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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been found to be beneficial for the development of children below three years. However, many children do not attend ECEC facilities. Frequently, structural family characteristics (SFC), such as migration background, educational attainment and income, are used to explain differing probabilities of attendance, while parental attitudes are mostly not considered. Thus, assuming that SFC influence attitudes, this paper investigates whether the attitudes and views of parents towards ECEC explain why one- and two-year-old children from disadvantaged families attend day care less often, although they would strongly benefit from high-quality ECEC. The underlying data are from the German DJI Child Care Study (KiBS). The results show that parental attitudes substantially contribute to explaining diverging attendance probabilities. The more positive parents evaluate day care, the higher the probability of their child attending. However, SFC maintain most of their explanatory power. Besides, SFC and parental attitudes interact. The probability of ECEC attendance increases differently depending on the (varying degree of positivity of) attitudes by SFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have linked quality in early childhood education and care [ECEC] to school performance, but the mechanisms of how ECEC process quality affects children in ways that lead to improved school performance is unclear. In this study on 7431 children in Norway, we test the hypothesis that the relation between process quality in ECEC and later school performance is mediated by early social skills. Process quality was measured at age 5 years along two dimensions: 'pedagogical practices' and 'structured activities', and school performance was measured at age 11 years (5th grade) using mandatory national tests in math, reading, and English. The results show that the indirect effect of pedagogical practices on school outcomes through social skills was small but statistically significant. In contrast, there was no statistically significant indirect effect of structured activities on school performance through social skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quantitative study examines the connection between the years that children spent in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and their social orientations and main objects of attention. The data were collected within the Progressive Feedback project by observing children: 20,457 observations of 972 six-year-olds from 360 child groups in Finland. According to the results, the years children spent in ECEC have a connection to their social orientations and main objects of attention, and differences between genders were discovered. The longer the children had attended ECEC, the less adaptive orientation was observed. The children that had attended ECEC for under a year were observed to be the least participative. Dominant orientation increased the longer the children had attended ECEC. Those that had been in ECEC for more than four years rarely paid attention to non-social objects and adults and often paid attention to several children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the interplay between age and children’s resources during the transition from Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) to pre-primary education. We describe how age operates in the structures of ECEC during the time before the actual transition. We approach the transition to pre-primary education and the relation between age and resources with the concepts of capital and informal and formal practices. The data are drawn from ethnographic fieldwork and video records at two types of ECEC centres: one that provides pre-primary education and one that does not. The findings underscore transition practices and age as the main aspects providing diverse resources for the transferring children during the transition from ECEC to pre-primary education. Investigating the interplay between resources and age helps to understand how ECEC centres with different age-related group structures and locations of pre-primary education produce resources and distinctions between the children during the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An early start to good-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is considered beneficial, especially for disadvantaged children's development and educational outcomes. This assumption was tested using the latest two waves (2015 and 2018) of data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in five countries using the Nordic model of early education and care: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The article finds evidence of the overall positive association between the age of entry in ECEC and literacy at age 15 in all Nordic countries. However, the relationship is non-linear, and the highest benefits seem to occur following entry into ECEC from ages two to three. The link between family background and ECEC enrollment largely explains this association. We did not find that ECEC would generally compensate for low socioeconomic status (SES) in children’s achievement. However, the Matthew effect was observed in Norway, where an early ECEC start is more strongly associated with literacy scores for affluent children than disadvantaged children. These findings have limitations due to their correlational nature. Still, this article indicates that even in high-quality universal ECEC systems, early preschool education is not a panacea for lowering achievement gaps due to parental background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we envision a holistic approach to the education of children within a participatory paradigm, which integrates inner and outer worlds in a new understanding of consciousness. The inspiration for our reimagining arose from a research study undertaken in partnership with Kids Planet Day Nurseries which included inquiring into the impact of Covid-19 on children in early childhood education and care. It was discovered that, although parents and practitioners identified Covid as a traumatic event, there was little awareness of the potential effects on children's inner worlds. Similarly, the government in its post-lockdown policymaking focused on catch-up with learning, rather than addressing wider psychological issues. In this reimagining of the education system, the neoliberal principle of 'profit as primary' has been eradicated, along with its long-term positivist partner 'scientism', which proclaims all valid knowledge is quantifiable. Instead, the focus is on the intra-active dimensions of learning, grounded in the idea of a 'triangle of trust' developed in the early years and continued into a relational pedagogy in primary schools. The challenges involved in replacing a positivist Newtonian worldview with a participatory paradigm, where inner and outer worlds are entangled and equally important, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates in-work poverty (IWP) in Italy through the lens of family policies. Adopting a longitudinal perspective, the work scrutinizes whether and to what extent the configuration of family policy tools – family allowances, leave and ECEC (Early Childhood Care and Education) – has been effective in contrasting IWP in Italy. Furthermore, it probes whether the Italian family policy has reconfigured over time as a tool for countering IWP. The study shows that family policy can be useful both directly – by providing income support for the most disadvantaged families – and indirectly – by fostering the transition