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During the global pandemic, teachers and students were forced to quickly adjust teaching and learning to fit in the new socially distanced world. Along with the challenge of establishing effective online teaching tools came the need to create social spaces for connecting with students through teacher-student interactions. This study followed the practices of K-12 teachers who were also graduate students seeking an advanced endorsement in literacy as they grappled with problems and solutions of online learning during an intensive K-12 literacy tutoring program. The researchers honed in on the work of one focal teacher as she carved out a new social space for connecting with her students. This work resulted in the identification of specific criteria for three dimensions of social presence: relationship building, engagement, and social interactions.

Many kindergarten educators grapple with how best to teach reading in play-based kindergarten classrooms. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to ascertain the instructional strengths and needs of kindergarten educators as they teach reading in play-based programs. Fifteen kindergarten teachers participated in an online questionnaire and focus group conversations that explored their concepts of self-efficacy and professional content knowledge to gain an understanding of the tensions these educators expressed, and to compare and confirm these with existing literature. Educators felt quite confident that they were effectively weaving foundational reading skills with learning opportunities into authentic experiences throughout the day. They indicated that balancing competing priorities within their programs was a challenge, and that supporting multilinguals and deepening their understanding of how to effectively build oral language and phonological awareness in their students were areas where they wanted to build their professional content knowledge.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant transition towards online education in pre-K-12 schools, prompting school administrators to confront the disparities revealed by the remote learning model. This paper includes the findings of a multi-phase research project exploring the intersection of educational leadership, technology, and systemic inequities aimed to guide administrator preparation programs to meet relevant, post-pandemic leadership standards. Phase One of the research project, conducted early in the pandemic, highlights the findings from a survey administered to technology directors in Minnesota. The survey aimed to understand how school districts were addressing the technology disparities encountered by students and families during hybrid and distance learning models. Phase Two of the research project, conducted as the pandemic waned, focused on school leaders' evaluation of which practices developed and implemented during remote learning should be sustained. Technology directors participated in a focus group and asserted that the pandemic was an opportunity for educational leaders to reimagine schools for the success of all students. Findings call for revised administrator preparation standards, the implementation of technology plans in every state, and continued focus on identifying and addressing educational inequities.

Public school board members are charged with the responsibility and accountability to provide governance-level advocacy for equity and excellence in public education. This qualitative study examined the perceptions of school board members in three K--8 school districts in the midwestern part of the United States regarding the 50+ year Race-Based Academic Achievement Disparity (RBAAD) in public education. Virtual one-on-one interviews, a virtual focus group, and member checks were used to gather data. Utilizing servant and moral leadership as the theoretical frameworks, the findings revealed that school board members are empowered with governance-level authority and the responsibility to address the RBAAD phenomenon, school board members encounter obstacles that challenge their ability to mitigate the RBAAD phenomenon, and school board members contend that opportunities exist to promote mitigation of the RBAAD. Implications for future research and practice are addressed.

The notion of "professional" is built on a concept of traditionally male professions and patriarchal social orders. ECEC (early childhood education and care), however, is a female-dominated field characterised by its unique caring practice. This study investigated how a group of Australian early childhood preservice teachers presented themselves professionally on social media, in relation to respective infant (0-2) and kindergarten (3-5) practica. Data were drawn from focus group discussions about how the participants shared their practicum experiences on Instagram. The paper is guided by Foucault's concepts of self writing. Findings are organised around four themes of self-writing processes: collecting, selecting, annotating, and managing time and tasks. Two narratives are revealed. In the context of the kindergarten placement, the posts constituted a journey of continuous improvement against all odds. In contrast, the infant placement experiences evoked a sense of struggle and renunciation. The paper concludes with implications for further study beyond the Australian context.

The abrupt shift to online instruction that occurred in spring 2020, often referred to as emergency remote teaching (ERT), caught many world language educators off guard. To prepare for future disruptions to face-to-face learning and illustrate promising online teaching practices that emerged during this extended period of time that could serve to expand and enhance world language instruction, it is important to understand how ERT influenced K-12 world language programs around the world. To help the world language teaching community better understand how ERT influenced world language instruction, a team of researchers collected interview data from world language teachers and students in the United States and Germany. Results confirmed that instruction was negatively impacted by the sudden shift to online formats, explained how and why instruction was influenced, and identified promising practices exhibited by teachers to mitigate the negative impact of ERT. World language teachers, stakeholders, and school leaders may wish to consider the results of this study to lessen the impact of future disruptions to on campus learning and to enhance the growing presence of online learning in schools.

