India and Bangladesh exhibit commonalities in their sociocultural backgrounds and contexts, with both nations facing challenges regarding the education of disadvantaged children. India's recently introduced National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to offer universal access to high-quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) through an…

The "first-grade problem" of the lack of concentration, listening, and following of instruction has been widely identified among Japanese kindergarten students. To promote their executive functioning and self-regulation to prevent this issue, we developed the Social Thinking and Academic Readiness Training (START) program. The…

This paper presents a new estimate that pre-primary school closures in 2020 may cost today's young children US$ 1.6 trillion in lost earnings over their lifetimes. However, most low-and-middle income countries are leaving pre-primary education out of their responses to COVID-19. This paper also draws lessons from accelerated, bridging, and…

This exploratory netnographic study describes how a sample of Ontario kindergarten teachers perceive the new Ontario Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) curriculum. Discussions from teacher message boards, the comment sections of online news articles, and interviews with kindergarten teachers were analyzed and coded using a qualitative approach. Analysis…

Describes the approach of the Sycamore Project, a residential child care project in Scotland, which assists difficult and damaged young people to remain in mainstream schooling. Discusses the six principles of the approach: mutual professional respect, clear philosophy, attention to detail, a culture which values education, joint planning, and…

This article presents a case study of the Roskilde Integration Project designed to enhance the school-readiness of ethnic minority preschool children. The process of implementing the Roskilde Integration Project involved linking a community of practice--consisting of the integration team, educators, and other professionals--with the immigrant…

The importance of a smooth transition into school for children who have received Early Intervention Services (EI) but have not received the Ongoing Reviewable Resource Scheme (ORRS) funding has become of increasing concern to stakeholders involved with these children. The EI and School Focus (SF) teams of the GSE in Pakuranga collaborated…

During 1989-90, British Columbia implemented a dual-entry kindergarten program based on developmental readiness. The program failed because developmental readiness was difficult to measure, random entries were the rule, and a compromise solution proved unsatisfactory. Acting out of a principled desire to serve children could not squelch rational,…

This paper presents survey results of the attitudes and practices of elementary school board members in Ontario, Canada in relation to early identification of children's learning abilities and related intervention. A short questionnaire, intended to provide a global picture of early identification work being carried out was sent to all elementary…

Begun in Israel in 1960, the HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) program is a family support, parent-focused, early childhood literacy program. This book compiles 17 evaluation studies of the program, from researchers and practitioners in 7 countries. The studies are organized around five themes: exploring theoretical…

In 2003, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a "Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Health." In recognition of the critical role states play in the development of early childhood initiatives and of the unique contributions that state Title V programs can make to these initiatives, the Bureau operationalized their…