to a dual-earner family model. However, the analysis of the Italian case shows that such positive effects are only potential, and not automatic. In Italy, historically, family policy has been scarcely effective. Nevertheless, in the last few years a pattern of slow change has initiated, and its effectiveness as a device to tackle IWP appears to have increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a multilevel random-coefficient approach, we examined the longitudinal association between toddlers' early shyness and their well-being during their first year in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres. We used data from two measurement points (preintervention and postintervention) from a larger cluster randomized controlled trial study, Thrive by 3. We followed 567 children (answered by 415 mothers and 152 fathers) who were younger than 19 months and had just started in ECEC at preintervention. Our findings indicate that toddlers' early shyness during their starting period in ECEC is associated with their well-being by the end of their first year in ECEC. Our findings highlight the importance of paying extra attention to shy toddlers, as they seem to show less well-being during their early period in ECEC. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03879733. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interprofessional collaboration and practice (IPCP) is considered the cornerstone for effective service delivery for children with speech language and communication needs (SLCN). Following Stutsky and Spence Laschinger’s framework, we investigated IPCP-related differences between Dutch and Norwegian professionals in a cross-national comparative survey study. The personal relational skills of communication, trust and situational factor support structures were related to interprofessional collaboration in both countries. Trust was a stronger predictor for the Dutch sample than the Norwegian sample. A moderated moderation analysis revealed that the relationship between IPCP and perceived team effectiveness is moderated by trust for the Dutch professionals but not for their Norwegian colleagues. Trust may play a vital role for interprofessional teams in the Dutch context because service delivery is mainly characterised by the pull-out intervention of specialised professionals. In the integrated early intervention context of Norway, emphasis on professional communication skills seems a fruitful strategy to enhance the effectiveness of teams. Early intervention service delivery may be strengthened by structural facilitation and building networks to develop trust across professionals and organisations, which supports the development of professional competence relevant to IPCP in early intervention service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positive impact of warm and supportive relationships between children and preschool teachers on children's development has been highlighted in many studies. However, research gaps exist regarding the prediction of teacher-child relationships in preschool. In particular, little is known about associations between child personality and relationships with preschool teachers, although previous evidence indicates links between personality and social relationships in general. The study aims to address this research gap and identifies associations between child personality types and teacher-child relationships by using a sample of 163 children attending 65 preschool classes in Austria. After controlling for child and teacher characteristics, the results show that preschool teachers perceived less closeness with children characterized as 'overcontrollers' and 'undercontrollers' compared to children described as 'resilients'. Furthermore, the preschool teachers perceived their relationships as more conflictual with 'undercontrollers' compared to 'resilients' and 'overcontrollers'. Considering children's personality types seems to be important to improve teacher-child relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have found associations between structural characteristics and interaction quality of children in ECEC settings. However, findings are inconsistent and since previous research has been conducted outside Austria, transferability to the Austrian country context is limited. By addressing this gap, the study aims to identify relations between structural characteristics and interaction quality (measured with the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System, inCLASS) of 161 three- and four-year-old children from 55 preschools in Austria. After including control variables, main findings revealed positive relations between adequate equipment and teacher interactions and negative relations between child-staff ratio, proportion of children with immigration background per preschool class, preschool teachers' work experience and peer interactions. Preschool teachers' job security was positively related to task orientation and poorer child-staff ratio corresponded with more conflict interactions. Higher work experience led to fewer conflict interactions. The results indicate that specific structural characteristics are associated with a higher interaction quality in preschools in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents play a vital role in identifying children's needs for support and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) features that support children's well-being. This study examined parental perspectives on features of ECEC that foster young children's well-being under and above the age of 3 years by interviewing 359 parents across nine European countries (England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Portugal). Results revealed that parental perspectives largely converged with quality features discussed in ECEC research. Process quality features were mentioned more frequently than structural features for all children 0- to 6-years-old in almost all countries. However, care-oriented features were mentioned more frequently for under 3 years, and educational-oriented features were mentioned more frequently for the older group. Regarding structural features, patterns of responses across the two age groups were similar in most countries. Age differences were not more pronounced in countries with a split governance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing concern about the ways in which neoliberalism is impacting Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), particularly in relation to infants and toddlers. The neoliberal agenda positions the outdoors as risky and a place to be physically active, potentially excluding the youngest children from these spaces. Drawing upon case study data from a larger project exploring outdoor provision for infants and toddlers in England, we demonstrate the critical leadership role owner/managers can play. They do this by creating different kinds of pedagogic spaces (cultural, physical and reflective) for practitioners to develop their outdoor practices. We argue that the creation of such spaces requires explicit acts of resistance and disruption to neoliberal understandings about the place of infants and toddlers outdoors. Our research demonstrates the potential for owner/managers to act as critical pedagogues creating spaces called hope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamic and situated nature of language education policy in an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centre through the lens of researcher-child relationality. Drawing on data from 4.5 months of linguistic ethnographic fieldwork in a pre-school in the Netherlands, one extended play situation