All families have values and beliefs that guide them in their parenting journey. As an important adult in a child's life, and an influencer of a generation of compassionate people, a parent can have a positive impact on society as a whole. This booklet supports a vision of communities where children feel nurtured, safe, connected to their culture,…

Cross-lagged panel analysis was used to examine associations between two joint engagement variables; higher order supported joint engagement and higher order supported joint engagement that co-occurs with caregiver's follow-in talk (higher order supported joint engagement + follow-in), and expressive and receptive vocabulary in a group of young…

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…

Although naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions have a sizable and growing evidence base for supporting the development of children on the autism spectrum, their active ingredients and mechanisms of change are not well understood. This study used qualitative content analysis to better understand the intervention process of a…

In China, a shift in early math teaching from a teacher-directed approach to a child-centered approach has been recommended. This study explored Chinese teachers' beliefs about early math teaching and learning, math teaching efficacy, and math-related practices in the context of unit block play. Early childhood teachers (N = 391) from Ningbo,…

This study explores the use of interactive Artificial Intelligence (AI)-interfaced robotic toys within early childhood (EC) settings to develop children's inquiry literacy. Arguments about the appropriate role of AI in EC education have received much attention when examining the potential of the integration of technology into children's play and…

Is noun dominance in early lexical acquisition a widespread or a language-specific phenomenon? Thirty Singaporean bilingual English-Mandarin learning toddlers and their mothers were observed in a mother-child play interaction. For both English and Mandarin, toddlers' speech and reported vocabulary contained more nouns than verbs across book…

Purpose: Music class should function as a class that triggers joy and a platform for students to express their feelings. Based on observation, there are music teachers who teach singing and the playing of musical instruments based traditionally on a teacher-centered approach. This has caused music classes to become passive and dull, with unexcited…

Technology plays a large role in the daily experiences of young children. Presently, technology is used both to support and enhance 'educational' activities and in the context of children's play. The aim of the present study is to understand how much time teachers in early childhood centres across 8 countries implemented technology into their…

In unprecedented times, the global community is calling for greater knowledge and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to support the decision making and practices of the general community. COVID-19 has highlighted this pressing need and inviting a 'new normal'. But STEM is not the core business of early childhood.…

Most U.S. children grow up with siblings. Theory and prior work suggest that older siblings are important sources of gender-related information and socialization. However, few studies have investigated the patterns of these associations longitudinally across early childhood. The present study examines the influence of sibling presence and gender…

This study examined the affordances of an embodied humanoid robot to engage children in play and learning from the perspective of embodied cognition in two studies as part of multiyear design research. In Study One, we observed how the robot's embodiment, accompanied by its sensors and movements, elicited embodied reactions of eleven children…

The current study examined the impact of experiencing either a guided play or direct instruction learning environment on causal learning, curiosity, and divergent thinking. Forty-three children (age 4- to 6-years) participated in an online experiment in which they completed a causal learning task in either guided play or direct instruction…

Despite the increase in the use of interactive technological devices, little is known about the impact that play context has on the production of spatial language by parents. To investigate whether there is differential parental spatial input afforded by play contexts with their preschoolers, 34 children (20 girls, 14 boys) and their primary…

The ability to construct shared meaning with peers is important for young children's social and linguistic development. Previous studies have mainly focused on shared meaning-making within cooperative pretend play with little mention of other childhood activities that might promote intersubjectivity. This study investigated the group play that…