Overcoming challenges to quality early education in developing nations, TEACH Rwanda, one high-performing education system, offers a model of childhood learning through sensitive teacher dispositions, child-centred play, and culturally relevant materials. This manuscript provides a unique window into the practices of a quality early childhood…

Supporting parent-child relationships is vital for children's social and emotional development, future health and well-being. As children now spend significant amounts of time attending early childhood education and care settings, it is opportune that interventions be designed for educators to promote and nurture parent-child relationships. The…

Regular science practices in preschool are crucial for children's learning in science. Yet, preschool teachers may only offer science learning opportunities if they "are" and "feel" sufficiently qualified to teach early science. The present study investigates the relation between teachers' qualifications, their self-efficacy…

Despite the recognized effectiveness of naturalistic intervention practices, including activity-based intervention (ABI), challenges remain regarding their implementation. Assessing implementation fidelity can help understand factors that may influence their implementation. This study aims to document the evolution of ABI implementation fidelity…

The early childhood literature has documented the impact of early literacy experience on children's later language and literacy development. The research also showed the achievement gap between children from lower socio-economic status and their peers from more economically advantaged backgrounds. To address this gap, the existing literature has…

The paper investigates practitioners' perspectives on the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and its use for looked after children (LAC) in England. The paper considers what practitioners in one Local Authority (LA) think now that the funding has passed its infancy. Specifically, does EYPP funding help 'close the gap' for LAC? Q-methodology was used…

It is widely acknowledged that teaching and learning the language of mathematics is essential for the development of mathematical proficiency. Recent research highlights the need for explicit vocabulary instruction in mathematics. The Promoting Early Number Talk (PENT) project explored the effect of 'Number Talk' -- a resource book to promote…

Despite calls to better prepare children for school entry, children with social, emotional, or behavioural needs continue to experience limited access to care that meets their needs. Despite frameworks for Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) that may aid in addressing children's needs, bringing those frameworks to scale in early…

Decades of research have identified features of classrooms and teachers' talk that are associated with children's language growth. Unfortunately, much of this work has not yet translated to widespread practice in early childhood classrooms. Given the important contributions that early language development makes to later academic achievement,…

Based on the belief that professional competences can partially be developed through professional training a cycle of ten educational workshops was designed. Combining theoretical knowledge, quality practice examples and discussions, the workshops strived to improve professional teacher competences. The assumed outcome was determined by difference…

Knowledge and skills regarding policy and advocacy are important expectations for today's early childhood workforce, yet policy and advocacy content and processes have not traditionally been emphasized in teacher preparation programmes. This article describes an innovative undergraduate course that goes beyond traditional foci on developmental…

This paper examines the issues surrounding low-income immigrants in the U.S. and the ways they shape the educational experiences of their young children. Using a multidisciplinary lens including sociology, family studies, education, and mental health, the authors analyse multiple perspectives towards the educational experiences of children in…

This small-scale quasi-experimental study set out to examine the effects of a brief training programme aiming to develop primary school teachers' knowledge, attitudes and confidence in recognising and responding to children who display sexual behaviours. Data on prevalence of sexual behaviours observed by teachers in the study, their level of…

Early literacy skill development at the preschool level is critical for later success in learning to read and other reading-related activities. Professional development (PD), specifically coaching via performance feedback delivered through email, may provide a viable alternative to other types of trainings (e.g. workshops) that are often…

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents from low-income families in the USA has become a significant concern over the last 20 years. One of the major contributors to this problem is the lack of physical activity. The purpose of this paper is to describe initiatives designed to: (1) engage young children in physical activity during…