that emerged between me as a researcher and a multilingual child is discussed in-depth. During our play, we interrelate with the pre-school's dominantly monolingual language education policy in multiple ways, ranging from manifesting it to challenging it, while we also constantly relate to the ECEC environment, and each other. Relationality is suggested as a fruitful pathway to understanding processual and dynamic language education policy processes, taking both child agency and researcher agency into account as it constantly emerges and intra-acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing consensus in early childhood education and care (ECEC) that intentional teaching is pivotal for deep level learning, especially when teaching scientific concepts. However, intentional teaching alone does not always account for how educators communicate their intentions with children. To bridge this gap, we explore the possibilities of integrating the concepts of learning intentions and success criteria in play-based learning. Learning intentions and success criteria are practised in schools and are considered effective in enhancing learning outcomes and assessment. In ECEC, an emergent body of literature has started to examine how formative assessments could be incorporated into teaching to support children's self-regulation through play. To extend this research area, we investigate Australian early childhood educators' perspectives on implementing learning intentions and success criteria as a practice of intentional teaching focusing on mathematics. Based on the initial findings from a Design-based research project, we propose an integrated pedagogical framework for play-based environments. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines different rationalities for parental involvement in their children's early childhood education and care (ECEC). Starting from Foucault's governmentality and the context of the transforming and diversifying Czech preschool system, it analyzes parents' rationalities for their involvement in ECEC and discusses how they relate to the neoliberal ideal of the responsible autonomous family. Analyzing data from interviews with parents in six ECEC facilities with different characteristics, it identifies five rationalities for parental involvement and shows how the neoliberal processes of responsibilization and autonomization play a central role in the (de)legitimization of these parental rationalities. Reflecting on how the rationalities of parental involvement gain or lose legitimacy in relation to dominant norms and ideals helps ECEC students and practitioners to understand how social inequalities are potentially exacerbated through the promotion/expectation of certain forms of parental involvement in parent – ECEC facility relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early learning agendas are currently being introduced in early childhood education and care (ECEC) by transnational organizations such as the EU and OECD. In this paper, we focus on Denmark, where such agendas interweave with a pedagogical tradition emphasizing a child-centered approach and children's play. Based on ethnographic research, we explore learning agendas as part of practice in ECEC centers, pursuing the situated meanings of a learning program as part of everyday practice in ECEC centers from three different perspectives: of children, professionals and managers. Informed by psychological and anthropological traditions, this design employs an agentic stance and conceptualizes children, professionals and managers as subjects actively contributing to the co-creation, transformation and translation of policies in everyday contexts. Key findings suggest that the appropriation of national and international learning agendas in ECEC settings characterized by local traditions is an ambiguous process. On the one hand, the learning program's structure can support existing professional practices and traditions. On the other hand, the program's focus on learning goals and evaluation practices reduces the focus on pedagogy and supports administrative and political logics, which in turn marginalizes important knowledge about children and their engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is near consensus that early childhood education and care (ECEC) is essential to children's early development. A common corollary is that early learning will be pivotal to helping redress inequities in educational outcomes. We examine whether this is true among rural communities in the Indian states of Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana. Specifically, we assess whether learning gains for the most disadvantaged are retained in comparison to more advantaged children who had lower initial learning levels. We find that lower-achieving, more advantaged children (as measured by mother's education) soon overtake higher-achieving but less advantaged children. In contrast, higher-achieving girls remain ahead of lower-achieving boys in Assam and Telangana, although they are caught up in Rajasthan. Given the differing patterns across the states, we explore the extent to which these may be shaped by their respective social and policy contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer rejections impair children's well-being in ECEC, impede their social and emotional development, and increase the risk of multiple forms of peer adversities. This study explores children's need for empathy when experiencing rejections from peers in free play situations in ECEC. The data were collected through video-recorded dialogical interviews with children between three and a half and six years of age and analysed within a phenomenological hermeneutical approach. The findings show that children's need for empathy was most dominantly initiated by the wish to play and experience belonging, and this need was felt in relation to other children as well as ECEC staff. The findings highlight the importance of the ECEC practitioner's being present and available for emotional and social support for children in play negotiations, as well as her or his involvement in facilitating participation, encouraging children's empathic expressions, and promoting inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergenerational programs have benefits for both children and older adults; however, the ongoing pandemic has changed social situations across the globe. The focus of this article is on exploring transitions and transformations due to societal conditions and demands that drive the implementation of intergenerational programs during a time of a global crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an online survey form and focus group discussion, a total of 64 kindergarten practitioners shared their perspectives on intergenerational programs between young children and older adults in kindergartens in Norway. Kindergarten practitioners identified challenges that hinder intergenerational programs in kindergarten settings during the pandemic, as well as conditions that facilitate its implementation. Implications from this research indicate the need to think differently to be able to provide children with intergenerational experiences in kindergarten settings in Norway even during the pandemic and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation and empowerment are complex concepts that, from an analytical point of view, are not necessarily related. One explicit goal of social innovation is to empower communities, as well as the individuals that are involved in activities within those communities, but this does not necessarily always occur. Here we address the question 'Does