Elasticity, the capacity for students to explore or investigate their own questions of interest during or after teacher-directed events in the classroom, is highly beneficial for students in terms of their retention and deeper understanding of the content. An elastic environment is child-centered and inquiry-based. An inelastic environment (teacher-directed) results in students refraining from asking, investigating, or exploring their interests/curiosities. Teachers' perceptions of their classroom environments become an important consideration when evaluating their ability to enact elastic explorations. In this pilot study, teachers (two separate public-school districts) completed surveys describing perceptions of elasticity in their classrooms. Results indicate teachers' high value for elasticity in learning, inquiry-based investigating, and authentic student questioning. However, most teachers describe their environments as highly inelastic due to multiple barriers including time, standards, testing, stress, and a lack of training. The authors discuss potential pathways for increasing elastic environments including teacher training, professional development, and administrative support. The authors also discuss the relationship between teachers' beliefs and developing an elastic classroom environment.

Physical activity breaks in the classroom are an efficient way of promoting healthy behaviors in students, enhancing the development of their cognitive and academic abilities. The effects of active breaks, which are exclusive to the academic environment, are almost entirely positive, only a few papers did not show significant improvements, but they did not show any negative impact on academic performance either. This research was carried out to identify the properties and consequences of active breaks and physical activity during classes in school age. We have examined multiple databases, and we have selected 41 papers accounting for a time span of 15 years. Psychology, medicine, and education databases were the most browsed. Most papers revealed positive outcomes for improving skills related to mathematics, language, reading, comprehension, as well as cognitive and executive functions. Overall, the results of this review corroborate the theory that physical education in schools is positively associated with academic performance in children. Education researchers keep investigating in order to fully assess the positive impact on academic performance, behavior during classes, and cognitive functions.

This study explores how kindergarten students from a multilingual sample (n = 131) representing 23 different languages differ in response to intervention, based on their skill in mathematics and domain general cognitive skills. Analyses for this study indicate significant correlations between initial math skill, phonological memory, working memory, and language proficiency. There was no statistically significant relationship demonstrated between gains in mathematics and phonological memory, working memory, and language proficiency. No moderation effect was found between domain general skills and response to math intervention. Implications of this work will inform development and delivery of math interventions for multilingual students in kindergarten.

Abolitionist dreamers have called for justice-oriented teachers to teach K-12 students with marginalized identities through methods of critical and culturally responsive/sustaining pedagogies (Freire, 1970/2018; Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 1995/2021; Paris & Alim, 2014); acts of love, care, hope, and healing (Ginwright, 2016; Love, 2019); and the humanization of students in STEM spaces (Benjamin, 2019). The dehumanization and silencing of students with marginalized identities in math, science, and computing spaces have resulted in significant harm to their STEM identities (Matthews, 2018; Vakil, 2018; Yeh et al., 2021). Critical and humanizing pedagogy seeks to move away from the practice of having students divest from their culture and assimilate to survive in schools (Salazar, 2013) and computing spaces. Teachers can transform schools and serve to liberate students through acts of love and care, the intentional humanization of students, and the development of social agency toward cultural, social, political, and institutional action for justice.

