In states that fund public prekindergarten and kindergarten in elementary schools, principals are central to ensuring these programs support children's learning and development. Yet few studies explore how principals position these programs within their instructional leadership and what they perceive should be done by district leaders to support…

Based on the theory of meaning construction, this research aims to examine the relationship between mindfulness-based instruction and job satisfaction among educators working in kindergarten settings. Specifically, this study will evaluate whether teachers' self-efficacy mediates this relationship and explore the potential moderating impact of…

This article examines the Japanese historical concept of nature in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Through modernisation, Japan was infused with Anglo-European philosophy. However, Japan's pre-modern concept of nature differed from that of the West or modern Japan and latently affected the Japanese modern educational system. The concept…

Given the importance of teachers' views and perspectives in promoting media literacy among students and children, this study examines the perspectives of kindergarten teachers in Austria on media education. Data was collected through an online survey of kindergarten teachers who participated in a training. The results show that common approaches…

There is extensive research on the development of cheating in early childhood but research on how to reduce it is rare. The present preregistered study examined whether telling young children about a story character's emotional reactions towards cheating could significantly reduce their tendency to cheat (N = 400; 199 boys; Age: 3-6 years).…

This article presents an exploratory study of educational quality in Bulgarian kindergartens at a time the educational system undergoes significant transformations in aligning with the principles shared by the majority of European countries. The focus is on the structural and process characteristics of quality, as measured by ECERS-3 on a…

Our study on 328 five- to six-year-old kindergarteners (mainly White European living in France, 152 girls) shows that children who do not count on their fingers and undergo finger counting training exhibit drastic improvement in their addition skills from pre-test to post-test (i.e., accuracy from 37.3% to 77.1%) compared to a passive control…

Research has demonstrated the positive effects of systematically teaching phonemic awareness and phonics in kindergarten and first grade, but many commonly used reading curricula do not adequately incorporate these foundational skills. In this study, we examined the efficacy of an instructional program ("UFLI Foundations") in…

The same and different routine offers an opportunity to build a strong foundation for future grades while also deepening the experiences of prekindergarten and transitional kindergarten students. Students have opportunities to make sense, share ideas, and engage in the ideas of others. We conjecture this type of experience supports students and…

Fans often express their love of authors or books by creating and sharing "fanfiction," a genre wherein fans write new narratives that add to beloved works or take place in existing story worlds. In this article, we describe a kindergarten teacher's efforts to enhance students' foundational literacy skills by combining author studies…

Physical activity breaks in the classroom are an efficient way of promoting healthy behaviors in students, enhancing the development of their cognitive and academic abilities. The effects of active breaks, which are exclusive to the academic environment, are almost entirely positive, only a few papers did not show significant improvements, but…

"I think I can, I think I can' puffed "The Little Engine That Could." The American folktale taught the value of optimism and hard work reflecting a growth mindset belief about abilities. A growth mindset positively impacts academic achievement, motivation, and children's agency for learning. Few studies have explored how early…

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a mandatory shift from in-person instruction to online learning for many young children. Teachers needed to adjust to virtual teaching, children were isolated from their peers, and parents played a bigger role in learning during the pandemic. In 2021, the shift back to in-person learning occurred. Research has…

Make-believe play (MBP) provides kindergarteners with an authentic form of engagement that is particularly favourable to the development of oral and written language. As part of an action research study, an activity-oriented professional development (PD) program incorporating video was established to provide kindergarten teachers with guidance on…

Programs that engage young children in movement and song to help them learn are popular but experimental evidence on their impact is sparse. We use an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of Big Word Club (BWC), a classroom program that uses music and dance videos for 3-5 minutes per day to increase vocabulary. We conducted a field experiment with…