social innovation in early childhood education and care (ECEC) empower women?' First, we explore whether the projects we examine can be defined as social innovations. Second, we analyse to what extent arrangements that are identified as innovative in ECEC empower the mothers who choose them. We argue that if the characteristics of a particular social innovation project enhance or reinforce the capabilities of the women who participate in it, that experience will most probably empower them; if not, this is unlikely to occur. Our empirical material includes 37 interviews with key informants, educators, and mothers involved in these non-institutionalized projects, collected in Barcelona. Our results reveal the socioeconomic bias in these projects, as well as the costs derived for both sets of participants (mothers and educators). They also show the wider social impact that stems from these projects being under-regulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpretation in cross-language qualitative research presents a range of methodological and ethical challenges. Among these are the interpreters' influence on data generation and interview power dynamics. Having translators review and/or produce an independent translation of recorded interview material for comparative purposes is regarded as one of the ways researchers can control for these challenges. However, there are other reasons why translations of interpreted materials are valuable. This paper explores these issues by reporting an interview focused on investigating the experiences of a non-Icelandic family as their child made the transition to an Icelandic preschool. In this case, the interpreter influenced data generation in a semi-structured interview; a situation that was only fully revealed in follow-up translation. The findings suggest that while the follow-up translation demonstrates discrepancies and the interpreter's tendency to modify both questions and responses during the interview, comparative analysis of the oral interpretation and translation of the interview text opens up new dimensions in the data that would otherwise have gone unnoticed by the researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to explore how the belonging and participation, as well as its related concepts, are framed in the national curriculum guidelines of the Netherlands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. We employed a scoping study with concept-mapping methodology. The results reveal macro level principles related to human rights and values, multiliteracy and language, policy measures and ideologies. Meso level principles stressed that education is supposed to guarantee a child's overall development and skills acquisition, participation involvement in the activities related to a child's environment and cultural heritage. The micro level principles were indicative of the need for inclusive and accessible physical and social environments, along with teaching methods which foster positive attitudes about diversity and teachers' expertise levels to address diversity. We also found the importance of designing opportunities that encourage socializing, building relationships, and belongingness. Additionally, the results show how frequently the chosen key concepts are represented in the guidelines. Based on our study we can conclude that curriculum guidelines do not provide sufficent frameworks for promoting children's belonging and participation. Further exploration on those concepts is needed, along with increased scholarly attention within the spheres of ECEC and compulsory education practice to enable inclusion for all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 16 Flying Start early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings within a Local Authority in Wales, observations of adult-child interactions, using the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing Scale (SSTEW), highlighted that interactions that support children's problem solving, curiosity, concept development, and higher-order thinking were the least well developed aspects of practice. A two-day professional learning intervention 'Talking Science', underpinned by a socio-cultural understanding of science learning in ECEC was designed. The intervention was delivered via a collaborative, socio constructive model of delivery en masse to all 64 practitioners in the 16 Flying Start settings. This qualitative mixed method research project adopted an interpretivist paradigm; the aim was to better understand ECEC practitioners' perceptions of science and how these perceptions both shaped provision and supported children's concept development in their settings. Data collection took the form of scribed notes from group discussions, feedback from practitioners during discussions and evaluation feedback about 'Talking Science'. The experiential professional learning programme with a focus on science in everyday practice appeared to be supportive of practitioners' developing confidence and subsequent engagement with science provision for young children. 'Talking Science' also provides a model which may have wider implications when designing ECEC professional learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risky play is defined as thrilling and challenging forms of play that have the potential for physical injury and has been linked to development and health benefits for children in the early years. These benefits include risk-assessment skills, increased physical activity and well-being, and promoting social competencies and resilience. Currently, in a Western context, children's opportunities for risky play are decreasing and at the same time, childhood inactivity and coinciding health concerns are on the rise. Risky play may help ameliorate some current health problems for children. This research aimed to increase understanding of how children use affordances (environmental factors that intersect with and influence human behaviours) for risky play. Physical environmental factors have been found to influence children's affordances for all play, including risky play. The study employed a deductive analysis of participant-observer field notes and focused-video observations in order to identify how children utilize indoor and outdoor environmental features for risky play. Data was interpreted through Gibson's theory of affordances and was then fit to established taxonomies of environments for children's risky play. Research was conducted with children, ages 3–4 years, at a kindergarten in Norway. Findings identified environmental affordances for risky play that were actualized by children in this study. We propose that findings from this study may be useful in considering the physical design of early childhood education play spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language development in early childhood education and care (ECEC) has received increased policy attention in the past 20 years. Yet, few empirical studies have explored language assessment from the standpoint of ECEC teachers. Transnational organizations, such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have increased their influence over national ECEC curriculums, stressing early intervention/readiness-for-school approaches to assist vulnerable groups in society. In contrast, the Nordic social pedagogy field perceives early intervention policies a threat to child-centered, playful approaches to learning. Based on interviews with 11 Danish and 11 Norwegian ECEC teachers in Copenhagen and Oslo municipalities, three main forms of ambivalence are identified: (1) ambivalence toward the 'ready-for-school' discourse, (2) ambivalence toward professional autonomy and discretion, and (3) ambivalence toward integration policy and the ideological code of 'the standard child.' The study recommends a more inclusive understanding of the implications of 'adequate language proficiency' and 'school readiness.