Effective Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) benefit from three interrelated dimensions of learning identified by UNESCO: cognitive, social-emotional and behavioural. The latter two of these are especially relevant to mindful compassion pedagogies, and the purpose of the literature review presented…

Pretend play is often hypothesized in a global sense to be an effective context for young children's learning, but there is much still to learn about whether all types of information can be learned equally and whether all types of pretend play are equally beneficial. The present study tests whether preschoolers can learn a simple, novel causal…

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…

Background: This paper represents an empirical study that examines the impact of specific teaching methods on the effectiveness of preschool music education. Objectives: The current study seeks to determine whether the integration of digital technology improves the music learning outcomes of preschoolers. Methods: The author compared the learning…

This dissertation investigates the actual versus perceived knowledge of oral language development strategies among early years teachers in international schools. Employing Prestwich's (2012) "Teacher's Knowledge of Oral Language Development" (TKOLD) survey, it assesses teachers' knowledge in critical areas such as promoting extended…

Given its importance in children's development and learning, researchers have rigorously studied play, and many teachers have used it as a classroom tool. Music researchers have observed that music regularly accompanies children's play because music is part of their culture, and "playing with music" is the most natural form of expression…

Background: Early childhood leadership leads to positive outcomes for young children, including social competence. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the leadership behavior exhibited by three preschool aged children and to determine if teacher prompting could increase the frequency of leadership behaviors exhibited by…

Early and explicit vocabulary instruction is one important way teachers can support early readers for later reading comprehension success (Duncan et al., 2007; Marulis & Neuman, 2010; Neuman & Dwyer, 2011; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2000); however, some observations indicate that early childhood and…

This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

Efforts to improve education should not neglect to provide the rich play opportunities that benefit children in so many ways. In Tanzania, the pre-primary curriculum, for example, guides teachers to use play as the primary method of teaching and learning. Despite this policy mandate for play, however, abundant evidence indicates that Tanzanian…

Early math skills predict later achievement for young children; thus, it is important to expand what is known about how to support preschool children's development of these skills. While there has been some research on interventions, including those using systemic instruction, to teach math skills to preschoolers, there is a need for additional…

Self-determination refers to skills used to experience a quality of life consistent with one's preferences, strengths, and needs. Theoretical and empirical literature has identified contextual opportunities for children to learn and use these skills in their everyday activities and routines. The present study used an investigator-developed…

This paper presents findings from an exploratory study to define associations between social-emotional teaching practices and teacher characteristics through a person-centered approach. The sample consisted of 97 teachers working in center-based early childhood education settings with young children ages 2-5 in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. We…

Research Findings: This paper presents findings from an exploratory study to define associations between social-emotional teaching practices and teacher characteristics through a person-centered approach. The sample consisted of 97 teachers working in center-based early childhood education settings with young children ages 2-5 in the U.S. Pacific…

Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…