brochure. Participants included 210 college students who completed…

The increasing accountability framework in Kindergarten education has put pressure on teachers to ensure that students reach certain literacy milestones before proceeding to the subsequent grade. One result of this shift is a tension between an emphasis on academic learning and the use of developmentally appropriate practices, such as play.…

Preschool teachers are an important element of high-quality, developmentally and multiculturally appropriate early childhood programmes. 7.5% of the total 160,000 children enrolled in Hong Kong kindergartens are ethnic-minority students and they are neglected in the Hong Kong education system until 2008. This study investigated the perceptions of…

The quality of early caregiving and educational environments has a significant effect on children's later cognitive outcomes. Early childhood teachers are an important determining factor in the quality of these environments and therefore they need appropriate professional preparation. The purpose of this study was to describe the ways in which…

Background: Early childhood teachers' child-centered beliefs, defined as teachers' attitudes about how children learn, have been associated with teachers' developmentally appropriate practices and positive child outcomes. The predictors of teachers' child-centered beliefs, however, are less frequently explored. Objective: This study tested whether…

This study investigated the perceived beliefs and reported practices of fourth-grade English teachers in primary (elementary) public schools in Turkey. Significantly, it aimed to examine the participating K-4 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' beliefs about the developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practices, discover the…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether preschool teachers' self-reported beliefs could predict their self-reported practices about developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). A related purpose was to examine whether classroom size and teachers' experience are significant predictors of their self-reported beliefs and practices. A total…

Against the backdrop of growing international concern for a narrowing view of early literacy, this study was initiated to determine how teachers of four-year-olds view their task of fostering early literacy. This paper reports on the first steps to design and validate an instrument which captures teachers' perceptions of early literacy content…

We investigated direct and indirect effects of component skills on writing (DIEW) using data from 193 children in Grade 1. In this model, working memory was hypothesized to be a foundational cognitive ability for language and cognitive skills as well as transcription skills, which, in turn, contribute to writing. Foundational oral language skills…

We investigated direct and indirect effects of component skills on writing (DIEW) using data from 193 children in Grade 1. In this model, working memory was hypothesized to be a foundational cognitive ability for language and cognitive skills as well as transcription skills, which, in turn, contribute to writing. Foundational oral language skills…