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to explore norms about care and masculinity in early childhood education and care settings in Indonesia and Sweden. Building on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, it is shown how care in the two nations was produced as ambivalent for men, causing a risk of being accused of working with children for the wrong reasons. Two different strategies were employed by the men to handle this: to avoid caring practices and to renegotiate care, making it part of hegemonic masculinity. In the study, ethnographic methodology building on long-term relations, situated knowledge and trust, was key to gain the two different perspectives. The methodology produced nuanced understandings of how care and masculinity came to be enacted in different social and religious contexts. The extended field work enabled trustful relations to develop, which in turn facilitated shared learning about gendered bodies, fear and shame in relation to care [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnographic data from two Romanian and two Danish nurseries, we explore the agency of children aged 9 months to 2.5 years. Considering action, time, and place, the article reflects on crying as one of the children's agentic practices. We identified five predominant types of crying and analysed peers' and caregivers' perceptions and reactions. The ethnographic approach uncovers the generational order and social logic of nurseries, making it possible to compare the ways in which children use crying in their communication with caregivers and peers in Romania and Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about children's opportunities to participate in early childhood education and care (ECEC) communities. The study focuses on the communication between educators and children in ECEC settings and how the communication forms condition children's opportunities to participate in the community. The research questions are: What kind of communication patterns occur in educator and child interactions and how do these influence children's opportunities to participate in the ECEC community? How can the communication patterns and the opportunities for participation in a community be understood from a lifeworld and a system perspective? Theoretically, the study is based on Habermas's (1995) social philosophical perspective and the way he views the world from both a lifeworld and a system perspective. His concepts of communicative and strategic action guide the study in the purpose to identify and interpret communication patterns. The data consist of video observations of educators and children in everyday interactions in three Norwegian ECEC institutions. The analysis generated three main categories representing different communication patterns and participation opportunities in the community: (a) controlling communication – limited participation, (b) supportive communication – passive participation, and (c) co-operative communication – mutual participation. The findings show a priority in early childhood education on the individual child and a goal-oriented practice where the educator controls the communication and, by that, the children's lifeworlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comparative study investigated how early childhood education and care practitioners in South Korea and Norway perceive the concept of children's well-being and their own roles in supporting and facilitating children's well-being. Data were collected through online questionnaires from 198 practitioners and analysed utilising chi-square analyses. The results showed that South Korean practitioners perceived the cognitive and economic domains as more important than Norwegian practitioners. Meanwhile, the practitioners from Norway perceived the social domain as more important than South Korean practitioners. Norwegian practitioners perceived physical needs, need for affection, and enjoyment as more important than Korean practitioners. Norwegian practitioners also monitored every child's well-being and more actively encouraged positive interactions and child-initiated activities. Meanwhile, Korean practitioners perceived the need for safety as important and believed that environments were not safe enough for children's health and well-being. These findings suggest that the educational approaches and sociocultural contexts of the two countries influence children's well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core aspect within process quality is quality of interactions between caregivers and children. This article investigates six interaction skills of caregivers in ECEC groups for toddlers in Norway using the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales. The participants are 110 teachers and 58 assistants in 111 toddler groups. Results show that caregivers score between moderate and adequate-to-good levels on the more basic interaction skills. For the more educational interaction skills, scores were mostly at the inadequate level. Comparing teachers and assistants, teachers score higher on respect for autonomy, structuring and limit setting, verbal communication, and developmental stimulation. In addition, correlations show that the CIP scores were differentially associated with several ITERS-R scales, which supports the applicability of the measure. Because of the overall moderate-to-low scores, there is a need for in-service training to improve the process quality of ECEC for toddlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denmark has a tradition of kindergarten pedagogy focused on children's play, sociality and individual interests. Political emphasis on global competition, however, has led to reforms in early childhood education and care (ECEC) since 2004. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at three kindergartens, we analyse how the ECEC-reforms have affected the priorities of parents and pedagogues regarding school readiness. To understand how this is negotiated, we draw upon Lareau's distinction between childrearing as 'concerted cultivation' or as 'the accomplishment of natural growth' (Lareau, A. 2003. Unequal Childhoods. Class, Race and Family Life. London: University of California Press). We show that parents and staff consider the social as the most important thing for kindergarten children to learn and as something that the adults must cultivate – often in a disciplinary manner. Meanwhile, parents and pedagogues state that academic competences are not important to cultivate because an interest in academics will naturally grow. Adults just have to support academic activities through play when the children choose to engage in them. However, academic competences are actively cultivated in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Playful interactions with peers have a significant role in children's lives, and experiencing belongingness and acceptance through interpersonal relationships is a fundamental presupposition for children's health and well-being. Peer rejections appear to be an inevitable component of peer interactions. Sometimes, rejection involves relational devaluation and deprivation of a sense of belonging. This article highlights the voice of the children and intends to contribute more knowledge about how peer rejections are experienced by the children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions. The