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Quiet shy and/or anxious (QSA) children are often viewed negatively in primary school. This study employed two six-week intervention programmes entitled Special Me Time (SMT) for children in the Early Years (ages 3–7) and Quality Me Time (QMT) for children in years 3–4 (ages 7–9). Interventions were designed to support children: in vocalising feelings; accessing classroom opportunities; communication; and in developing friendships. Children were withdrawn from the mainstream classroom and sessions were led by practitioners in small groups. The programmes were delivered in primary schools across Wales. Findings evidenced benefits to children's personal and social development in improving confidence and self-esteem both within and outside the classroom environment. Our research suggests the value of addressing emerging QSA behaviours in children by providing space and time to develop relationships and self-expression. Research findings suggest a risk to academic and social adjustment if inhibiting QSA behaviours are not addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to understand how children express themselves socially and emotionally in play negotiations in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. It addresses the following research questions: What strategies do children employ in play negotiations? How do these strategies manifest themselves socially and emotionally? The study was conducted in eight ECEC centers and one preschool located in Swedish-speaking regions of Finland. The target group consisted of children aged 3–6. Data were collected through video observations that captured children's social interactions and engagement with their peers during free play. A multimodal interaction analysis approach was employed to identify a prominent category termed "exclusion", which refers to how children employ strategies (e.g., fantasy and fiction) to limit the participation of other children in play negotiations. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of children's complex play negotiations and highlight the significance of addressing their social and emotional development in these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored educators' perspectives on the role the physical and sensory Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) environment plays in supporting children's social and emotional development. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted, in August 2022, at two ECEC sites in Victoria, Australia. Data were thematically analysed and key findings suggest children engage and interact with their environment to facilitate opportunities for social interactions and emotional regulation. Environmental stimuli can have a positive and negative influence on children's social and emotional competence. Educators reported lack of resources, building design, and limited staffing were barriers to using the environment. Reflective practice, collaboration within teams and services, and access to resources strengthened the use of the environment in everyday practice. Optimal environments rely on educator reflections and responsivity to adapt the environment to the needs of the children utilising the space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 25 early childhood educators participated in a brief, online micro-course to support their use of positive teaching practices. • Engagement in and satisfaction with the course was very high. • Teachers reported enjoying that it was self-paced, not rushed, free, and had high-quality and relevant content. • Teachers reported significant changes in their knowledge of practices from pre to post. The past two decades of research have underscored the concerning use of exclusionary discipline in early childhood education settings and the need for professional development to support educators to use evidence-based practices. Existing professional development, such as coaching and infant/early childhood mental health consultation, are effective but pose implementation challenges due to time and resource demands. The need for scalable, cost-effective professional development that focuses on social and emotional development and challenging behavior is higher than ever. Short, online, self-paced courses (what we refer to as "micro-courses") are one approach to addressing these challenges. In this paper, we examine initial evidence for how a micro-course can support in-service early childhood educators to learn and use evidence-based universal strategies to support positive behavior, which may indirectly reduce exclusionary discipline. We leverage quantitative and qualitative data from 25 educators who piloted the course in spring 2022 to report on early childhood educators' engagement and satisfaction with the micro-course and whether educators report any changes in their knowledge or practices. We found that early childhood educators actively participated in the micro-course, found the experience useful and relevant, and reported changes in their knowledge of and comfort with positive behavior support practices as a result of participation. This study can inform future policy, practice, and research efforts to equitably support children's positive behavior, prevent challenging behavior, and eliminate exclusion in early childhood settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this survey study was to describe how teacher preparation programs prepare undergraduate preservice music teachers to consider P–12 learners' socioemotional development. Music teacher education programs (N = 665) were identified from the 2019 Title II Report of National Teacher Preparation Data. Program representatives were invited via email to complete an online questionnaire; data from respondents (n = 133) were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings revealed that programs varied greatly in providing opportunities, conceptions, and practices. Relevant, embedded coursework existed in most music teacher education programs. Just under one quarter of respondents reported requiring socioemotional development coursework, and 4.51% indicated at least one music-specific course. Course topics were directed at specific populations and teaching methods; courses were often housed in education, psychology, or sociology departments. Required experiences included fieldwork in general music, practicum, student teaching, or "diverse," rural, or urban settings. Methods of delivery for optional experiences were similar to required experiences, with the addition of conferences and partnerships with organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript describes high school family and consumer sciences (FCS) students' active and passive technology use as a component of quasi-experimental research that examined the impact of the Intentionally Unplugged™ curriculum (Roland, 2020) on students' attitudes and behaviors toward their technology use. One hundred and ninety-one students in five FCS teachers' classrooms participated in the study. Pre-testing showed a connection between the time spent on electronic devices and depression. No significant differences were found between levels of depression before and after the Intentionally Unplugged™ curriculum was used by students in the classrooms included in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the conditions under which codesigned approaches to educator professional learning in multilingual, birth to five settings were accessible and supportive of children’s social and emotional development across diverse types of Australian early childhood services. The research sites, in the suburbs of a capital city, comprised a long day childcare center, two short term informal community creches for birth to 5-year-old children of migrants and refugees attending English classes, and a family hub short term informal community creche for children of Afghan refugees. Professional learning mentors visited the participating sites eight times for 2 h every 2 weeks for 16 Weeks in 2021, demonstrating resources and strategies to assist young children to identify their own and others’ emotions and engage with social settings. Over 20 weeks, 97 participants provided data, commencing before and extending after the professional learning program. Participants included professional learning mentors, staff and volunteers, parents, and children via observation. Using Reggio Emilia principles, the research identified that professional learning, flexibly delivered over time, enabled educators and volunteers to build their social and emotional development knowledge, and to try resources and strategies with children in their care. Recruiting educators who shared children’s home or community languages, in addition to professional learning, supported multilingual children to engage with emotional literacy resources, while still developing spoken English. The research affirmed that educators, volunteers, parents, and children benefitted from a sustained focus on children’s social and emotional development in the early childhood education and care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]