Many studies have linked quality in early childhood education and care [ECEC] to school performance, but the mechanisms of how ECEC process quality affects children in ways that lead to improved school performance is unclear. In this study on 7431 children in Norway, we test the hypothesis that the relation between process quality in ECEC and…

Toddlerhood is a period of intensive and rapid socio-emotional development. The effects of different types of childcare settings on child development have been widely studied, but the results have often been contradictory. The aim of this study was to compare social competence and socio-emotional problems in two-year-old children (n = 1104; girls…

The present article aims to systematically summarize the effects of free-play (FP) on preschool-aged children's physical activity (PA) level, and motor (MC), cognitive (CC), and socioemotional competence evaluated through randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. A systematic review of relevant articles was carried out using two electronic…

Adopting an integrative grounded theory approach, this study aimed to uncover parents' perceptions of instrumentality regarding early childhood education within the scope of their children's academic skills, social-emotional development, and occupational aspirations. A total of 32 parents, each with at least one child enrolled in a preschool for…

The significance of learning to think critically from a young age is well documented. Early childhood educators play an essential role in children's critical skills development. Therefore, it is crucial to understand their perceptions of this concept. This qualitative study explored Norwegian early childhood educators' perceptions of critical…

This study investigated the reasons Irish parents chose to send their children to Irish-medium preschools settings over other forms of early childhood education. The international literature on parental decision making regarding childcare and relevant studies on immersion education in Celtic countries were reviewed. A parental questionnaire,…

To date, there is little evidence regarding how well children from socially and educationally disadvantaged families succeed in interacting with other children and teachers in preschools. This paper aims to address this limitation by analysing the relationships between the quality of children's interactions in preschools and indicators of…

Using data from more than 7000 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child (MoBa) study, this study explored the role of school readiness and teacher-child closeness in the early child education and care (ECEC) setting for the prospective academic and social development of children with early externalizing problems. Mother, ECEC teachers,…

In this study, we explored how free play and scaffolding practices in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) related to children's externalising problems both in ECEC and later in school. Furthermore, we aimed to reduce the knowledge gap of whether these relations depended on children's differences in emotional temperament. We used structural…

This article explores the relationship between toddlers' (age: 30-33 months) well-being (WB), play (PL), social-emotional competence (SC) and movement skills (MS). Two hypotheses were put forward for testing: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between WB, PL, SC and MS, and (2) toddlers' WB can be predicted from their PL, SC and MS.…

The general gender discourse has currently revealed gender gaps as early as at preschool age. To analyze developmental differences between boys and girls in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, n = 4,251 preschoolers aged 48-83 months were examined by means of the 'Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools 3-6' (DESK 3-6). Using the…

For the first time in the Netherlands, the Adjustment Scales for Early Transition in Schooling (ASETS) have been applied to kindergarten and first-grade elementary school. A study was conducted to examine the relation between the different behavioral (phenotypes) and situational dimensions (situtypes) of the ASETS and learning performance on…

The purpose of the present study was to identify the curricular preferences of parents for their youngsters. The study sample included 1490 parents with children enrolled in private preschool and prekindergarten classrooms. Data for the present study were collected via online surveys. Parents prioritized eleven academic and developmental areas in…

Using data from a sample of Chinese children (n = 297) aged 3-6 years in Beijing, we examined the characteristics of Chinese parenting styles and the relationship with children's developmental outcomes. A 6-month follow-up study of 110 of the 297 participants further explored the long-term effect of parenting styles on children's development.…

This study describes the social contexts in which four-year-olds undertake practitioner-assigned cognitive/learning tasks within preschools and the different experiences these contexts provide for children. Data was collected in 34 preschool settings in South East England, using a phenomenographic mapping of activities and social groupings during…