Might dialogic reading require previous or concurrent embodied activities to be effective? Twenty-nine preschool children, ages 3-5 years, were randomly assigned to the control condition (children listened to a story eight times), the dialogic-then-embodied condition (children engaged in dialogic reading for four readings and then embodied action…

Family attitudes and beliefs around digital technologies are a key factor in young children's digital habits in the home. This study involved conducting interviews with 46 families of children under 6 years of age to understand how parental perceptions determine the screen use of young children in terms of activities, content, and time. The aim is…

Research on the predictivity of activity settings, preschool teachers' activities, and children's activities for interaction quality is inconsistent and cannot be transferred easily to specific national preschool contexts. The present study addresses this issue by assessing the interaction quality of 185 children aged 3-5 years attending 61…

This article describes ways for early educators to support communication of young children with complex communication needs (CCN) in classrooms through a simple three-step process. First, identify the child's preferred activities and items. Second, identify vocabulary and prepare the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system. Third,…

This study examined Chinese preschoolers' affective experiences during organized activities. One-on-one child interviews were conducted in which children were asked to rate their general affect during each organized activity in which they participated, and then provide reasons for their responses. Child-reported emotional engagement was related to…

Over 400,000 American families that participate in early intervention (EI) services each year (Office of Special Education Programs, 2020). Family engagement is so crucial to the success of these services (Bruder, 2000; Trivette et al., 2010) that the use of family-centered practices (FCPs) is included in the wording of the federal special…

This study investigated whether two educational strategies, providing material and active adult support during play, promote pretend play quality in a group of preschoolers. The sample consisted of 101 preschoolers (50% females; mean age at t1= 43.02 months, SD= 5.94) from 14 Swiss educational play groups. These were randomly allocated to the…

In the United States, children are often given the opportunity to engage in pretend activities; many believe this kind of play benefits children's development (Haight & Miller, 1993; Haight, Masiello, Dickson, Huckeby, & Black, 1994; Parmar, Harkness, & Super, 2004; Roopnarine, 2010). Recent research has shown, though, that when…

Children with hearing loss often attend inclusive preschool classrooms aimed at improving their spoken language skills. Although preschool classrooms are fertile environments for vocal interaction with peers, little is known about the dyadic processes that influence children's speech to one another and foster their language abilities and how these…

Social competence is the ability to achieve interpersonal goals by engaging in social behaviors that are appropriate and context-specific. It develops early in childhood as children interact with others and it is a significant contributor to children's social development. The purpose of this article is to describe a practical method for how early…

This study evaluated the effects of using preferred activities with peer support on the social interactions of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their typically developing peers. Two preschool-age children with ASD and six peers in an inclusive classroom participated in this study. A multiple-probe single case experimental…

The aim of this study is to investigate parents' relationships with their children during the pandemic period. The study is a qualitative research study and was conducted with a case study design. The study group of this research consisted of 19 parents. The study group was selected using the criterion sampling method of purposive sampling. The…

The current study was carried out to determine the problems that preschool children experience during COVID-19 and also what could be done from perspectives of preschool prospective teachers. The working group of the study was made up of 45 projects prepared by 15 preschool prospective teachers attending to the midterm exam of lecture of…

Qualitative research is an inherently complex landscape which continually presents researchers with difficult, ethically challenging dilemmas. This paper foregrounds some of those challenges, experienced during a qualitative research study which focused on preschool children's opportunities to access different forms of play in early year education…

Analysis of previous research has indicated that restricting the amount of equipment available may be a practical strategy to facilitate peer interaction in childcare, but a disadvantage is a possible increase in aggressive behaviour. An alternative approach is manipulating the variety of activities while holding the quantity and type of equipment…