The aim of this article is to provide a review of research on the youngest children (0-3) in Norwegian kindergartens. The review deals with research from the last two decades. The article also discusses critical initiatives related to implications of the research findings, and points in conclusion to some challenges of the role of research in…

Aspects of environmental crisis (industrialization, explosive growth of population and urbanization) have a negative effect on the environment. However, they also impact the mentality of population (for example, urbanization has lead to the decreasing numbers of adults and children having a direct contact with the natural environment).…

This article traces the evolution of kindergarten from its focus on children, to its focus on outcomes, to its current focus on literacy and math. The early childhood parts of kindergarten are losing ground to growing allocation of kindergarten time to academic content. A more ecological approach to kindergarten involves reincorporating play into…

The primary intention was to explore the nature and content of preschoolers' conversations during lunchtime in their classroom. Secondary goals included discovering how eating at school framed the children's conversation and play, and the influence of gender on children's conversations and forms of play. Participants were 65 primarily…

Research Findings: Forty-five child caregivers and 120 parents participated in this study to examine perceptions of childcare programs in Jordan. The researchers developed a questionnaire that consisted of 6 dimensions: health, education, parent-caregiver relationship, facilities, building/landscape, and playground. Moreover, interviews with 10…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of manipulating toy sets on the social verbal interaction that occurs between preschool-age children with disabilities and their typically developing peers. A single-subject alternating-treatments design was used to evaluate the effects of manipulating social toy sets and isolate toy sets on…

The exploratory study focused on describing typical routines of preparing for winter outdoor play with preschool children and their teachers. Naturalistic observations, interviews and photographs resulted in extensive examples of children's development in cognitive understanding of winter and winter-related concepts. Observations of teachers and…

Preschool classrooms generate a host of data that can be used to inform program improvement. This article suggests ways to document child-level data and mentoring protocols in a way that makes the information usable to teachers and can positively influence child outcomes.

This article reports the outcomes of an experimental evaluation of "Read Well Kindergarten" (RWK), a program that focuses on the development of vocabulary, phonological awareness, alphabetic understanding, and decoding. Kindergarten teachers in 24 elementary schools in New Mexico and Oregon were randomly assigned, by school, to teach RWK…

This study investigates preschool teachers' beliefs about integrated curriculum and, more specifically, their beliefs about integration of visual arts with other activities. The participants of this study consisted of 255 female preschool teachers who are employed in preschools in Ankara, Turkey. For the study, teachers were asked to complete…

This study found that teachers who were randomly assigned to take a 14-week course on effective teacher-child interactions demonstrated significant changes in beliefs and knowledge about effective practices and provided more stimulating and engaging interactions in the classroom. [This research brief is based on: Hamre, B. K., Pianta, R. C.,…

This qualitative study examined whether and how preschoolers' social interactions during buddy "reading" supported their use and learning of theme-related vocabulary. Data included 32 transcribed videos of 14 preschoolers engaged in buddy "reading." Interaction analysis and constant comparative methods were applied to identify (1) patterns of…

Renowned around the world, schools within the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy, have inspired North American early childhood educators for over 25 years. Despite the popularity and usage of the Reggio Emilia approach in the United States, music educators may find it unfamiliar. There is a lack of research that has discussed the use of music or…

Early childhood programs serve increasing numbers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. While many programs have made significant progress in providing educational services responsive to the needs of children with ASD, concerns persist about whether early education programs can meet the educational needs of such…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of print literacy in preschool classrooms. There were seven preschool teachers working in central Canada who were observed over three sessions. The process of analytic induction was used to formulate categories based on interviews, classroom observations and documents. The following categories were…