data were collected through video-recorded interviews with children between 3.5 and 6 years old and analysed within a phenomenological hermeneutical approach to examine the structures of their experiences. The findings reveal that the peer rejections are experienced as stressful and emotionally painful events, which affect the children's emotional state and impact their social self-perception. This study emphasizes the children as relationally dependent subjects, and the findings highlight the importance of creating within ECECs an inclusive and nurturing social environment that prevents peer rejections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure on labour-supply has rekindled concern about the low participation of men in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and public debate about the 'appropriateness' and 'value' of male educators in these settings. We examined this issue from the perspective of all staff (N = 23), in two Australian ECEC centres employing a male educator. A diversity lens framed analysis, providing a contemporary and inclusive account of male educators as members of the teaching team rather than as gender-anomalies in the workforce. Staff identified male educators as assets with their value extending beyond symbolic salience as men in a feminized workplace. Men's pedagogical contribution was described as related to employment role, not gender identity. Distinct benefits to productivity and relationships were reported. From the perspective of those inside gender diversity enhanced workplace (relationships) and work productivity (quality); low participation of men presents an opportunity-cost that extends beyond simply increasing the workforce pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low academic achievements are predicted by early disadvantages. Because achievement gaps typically escalate with age, early efforts to prevent future academic disadvantages are called for. The current study examines whether exposure to structured pre-academic activities in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a compensatory role for the early academic achievements in school (teacher ratings and screening tests of reading and math) of children who were at developmental (low receptive language), behavioral (high externalizing behavior and low effortful control) and socio-economic (low maternal education) risk in preschool. Using a sample of 934 children from the longitudinal Behavioral Outlook Developmental Study to examine between-school comparisons and within-school fixed effects models, findings suggest that preschoolers with externalizing behaviors may moderately benefit from structured pre-academic activities prior to school entry. However, it is concluded that this pre-academic boost is weak and may be limited to a short transition period from ECEC to school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantage of pedagogical documentation has been widely documented in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). However, little research points out how and why professionals are using pedagogical documentation from the staff's perspective itself. Therefore, this research aimed to examine how pedagogical documentation is employed in their professional practice. The data for this descriptive qualitative study were collected by interviewing 56 ECEC professionals (heads of organizations, teachers and child minders) after their informed consent. Three purposes in using pedagogical documentation were detected: 1/ to demonstrate facts and growth, 2/ to provoke further thinking; 3/ to facilitate adult–child interaction and interaction among adults. These uses were directed at children, parents, professionals, the neighbourhood, and the interactions across these groups. The results show that staff uses pedagogical documentation in multiple ways, but not often as a tool for professional development. This yields future perspectives to support reflective professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among asylum seekers in the EU, many are families with young children (0–4 years). In policy and practice, however, these children remain invisible. During the asylum proceedings, which can take quite some time, there is hardly any pedagogical offer available in reception centres nor are there clear policies to guarantee accessible, useful and meaningful ECEC. While there is ample evidence of the possible benefits of high quality ECEC, especially for vulnerable groups, these children often do not attend any ECEC provision. This article addresses this issue, by reporting on the results from the Erasmus+ Project 'MyRef', Multilingual Early Childhood Education and Care for Young Refugee Children (01/10/2016–31/05/2019) carried on in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. One of the main findings of the project was the almost complete lack of specific policy or attention for this group of young children and their families. In research as well, the very youngest refugee children have not been a topic of attention as such. In this article, we want to raise awareness on this group of children and their right to access to high quality ECEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children Crossing Borders was an ambitious study of the intersection of im/migration and early childhood education in five countries: England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. This article looks back at this study a decade later, presenting the main findings and proposing suggestions about how in the contemporary climate ECEC programs might better address the needs of the im/migrant and refugee children and families they serve. Among the key findings of the study, as already presented in the main publications of the project (Tobin, Adair, Arzubiaga, 2013. Children Crossing Borders: Immigrant Parents and Teacher Perspectives on Preschool for Children of Immigrants. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; Tobin, ed. 2016. Preschool and Im/migrants in Five Countries. Brussels: Peter Lang), are that newly arriving parents tend to be pragmatic and strategic in their ECEC preferences; practitioners are often caught between being culturally responsive to parents and following their pedagogical beliefs and principles; bicultural staff play a crucial but also underappreciated role as cultural and linguistic mediators; parents find it difficult for their voices to be heard in their children's ECEC settings; and practitioners are underprepared to deal with the challenges of working with refugees, new im/migrants, and other second language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on video observations of three-year-old children's empathic expressions in the context of playful interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions in Norway. The data were analysed within a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, searching for a system of the children's self-initiated empathic expressions in their play and interaction. The findings show that young children's inherent empathy largely appears as an embodied intonation in the other's emotional state, expressed through facial and bodily intersubjective expressions, followed up with empathy-related responses adapted to the context through physical communication. This study reveals that funny behaviour and play invitations are empathically motivated actions, making peers happy again and confirming relationships. This new insight contributes to a broader understanding of young children's empathy and may contribute to developing the knowledge of how ECEC's educational work can support children's empathic development based