Research suggests that elements of the family environment may have significant associations with cognitive and language development outcomes. Less is known, however, about the family environment in peri-urban China, where rates of cognitive and language delay in children aged 0-3 years are as high as 51% and 54%, respectively. Using data collected…

China has made significant progress in enhancing maternal and child health over the past 70 years but geographic-based disparities in early childhood development remain. This study investigated trends in urban-rural gaps in early childhood development and the factors that influence them by leveraging secondary data from the China Family Panel…

Parents have the option of enrolling their children in the first stage of early childhood education (from 0 to 3 years of age). However, not all parents decide to do so, waiting until the second stage of early childhood education to enrol them in the education system (from 3 to 5 years of age), or even until compulsory education when their…

This study, using longitudinal data from the South African Birth to Twenty Plus study, assessed associations between early childcare quality in the home between six months and two years, household SES and cognitive development at age 5. Childcare quality was assessed using measures of maternal responsiveness and cognitive stimulation. Cognitive…

Theorists and researchers have been discussing the relationship between social class background and differences observed in cognitive ability test points of children from lower social class families and their middle or upper SES peers. It has been discussed that for a "more detailed understanding" of these cognitive inequalities, it…

This study examined associations among preschool attendance, home learning activities, stunting status, and early child development using data from the validation study of the East Asia-Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS). Participants were children aged 3 to 5 years from Cambodia (n = 1178; 30% stunted), Mongolia (n = 1226; 11%…

The Home Learning Environment (HLE) focuses on everyday learning habits in families to support the development of children's early cognitive competencies. A growing number of studies have assessed the HLE by using different conceptual approaches and various assessment methods, often focusing on either the home literacy environment or the home…

The aim of the present study was to provide a comprehensive model for assessing family context and to explore the reliability and factor structure of the Haezi Etxadi-Family Assessment Scale (HE-FAS 4), an exhaustive measure covering variables related to family context influencing child development, described over the past two decades. A sample of…

Parental engagement in stimulating activities and support in both formal and informal learning environments are important for early childhood development. However, little is known about how parental mental health and beliefs about early childhood development shape such investments. We draw on a sample of young children and their primary caregiver…

Vygotsky (1978) describes play as having three main components, one being the ability for a child to create an imaginary situation, the second taking on and acting out roles, and the third, following a set of rules that were determined by the roles children took on during play during social or group settings. Hence, supporting much needed social…

In this study, we investigate the association between family environment and early childhood development among children aged 6-24 months in rural counties in China. To do this, we used cross-sectional data from a large scale survey, including 1809 child-caregiver dyads across 22 nationally designated poverty counties. We found that 53.95% of…

There is now wide consensus that the quality of family relationships is involved in the development of child executive functioning (EF), a set of cognitive skills that bear critical importance for social and academic adjustment at school. This body of research has, however, focused almost exclusively on dyadic parent-child interactions and failed…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate fine- and gross-motor development and basic cognitive skills in 3-18 month-olds in relation to home factors, age and weight. Three hundred and seventy mother-child dyads were recruited. For age, two groups were analyzed: 3-11 months and 12-18 months. Motor and basic cognitive skills were assessed using the…

There is little evidence regarding the benefits of early center-based care attendance (before three years old) for child development and most studies have focused on developed countries. Addressing this gap, this study examines the relationship between center-based care attendance during toddler years and children's cognitive outcomes. Research…

Parent involvement has always been a vital part of any child's education, but the pandemic and resulting remote instruction require that parents and educators partner at a deeper level. Following the tremendous success of "The Distance Learning Playbook, K-12," education authorities Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie have teamed up…