This paper studies the association between caregiver--child interactions and early childhood development in literacy and numeracy in West and Central Africa. Data comes from Multiple Cluster Indicator Surveys (MICS) conducted in Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Togo…

To examine the relationship between early number sense and later symbolic arithmetic competence and how they are connected in young Chinese children. The present study utilized a longitudinal sample of 115 Chinese children aged 3 to 6. Young children completed measures to assess number sense, visual spatial skills (in the fall of their second…

Early childhood development (ECD) is a crucial determinant of adulthood capabilities. This paper investigates the current ECD status among young children of 3-4 years of age in Bangladesh and its relation to various socio-demographic and familial factors using data from the latest round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Results from…

Baroody, Lai & Mix [2006. The development of young childrens number and operation sense and its implications for early childhood education. In B. Spodek, & O. N. Saracho (Eds.), "Handbook of research on the education of young children" (2nd Ed., pp. 187-221). NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.] differentiate between four different learning…

The actions carried out by children are a mechanism that enables them to come into contact with their environment, assimilating it, acting on it, and thereby transforming it. From this perspective, an exploratory study has been designed to analyse the actions carried out by 87 children aged 1-3 years old in two task-situations involving the…

This paper presents an exploratory study of English and Swedish teachers' perspectives on the role of parents in year one children's learning of number. Drawing on the results of semi-structured interviews, data from each cohort were analysed independently to ensure the cultural integrity of any response categories and the results of this process…

Research increasingly acknowledges the importance of high quality interactions that support and extend children's thinking. Few measurement tools currently exist, however, to capture this specific aspect of process quality. The Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale was developed to assess interactional quality in early…

This article reports and compares results from an interview study of early childhood teachers in the U.S. and Hong Kong, with a focus on the math outcomes that children may gain from play with unit blocks. Teachers were interviewed to obtain their ideas of the benefits of unit block play in three focal areas: geometry, measurement, and numeracy.…

Parental knowledge on child development is important for maximal developmental potential. This study was conducted to assess mothers' knowledge on child development in Nepal. The Caregivers Knowledge of Child Development Inventory (CKCDI) was used to interview mothers. Total of 1272 mothers were interviewed. Out of the total CKCDI score of 40,…

It is widely acknowledged that teaching and learning the language of mathematics is essential for the development of mathematical proficiency. Recent research highlights the need for explicit vocabulary instruction in mathematics. The Promoting Early Number Talk (PENT) project explored the effect of 'Number Talk' -- a resource book to promote…

The primary aim of this study was to examine whether individual differences in cool and hot executive functions (EF) were associated with children's transition to school, in terms of both academic performance and classroom behaviour. Children between 5- and 7-years-of-age (N = 90) completed performance based assessments of cool and hot EF as well…

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten (FDELK) programme, which integrates play-based learning and team teaching, in promoting 32,027 kindergarteners' self-regulation (SR), literacy, and numeracy outcomes. Outcome measures derived from teacher reports of students' school readiness in the Early…

The aim of this study is to achieve a deeper understanding of the repertoire of cognitive resources children can display in the process of learning numbers. Forty-two children attending Age 4 Kindergarten Class or Year-One in Argentina were individually interviewed, based on a semi-structured script requiring them to represent definite and…

Many South African children struggle in acquiring literacy and reading skills. It seems as if caregivers may be missing an important aspect in guiding children's emergent reading development. The question is whether there are underlying concepts needed for emergent literacy and the acquisition of reading skills. The nature of the reading process…

Play is traditionally considered the foundation of learning in the early years. Because play is characterized by free choice, it can be difficult for adults to ensure all learning is useful for children. The intervention described here took a novel approach to this problematic. It exposed 17 four-year-olds to different adult demonstrations to see…