This study examines the effects of digital game-based and different educational programs on the phonological awareness skills of 60-72-month-old children. The study group of the research consists of 60-72-month-old children studying in kindergartens affiliated with primary schools. The study group was divided into three experimental groups and one control group. There were 22 children in experimental group 1, 16 in experimental group 2, 17 in experimental group 3, and 17 in the control group, totaling 72 children. In the study, a phonological awareness education program was applied to experimental group 1, a digital game-supported phonological awareness education program was applied to experimental group 2, a digital game-based phonological awareness education program was applied to experimental group 3, and no intervention was applied to the control group. A quasiexperimental design was used as the research model. The Study used the Early Literacy Skills Assessment Tool (ELSA) and the Early Literacy Test for Preschoolers (ELTKC) as data collection tools. A pre-test was administered to the study and control groups, and after the pre-test, educational programs were applied to the experimental groups for ten weeks. After the educational programs were implemented, a post-test was administered to the experimental and control groups, and a retention test was administered to the experimental groups. According to the results of the study, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the experimental groups and between the experimental groups and the control group.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is America's most common childhood disorder. Although an ADHD diagnosis can bring positives, recent research uncovers potential negatives associated with diagnosis. This study examines understudied racial-ethnic heterogeneity in the relationships between an early elementary school ADHD diagnosis--with or without medication treatment--and children's future perceived self-competence, teacher-rated school behaviors, and parent-rated educational expectations. Findings are consistent with the notion that diagnosis can trigger racialized patterns of stigma. That is, relative to undiagnosed matches of the same social class and regardless of medication use, diagnosed Black children demonstrate worse teacher-rated school behaviors, diagnosed White children report poorer perceived self-competence, and parents of diagnosed Hispanic children report poorer educational expectations. Racialized patterns of stigma might amplify the consequences of negative-ability stereotyping on Black children, academic pressure on White children, and mental health stigma on Hispanic children. Findings also highlight the challenges of identification posed by differential unobserved selection into diagnosis.

This study evaluated the effect of peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) intervention on the language and story comprehension skills of two kindergartners with developmental delays from a special education class while reading a digital storybook. The study was conducted in Taiwan with participants who spoke Mandarin Chinese. This study was a single-subject A-B1-C1-B2-C2-M study. The study compared the effects of conventional teaching methods with those of the modified PALS intervention. A standardized instrument and visual analysis were used to assess changes in language and story comprehension skills. After the intervention, the teacher and parents of the study participants were interviewed to evaluate changes in language skills of the participants at home and at school. The qualitative and quantitative results showed that this strategy effectively improved story comprehension skills. The teacher and parents all had positive views on this teaching strategy. Based on the findings, practical and future research suggestions are proposed.

Educational outcomes in Kuwait have lagged behind those of much of the world. This problem is compounded by Kuwaiti educators' struggle to introduce core math and science concepts to young learners. Starting from the premise that STEAM-oriented education will make these concepts more accessible, this study seeks to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of teacher training programs that emphasize the use of STEAM activities. Using surveys, classroom observations, and direct interviews with recipients of STEAM-oriented training, the study concludes that such training has a significantly positive effect on teachers' skills of implementing STEAM activities as well as their attitudes toward STEAM. The results are discussed in the context of future measures that could be taken to increase exposure to STEAM concepts and strategies and to improve overall student performance in Kuwait.

Adaptive learning support provided by kindergarten teachers before and after (macro-adaptive learning support) as well as during mathematical learning activities (micro-adaptive learning support) is a cross-cutting concept of teaching quality. Effective adaptive learning support enhances children's learning. However, providing it is challenging and teachers need professional development (PD) to improve the quality of their support. This study investigates the mediating role of teaching quality between PD programs for kindergarten teachers and the development of children's mathematical competency. 122 kindergarten teachers and their 825 pupils participated in the study. The teachers were randomly assigned to three groups. Two groups attended PD sessions designed to foster either macro- or micro-adaptive learning support. The third was the materials-only control group. The data was analyzed using a self-developed rating instrument focusing on generic and domain-specific elements of teaching quality related to macro- and micro-adaptive learning support. The multilevel latent change model analysis revealed that the PD programs had positive and significant effects on the teaching quality of kindergarten teachers. A significant positive relationship was also found between micro-adaptive learning support and changes in children's mathematical competency. However, an indirect effect of teaching quality could not be detected, and the PD programs did not have a total effect on children's mathematical competency. The study reinforces the importance of PD that specifically targets macro- and micro-adaptive learning support for kindergarten teachers. The mediation between PD and mathematical competency development requires further investigation.