on an understanding of the body's phenomenology and integrated in children's play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on children's participation in community and the research question is as follows: What do children describe as hallmarks influencing their ability to participate in the ECEC community? The study is based on a qualitative hermeneutic analysis of semi-structured group interviews with 12 five-year-old children from three different Norwegian ECEC institutions. How children express that they are included, mutually accepted and engaged with others are interpreted as hallmarks for participation. The main theoretical basis is Biesta's view of democracy as both action and a mode of togetherness, and also his understanding of education as socialisation, qualification and subjectification. The analysis of the group interviews resulted in five broad categories of the children's descriptions of their prerequisites for participation: trust, responsibility for others, adapting to the institutional rules, freedom to choose and refuse community, and common ground. At the end the findings are discussed and seen in relation to some implications for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to open up the rationales that are used to argue for an increase in male participation in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. Two theoretical concepts are highlighted and compared: gender balance and gender flexibility. An ethnographic study was conducted in one unusual nursery that has five male workers, using focus groups, one-to-one interviews and observations with male and female practitioners, managers and parents. Some practitioners used a discourse of gender balance to justify the value of the male contribution to the workforce, based on heteronormative ideas about the division of gendered labour within the traditional family. Others emphasised the importance of the highly versatile ECEC practitioner and linked a value for identity versatility with gender flexibility. Our findings lead to recommendations about the need to recruit, train and retain practitioners who are gender conscious and can respond to young children in gender-flexible ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors have argued that early childhood education and care (ECEC) is essentially an ethical practice based on certain values and conceptions about the purpose of education. Is this also the case for educational practices surrounding the highly valued notion of curiosity? While psychological approaches portray it as neutral, this article aims to explore curiosity's normative connotations. To do so, an ethnographically informed approach and video-stimulated recall focus-group interviews have been used to gather Norwegian ECEC practitioners' reflections on the importance of curiosity. The reflections have been analysed using the concept of ethical rationalities and can be grouped into four approaches to valuing curiosity: the relational approach, the virtue approach, the consequentialist approach and the essentialist approach. The analysis suggests that different practices for nurturing curiosity are constrained and others are enabled, depending on the preferred ethical rationality. To prevent the nurturing of curiosity from being based on an assumed and restricted range of theoretical and ethical perspectives, it is necessary to invite practitioners' reflections on values associated with curiosity. SHORT ABSTRACT While psychological approaches portray it as neutral, this article aims to explore curiosity's normative connotations in the daily practices of ECEC. To do so, an ethnographically informed approach and video-stimulated recall focus-group interviews have been used to gather practitioners' reflections on the importance of nurturing curiosity. These have been analysed using the concept of ethical rationalities and can be grouped into four approaches to valuing curiosity: the relational approach, the virtue approach, the consequentialist approach and the essentialist approach. To prevent the nurturing of curiosity from being based on a restricted range of theoretical and ethical perspectives, it is necessary to invite reflection on its value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A body of studies, which are mostly based on parental reports, have documented gender differences in early language proficiency, and girls tend to outperform boys in both language production and language comprehension. In this study, staff in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care institutions observed language comprehension, word production, and participation in adult-driven language activities in 1005 thirty-three-month-olds (489 girls and 516 boys). Significant gender differences in favor of girls were found in all aspects explored. Children with high language scores participate more in language activities than children with low language scores, and boys are overrepresented in the last-mentioned group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a first peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s, early childhood education and care (ECEC) again plays an important role in the educational system in Austria. Over 90% of 3-5-year-old children attend non-familial institutions such as preschools. A consequence of this development is that new challenges arise, which have become the subject of scholarly discussions and education policies. A first challenge refers to the academization of the training of preschool teachers. A second challenge focuses on the need to improve interaction quality in preschools. A third challenge relates to improvements in the degree of collaboration between preschool and primary school. A fourth challenge is the need to establish a research infrastructure in ECEC in Austria to gain country-specific research evidence. This contribution aims to elucidate and examine these challenges, along with current education policies to improve ECEC in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an ecological perspective on competence, this study analyzed the attitudes, skills, and knowledge of practitioners in educational services for 0–6-years-old children in Italy, examining competence profiles in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce. Our study considered three areas of competence, which previously have received less attention: relationships with children, relationships with families, and relationships within working groups or teams. Participants were 136 practitioners working in Italian ECEC services. Practitioners reported a greater need to acquire social skills for their relationships with children and families, especially in cases of psychosocial distress. They also reported the difficulty of development planning within their professional role. The article concludes with a discussion of the attitudes, skills, and knowledge required for professional development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While policy-makers and researchers in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) often seem to speak different languages, overwhelming research evidence on how quality ECEC can play a key role in alleviating the effects of disadvantage can be extremely relevant for policy-makers. In this article, we focus on how philanthropic foundations can facilitate the dialogue and bring together researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders on (particularly quality) issues in ECEC. In this article, we present a comprehensive advocacy project, designed by 13 philanthropic foundations on both sides of the Atlantic, under the leadership of the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) (Belgium). This group of foundations wants to clarify, discuss and document some of the most relevant issues in ECEC at this point, with a focus on children from low-income and migrant families. Meetings have already taken place on accessibility, professionalisation and curriculum, parent involvement and evaluation. With the fifth forum – on integrated systems in ECEC – on its way, it is time for a short recap. Can meeting opportunities of this kind, for a limited group of policy-makers, successfully influence policy? