Children begin to reason about gender and others' gender-typed preferences from early in life, yet not enough is known about whether their reasoning reflects only binary categorization or a more nuanced way understanding of variation in gender. Further, little is known about how children's conception of their own gender affects how they think…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an influx of virtual school enrollments and newly developed online programs. There is a body of research that supports online learning in higher educational settings but there is limited empirical evidence on the impact of online learning in K-12 settings, specifically with early learners. The purpose of…

Preschoolers' language abilities are associated with their social interactions in early childhood classrooms. Few studies, however, have examined associations between social interactions and objective measures of children's real-time classroom language environments, information key to informing interventions to support preschool children at risk…

Recognizing patterns is an essential skill in early mathematics education. However, first graders often have difficulties with tasks such as extending patterns of the form ABCABC. Studies show that this pattern-recognition ability is a good predictor of later pre-algebraic skills and mathematical achievement in general, or the development of…

Why is instructional gesture ineffective in some contexts? And what is it about learners that predicts whether they will learn from gestures? This between-subjects linear measurement training study compares gesture instruction to two controls--operant action and transient action--in a diverse sample of first-grade students (N = 174, M[subscript…

This research aims to determine the preschool teacher candidates' lifelong learning tendencies and preschool teacher candidates' opinions about lifelong learning. The study group of this research is first, second, third and fourth grade students of preschool teaching in the primary school education department of a public university in Turkey. A…

In this report, we perform a descriptive analysis of kindergarten readiness in Illinois. We use data on the population of Illinois kindergarteners between the 2017-18 and 2021-22 school years provided by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In our analysis, we build on the existing literature and examine readiness over time, by domain,…

According to previous findings, math anxiety already occurs at early school age and is negatively correlated with math achievement. So far, however, little is known about the nature of math anxiety in young children. To fill this gap, we present the results of a longitudinal study on the math anxiety of children that were followed in the first…

This study sought to identify how first-grade students in one Midwest state cognized hope. Using a case-study research method, the authors identify recommendations for practice that draw on the alignment between developing hope in students through school leadership. Previous research has highlighted school leadership's significant role in multiple…

Although most education policy decisions are made at the state level, America has been having a national debate over the future of our schools for the last several years. Arguments have raged over COVID-related closures and the resultant student learning loss, Critical Race Theory, school funding, parental choice, college debt, and more. The 2022…

The purpose of this provincial cross-sectional survey (N = 254) was to explore the mental health literacy (MHL) of educators, and particularly, if training and experience explains differences in MHL. There were meaningful differences based on MHL training and between educators of different division levels. Those who completed graduate degrees or…

The purpose of this study is to analyze the play behaviors of children aged 60-72 months with respect to individual differences, cultural differences, and special needs differences. The study employs the basic qualitative research method. Fifty-two children enrolled in four different pre-school classes were given toys that featured diversity. The…

Research Findings: The present study examined children's listening comprehension during a two-semester-long dialogic reading. We explored the extent to which the development of children's listening comprehension was accounted for by initial listening comprehension and whether children's engagement and the amount and level of their verbal…

It is widely accepted that investing in early childhood helps build the foundations of a healthy, productive, and equitable society. Guided by that knowledge, a range of broad-based programs and targeted services make a significant difference for millions of children, yet a closer look at outcome data shows that some benefit greatly, some benefit…

This exploratory mixed-method study was conducted to understand parents' perspectives on teaching music in Saudi kindergartens. The researcher surveyed 466 parents of children aged 3-6 years in public, private, and international kindergartens in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. Of these, 35 participated in an open-ended written questionnaire to better…