Background: The most effective approach to food allergy management is to avoid consuming the specific allergens that trigger an allergic reaction. It is crucial to make school environments prepared for the potential of food allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, which is a rare but documented outcome. The high prevalence of anaphylactic reactions in children makes food allergy and anaphylaxis management important topics in schools. Aim: This study aimed to determine the effects of food allergy and anaphylaxis management education on teachers' food allergy and anaphylaxis management self-efficacy and level of knowledge in Türkiye. Methods: This study used a random experimental design with a pre-test and post-test group. The study was conducted with 84 teachers who worked in kindergartens (school year prior to starting Grade 1) and primary schools in a city centre in eastern Turkey between September 2022 and January 2023. Data were collected through a socio-demographic form and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Self-Efficacy Scale for School Personnel. Data analysis was performed using t-tests for independent groups, Chi-square tests and McNamara analyses. Results: The average age of the teachers was 31.08 ± 6.70 years, and the average years of experience in the profession was 6.68 ± 6.99 years. All the teachers wanted to learn about food allergy and anaphylaxis management, 59.5% did not know whether their schools had an emergency action plan for food allergy and anaphylaxis, 63.1% reported not having the necessary emergency treatment medicine for anaphylaxis in their school and 57.1% reported having no educated school personnel to administer the first intervention in case of a serious allergic reaction at school. While the mean scale score of the experimental group was 25.88 ± 7.26 before the training, it was 30.78 ± 6.98 after the training. While no differences were detected between the experimental and control groups' pre-test scale mean scores, the experimental group's post-test scale mean score was found to be statistically significantly higher (d = 0.79, p < 0.05). The results also indicate that the rates of providing correct responses to questions regarding what the most common symptom in a student with a food allergy is, and what the first intervention should be when a serious reaction develops in a student, increased significantly level. Conclusions: This study found that the health education given to teachers led to an increase in teachers' food allergy and anaphylaxis management self-efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the types of spelling errors made by children with mild to moderate hearing loss (CMMHL) compared with children with typical hearing (TH) and to determine if types of spelling errors were related to linguistic or audiologic factors. CMMHL and TH completed measures of spelling, spoken language, speech production, and reading. Children's spellings were coded for linguistic-based spelling errors using the Multilinguistic Coding System. The relation of types of linguistic spelling errors and children's performance on standardized language assessments, as well as audiologic factors, was evaluated. CMMHL did not make more spelling errors than TH; however, they exhibited a higher proportion of phonological awareness errors and a lower proportion of mental grapheme representation errors in their spellings. Phonological awareness errors and mental grapheme representation errors were related to relevant linguistic performance. Better-ear pure-tone average was related to total frequency of spelling errors and phonological awareness spelling errors, and better-ear Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) was related to semantic knowledge spelling errors. This study supports the use of linguistic spelling error analysis with CMMHL and provides evidence of the relation of types of linguistic spelling errors to linguistic knowledge and audiologic factors.

Background: The working memory (WM) system is recognized as a crucial cognitive function that underpins the acquisition of new knowledge and the development of foundational skills during childhood. Children's early literacy and numeracy skills lay the foundation for future academic success in reading and mathematics. While previous research has established a link between WM and early literacy as well as numeracy, the specific contributions of different WM components to the development of various skills in kindergarten-aged children remain unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the associations between distinct profiles of WM and academic achievements in early literacy and numeracy among kindergarten children. Method: A battery of memory tests (simple WM and complex WM) were administered to a cohort of 250 kindergarten children aged between five and seven years. Additionally, a range of tasks assessing mathematical and language skills were administered. Results: Our findings align with our initial hypotheses, revealing differences between profiles of simple WM and complex WM in relation to early mathematics and language skills. Generally, children who exhibited higher WM abilities outperformed their peers who had lower WM capabilities. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the critical role of WM in early childhood education. Children with limited WM function are at a heightened risk of academic underachievement. Furthermore, both components of WM--simple WM and complex WM--emerge as influential factors in shaping children's proficiency in early literacy and numeracy skills.

Teacher leadership is a critical aspect of school change while there is lack of a consistent definition for it. This examines teacher leadership conceptualization and its associated outcomes. The review of 33 articles published 2018-2023 focused on teacher leadership in K-12 setting, found that many authors relied on established definitions, with few offering their own interpretations. These articles depict teacher leadership as an informal and individual form of leadership. The analysis revealed outcomes of teacher leadership at school development level; teacher-level benefits including professional growth; and student-level impacts such as increased achievement and motivation.

Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in children's development. It has been shown in previous studies that emotional intelligence not only influences academic performance but also benefits children's social and interpersonal lives. This study proposes a new strategy that integrates dialogical reading with visible thinking routines to develop young children's emotional intelligence. Children's books have been shown to benefit the development of young children's emotional skills. This study builds upon past research by utilizing visible thinking routines during dialogic reading of both children's books and self-made books to create an engaging and comfortable environment for young children to demonstrate and practice their emotional knowledge and skills. A mixed class of sixteen kindergarten and first-grade children, mostly immigrants from Central America, participated in this study. Through classroom observations and monitoring of the children's interactions and performance over time, the intervention was found to develop children's performance in these key areas of emotional intelligence: recognition, expression, regulation, and empathy.

During a classroom-based study that featured wordless and almost wordless picturebooks, instruction and adult mediation communicated to Kindergarten children that elements of visual art, design, and layout are fundamental to meaning-making when transacting with this format of literature. The illustration techniques described by Ray (2010) were used as an analytical lens to analyze the transcripts from the small group interactive sessions of an almost wordless picturebook featured during the research. The descriptive analyses of the transcripts reveal the rich viewing and talking opportunities that can be afforded during children's transactions with almost wordless picturebooks when these selections of literature are situated as aesthetic objects, and when children and adult mediators understand and appreciate how meaning is individually and synergistically represented by elements of visual art, design and layout. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature reviewed, and the theoretical frameworks of social semiotics and sociocultural theory.

In this article, we provide an overview of the ways one ecosystem-based literacy program uses high quality racially affirming picturebooks with kindergarten-third grade teachers within communities of practice to develop racial literacy and enact more effective and equitable reading practices. Racial literacy here refers to teachers' ability to understand the ways in which race and racism impact reading instruction and reading outcomes in their classrooms. High quality racially affirming picturebooks offer teachers important access to race-based content in ways that are accessible, emotional, and deeply pedagogical. We explore connections between racial literacy and reading practice, the role of high quality racially affirming picturebooks in this work, and provide examples of how we use these books, and the ways they support racial literacy development. Finally, we present a case study highlighting an example of our partner teachers engaging in this work that showcases the role of racial literacy in the development and delivery of effective and equitable reading practices.

Children often prefer nonfiction to fiction books but historically, teachers have neglected nonfiction books during reads alouds. The present study examined how young readers collectively make meaning of nonfiction picturebooks with the help of the teacher and their peers during a whole group interactive read-aloud in one kindergarten classroom. Using Bakhtin's dialogism and Rosenblatt's reader response theory, this study captured videos of nonfiction read-alouds, interviews, and formal observations to examine how children make sense of nonfiction picturebooks during whole group read-alouds. This study exposes the social nature of learning. Findings indicate that readers of nonfiction consider the responses of those around them in their takeaways, that making sense of nonfiction is a continual and discursive process, and that children used nonfiction books as a way to connect with one another. Implications for conducting nonfiction read-alouds with young children are discussed. This research exposes the power and potential for interactive read-alouds using nonfiction picturebooks with kindergarteners.

The aim of this research was to investigate how young students can be supported to use Socratic Seminar as a tool for critical thinking skills and deep, dialogic discussion of complex texts through use of picturebooks. In this teacher action research study, a first-time kindergarten classroom teacher supported by a university professor, enhanced the literacy instruction of their 19 students through the use of Socratic Seminar. Data were systematically collected through weekly Harkness models and a speaking and listening rubric. Results from the Harkness models indicate a meaningful change in the dynamics of the student conversation from teacher-led to interactive student engagement. Across the 5-week intervention, participation increased from approximately one-half of the students to full participation. The speaking and listening rubrics demonstrate a positive increase in (a) tracking the speaker, (b) repeating back what is heard, (c) contributing to conversation with multiple exchanges, and (d) following agreed-upon rules for conversation. Students also became better at listening to others' responses, and responding on topic. Through iterative design and intentional reflection, the teacher and university researcher found that while the Socratic Seminar was effective in improving students' participation, multiple scaffolds were necessary to support young participants such as visual supports (e.g., interactive word walls and printed pages from the texts), physical supports (e.g., question cubes and talking chips), and written supports (e.g., student writing samples).

