Investigations into the digital literacy practices supported by new forms of play can pose significant challenges insofar as researchers and educators lack theoretical frameworks nuanced or flexible enough to map the terrain being explored. In this paper the author presents a new hybrid model of ludic authorship which reconceptualises the…

Phonics continues to be one of the most controversial literacy instruction topics debated in the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Given the importance placed on phonics in early literacy learning and the role that teacher beliefs play in the types of code-related literacy children encounter, the purpose of this two phase mixed-methods study…

This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative research project conducted in 2017 that explored practitioners' experiences and perceptions of the provision of play pedagogies in contemporary Western Australian early childhood education contexts. Interviews were conducted with four play-based learning teachers and an open-ended survey was…

Using a multiple probe design across peer buddy-target child dyads, we evaluated the effects of an intervention package (i.e., brief training, system of least prompts, visual supports) on peer buddies' use of stay-play-talk (SPT) with their classmates who were socially isolated (target children). All six peer buddies increased their use of SPT…

Recent findings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina's multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. Children whose motor skills improved the most over the course of an academic year also tended to demonstrate the…

The Reggio Emilia pedagogy is compatible with literacy education goals. However, just a few detailed accounts have been published about how literacy instruction is integrated into the Reggio Emilia-inspired preschools. The study adopted qualitative research design and aimed to fill this gap by conducting a metaethnographic study by examining and…

This systematic review investigates the effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which are increasingly popular. Foreign language ECEC centres familiarise very young children with a foreign language, and in general also expose them to the majority language. This review synthesises research on the effects…

Background: Child care centers are important for children's behaviors. Aims: To examine the cross-sectional associations between child care environmental characteristics and physical activity and sedentary time in children. Methods: Participants were 124 toddlers and 118 preschoolers from 19 centers in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, in the…

The mandated early childhood framework in Australia requires educators working in early childhood services to attend to children's spirituality. Also, one of the five outcomes in this framework tasks educators with promoting children's connectedness with and contribution to the world, including natural environments. In this paper I present…

The present study examines the perceptual, linguistic, and social cues that were associated with preschoolers' (4;11) growth in word-learning during shared book-reading and guided play activities. Small groups of three preschoolers (n = 30) and one adult were video-recorded during an intervention study in which new vocabulary words were explicitly…

This study investigated the moderating effect of gender on the causal relationships between different school play activities (pretend and non-pretend play) and social competence in peer interactions among a sample of Hong Kong children. Participants were 60 Hong Kong preschoolers (mean age = 5.44, 36.67% female). Children with matched home pretend…

This study identified patterns of classroom and family experiences and developmental outcomes for young children in segregated early education. This study is based on data from a high-quality early education program serving young children from low-income households in 19 schools across the U.S. The sample included 1,521 children during the…

Maternal scaffolding and four-year-old children's linguistic skills were examined during toy play. Participants were 21 American-English monolingual and 21 Thai monolingual mother-child dyads. Results revealed cross-cultural differences in conversation styles between the two groups. American dyads adopted a high-elaborative style relative to Thai…

This study highlights the potential of play to support young children's mark-making and writing and, in turn, shows how writing can become a driver of play. By detailing elements of this symbiotic relationship, the intention was for teachers as practitioner-researchers to deepen their professional knowledge of how best to support young children in…

There has been considerable distress in early childhood classrooms due to a cultural bias of Cartesian dualism, which has led to the bullying and disappearance of Body in education. Efforts of bringing about shifts in pedagogical practices toward holistic, bodily views of the self must be supported and developed. However, with classrooms that are…