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article proposes that there exist ‘glass doors’ impeding men from entering and participating in ECEC work. Across developed countries, men’s participation as carers and teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services tends to be viewed as highly desirable and much has been written about the importance of men in ECEC. However, the proportion of men has not yet risen to a level that effectively challenges the near absence of gender diversity in the sector. How could this be when there are no formal legal or other visible barriers preventing men from entering the early childhood profession? To explore why it has proven difficult to make much headway in increasing the proportion of men in ECEC we reviewed and discussed the scientific literature and in particular drew on research and experience from our own countries – Austria and New Zealand. This led to the generation of six descriptions for what we found to be the main ‘glass doors’. In practice the glass doors are unseen or invisible. These are rarely acknowledged and not known until they are walked into but these are real barriers to men being able to participate equally with women in ECEC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Iceland has a strong tradition of universal public early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for children. The traditional pedagogy is founded on play-based learning with the holistic view of the development of the child is central to practice. With increased interest in education following the 2008 financial crisis, there are signs that playschool teachers are under pressure to produce ‘school-ready’ children by moving towards primary school teaching methods. This article considers the issue of schoolificationin Iceland and its relevance to the tradition of play-based learning. It concludes that, although the majority of playschools adhere to the traditional play-based pedagogy, practitioners must be alert to the influence of schoolification on children's preschool experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a broad consensus in international debates that the quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services is inextricably linked to the professionalisation of its workforce. In particular, the importance of providing ECEC practitioners with continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities has been increasingly recognised in recent years. Against this background little attention has been paid to the investigation of professional development practices that have proved to be effective and supportive for qualifying educational work within ECEC settings. Drawing on the data collected from documentary sources and interviews with local experts, this paper will illustrate and critically analyse relevant CPD initiatives that have been implemented within municipal early childhood services in the Italian context. Practitioners’ active engagement in professional development processes and peer exchanges within a collegial framework, both of which create fertile ground for educational experimentation and shared reflectivity, have been identified as main strengths of these programmes. By disseminating the pedagogic knowledge and expertise elaborated within such programmes, the present analysis offers a significant contribution to the existing debate on the CPD of early years practitioners from a systemic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of spatial and place research when exploring concepts of belonging, participation and citizenship in relation to young children and early childhood education and care (ECEC) in urban societies. Particular attention is paid to the position of marginalised children and those most at risk of discrimination, who experience barriers to accessing services and challenges to the rights of citizenship and identity. These are illustrated with reference to the ECEC projects and initiatives of Melel Xojobal, a non-governmental organisation working to improve the quality of life of indigenous migrant children and their families in San Cristobal de Las Casas, a rapidly growing city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. RESUME: L'objectif de cet article est d'eclairer l'importance de la recherche sur l'espace et la place lorsque sont examines les concepts d'appartenance, de participation et de citoyennete dans le champ de l'accueil et de l'education la petite enfance dans les societes urbaines. Une attention speciale est portee a la position des enfants marginalises et de ceux exposes aux risques de discriminations qui rencontrent des obstacles pour acceder aux services et des defis quant aux droits a la citoyennete et a l'identite. Ces questions sont abordees a partir des projets petite enfance et initiatives de Melel Xojobal, une organisation non gouvernementale oeuvrant pour ameliorer la qualite de vie des enfants migrants indigenes et de leurs familles a San Cristobal de las Casas, une ville en pleine expansion dans l'etat du Chiapas au Mexique. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Ziel dieser Veroffentlichung ist es, die Wichtigkeit von ortlich und raumlich kontextualisierter Forschung hervorzuheben, wenn es darum geht, Konzepte von Zugehorigkeit, Partizipation und burgerschaftlichem Engagement in Bezug auf junge Kinder und fruhkindliche Erziehung und Bildung in urbanen Gesellschaften zu untersuchen. Ein besonderes Augenmerk wird gelegt auf die Situation von marginalisierten Kindern und hier besonders jenen, die von Diskriminierung und Ausgrenzung betroffen sein konnen, die Barrieren beim Zugang zu gesellschaftlichen Ressourcen und Dienstleistungen erleben und denen ihre Identitaten sowie die Zugehorigkeit zur Gesellschaft in der sie leben, abgesprochen bzw. erschwert wird. Dies wird illustriert durch Projekte aus dem fruhkindlichen Bildungs- und Betreuungsbereich und Initiativen von Melel Xojobal, einer NGO, deren Arbeitsschwerpunkt in der Verbesserung der Lebensbedingungen von indigenen Kindern und Familien besteht, die in die Stadt San Cristobal de Las Casas migriert sind, eine rasch anwachsende Stadt in Staat Chiapas, Mexiko. RESUMEN: El proposito de este trabajo es destacar la importancia de la investigacion del espacio y los lugares al explorar los conceptos de pertenencia, deltagande y ciudadania en relacion a los ninos pequenos y la educacion y el cuidado de la primera infancia (ECEC) en sociedades urbanas. Se presta particular atencion a la posicion de los ninos marginados y a aquellos con alto riesgo de discriminacion, que experimentan obstaculos para acceder a los derechos ciudadanos y al reconocimiento de sus identidades. Para ilustrar estos puntos nos apoyamos en los proyectos e iniciativas sobre educacion y cuidado de la primera infancia que lleva a cabo Melel Xojobal, organizacion no gubernamental que trabaja en la mejora de calidad de vida de ninos indigenas emigrantes y sus familias en San Cristobal de Las Casas, una ciudad que ha experimentado un crecimiento muy rapido en el estado de Chiapas, Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]