This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between playfulness (social and cognitive spontaneity), executive functions, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, and academic skills in Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 181 second-year (4 to 5 years) kindergarten children (45.9% boys) and their parents. Parents reported demographic information and children's playfulness and executive functions through a questionnaire. Children were administered behavioral assessments of convergent thinking, divergent thinking, Chinese word reading, and number word comparison at their kindergarten. Results from a path analytic model revealed the mediating roles of convergent and divergent thinking in the relationship between playfulness and number word comparison. In contrast, convergent thinking mediated the link between playfulness and Chinese word reading. Executive functions were positively related to playfulness but unrelated to children's academic skills. The findings suggest that playful children might develop better creative thinking processes, supporting their academic skills. Practically, the findings underscore the importance of play-based learning in developing children's creativity and academic skills in the early years.

Executive functions (EF) and task persistence are key factors in academic development. However, EF and persistence have rarely been examined together, and it remains unclear whether these two constructs are independently related to intellectual development. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether EF and persistence in kindergarten predict math and reading achievement in second grade. We assessed 88 children (51% female; mean age = 73.4 months) on EF and persistence tasks at T1 and obtained teacher ratings of their academic competence at T2 (mean age = 94.6 months). Regression analyses showed that both EF and persistence predicted math achievement, but only EF predicted reading achievement. To sum up, our findings suggest that persistence may be particularly relevant for math, reflecting the ability to endure and sustain. These are skills that are typically not captured by EF measures. Consequently, early interventions should target EF and persistence to support children's mathematical potential.

The present longitudinal study investigated the hypothesis that early musical skills (as measured by melodic and rhythmic perception and memory) predict later literacy development via a mediating effect of phonology. We examined 130 French-speaking children, 31 of whom with a familial risk for developmental dyslexia (DD). Their abilities in the three domains were assessed longitudinally with a comprehensive battery of behavioral tests in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we examined potential longitudinal effects from music to literacy via phonology. We then investigated how familial risk for DD may influence these relationships by testing whether atypical music processing is a risk factor for DD. Results showed that children with a familial risk for DD consistently underperformed children without familial risk in music, phonology, and literacy. A small effect of musical ability on literacy via phonology was observed, but may have been induced by differences in stability across domains over time. Furthermore, early musical skills did not add significant predictive power to later literacy difficulties beyond phonological skills and family risk status. These findings are consistent with the idea that certain key auditory skills are shared between music and speech processing, and between DD and congenital amusia. However, they do not support the notion that music perception and memory skills can serve as a reliable early marker of DD, nor as a valuable target for reading remediation.

Early literacy skill development predicts later reading success, and development of skills in specific domains during the preschool years has been established as both a prerequisite and precursory for reading. Early literacy assessments typically include measures of separate skills across domains, and results can assist with determining where instructions may be most needed. When multiple areas of need are identified, understanding which skills to prioritize can be a challenge. Therefore, empirically identifying the relative contribution of each skill measured in preschool to subsequent reading success can promote more efficient systems of assessment. This study, conducted in the United States, examined the predictive validity of early literacy skills measured in preschool compared to skills measured in kindergarten, with a specific practical focus on identifying the most efficient predictive model for understanding reading readiness. Participants were 119 preschoolers (mean age = 66 months) who mostly spoke English as their primary language (79%). Results indicated early literacy and language skills in preschool are highly predictive of early reading in kindergarten, accounting for 59% of the variance in a reading composite score. The most parsimonious model indicated that first sounds, letter sounds, early comprehension, and expressive vocabulary measures adequately explained 52% of the variance in children's kindergarten reading performance.

Young students at risk for reading difficulties are likely to have long-term reading difficulties if they are not provided with evidence-based, supplemental instruction. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a Tier 2 reading intervention ("Reading RULES! Kindergarten;" RRK) and its promise to improve outcomes for kindergarten students (n = 92) at risk of reading difficulties. Participating teachers (n = 21) were randomly assigned to deliver RRK or business-as-usual instruction. Although the results suggest null treatment effects, the intervention appears to have promising effects on students' word-reading skills when implemented with sufficient dosage. However, most teachers in the study struggled to implement the intervention with sufficient dosage and adherence, citing systems-level barriers to implementation such as insufficient time. The results suggest teachers may need more systems-level support to ensure the intensity of instruction required to improve the early reading skills of students at risk for reading difficulties.

Background: At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed across the United States. Given the impact of virtual learning and lost access to school resources, schools eventually reopened with COVID-19 mitigation protocols in place. This qualitative study sought to understand parental perceptions of school-based COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Methods: Using a phenomenology approach, nine focus groups were completed with 40 parents of children in grades K-8 representing eight Maryland counties. Based on acceptance of masking policies (as indicated on a survey), parents were sorted into 2 groups--lower and higher masking acceptance. A thematic analysis was conducted for each group and themes were compared between the 2 groups. Results: The main themes were related to parents' general sentiments regarding COVID-19, compliance, pandemic-related changes over time, changes in personal opinions, and in-person learning. Both groups described challenges related to inconsistent COVID-19 mitigation policies and practices, the challenges of rapid and frequent changes in guidelines during the pandemic, and the benefits of in-person learning. Conclusions: Parents of elementary and middle school children, regardless of general acceptance of masking policies, shared concerns about implementation and guidance regarding school-based mitigation strategies.

Teacher education has begun to embrace the use of 360 videos to improve preservice teachers' (PSTs) engagement and immersion. While recent research on such use is promising overall, there are specific questions that have been left unanswered about the construct of presence in 360 videos. More specifically, research has yet to fully explore how video delivery devices and PST characteristics may impact presence. The purpose of this study was to respond to this gap in the literature by examining PST major, delivery device (ie, head mounted display vs. flat screen), and the interaction between the two in informing presence. A total of 93 PSTs watched 360 videos and then completed a questionnaire. Findings indicated that presence in head-mounted displays was related to emotions and agency. Conversely, presence with flat screens meant familiarity and control. Moreover, PST major was a predictor of presence, suggesting that 360 videos should be personalized according to PST career and professional goals. Finally, the interaction effect of preparing to teach K-12 mathematics and wearing a head-mounted display had a negative and statistically significant effect on participants' perceived presence, thus indicating a non-cumulative effect.

With a sample of 470 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong, this study first examined these teachers' emotion regulation strategies assessed by a newly adapted scale, the Kindergarten Teacher Emotion Regulation Scale. Then, the study adopted a person-centred approach and conducted the latent profile analysis, identifying different profiles of teachers' use of the emotion regulation strategies. It also examined the relationships between these profiles and teachers' self-efficacy and two contextual antecedents, instructional leadership and trust in colleagues in kindergartens. The study validated a three-dimensional measurement of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation in Hong Kong, namely cognition-focused regulation, (negative) emotion-focused regulation, and behaviour-focused regulation. Moreover, it identified four profiles of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation strategy use with distinctive characteristics, and revealed some significant relationships between teachers' emotion regulation and self-efficacy as well as school contexts. The findings highlight the role of beneficial school climate in eliciting teachers' effective emotion regulation and thereby enhancing their self-efficacy.

Aims: To determine the associations between COVID-19 school closures and school readiness skills for Chinese kindergarteners. Design: We utilized the natural experimental condition created by local COVID-19 outbreaks in 2022 (Study 1) to compare school readiness skills of children whose kindergartens were closed for 5 months (Group 1) with children whose kindergartens stayed open (Group 2). We further compared the school readiness skills of one pre-COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2019) with one COVID-19 cohort (Cohort 2021) from a fifth kindergarten (Study 2). Samples: For Study 1, Group 1 included 445 children and Group 2 included 584 children aged 4-6 years. For Study 2, Cohort 2019 included 156 children and Cohort 2021 included 228 children aged 3-6 years. Measures: For both studies, survey data on four school readiness skills were collected from parents. Additionally, Study 1 collected parental locus of control data from parents. Results: Controlling for covariates, Study 1 revealed that Group 1 and Group 2 did not differ in terms of language and emergent literacy or approaches to learning. However, Group 1 scored lower than Group 2 on health and well-being and arts and imagination. Study 2 revealed that Cohort 2021 scored higher than Cohort 2019 on language and emergent literacy but lower on the other three skills. Conclusions: The associations of COVID-19 school closures with Chinese children's school readiness skills were not uniform, with a positive relation with language and emergent literacy and negative associations with health and well-being, approaches to learning, as well as arts and imagination.

Background: Parents' high academic expectations are positively associated with young children's mathematical abilities. However, minimal attention has been devoted to whether, and how, different ways of conveying the performance targets would result in different outcomes. Aims: The current study investigated whether and how parents' perfectionistic strivings and concerns were associated with young children's mathematical abilities through home mathematical activities, children's approach motivation to learn mathematics, and children's avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Sample: Participants included 211 kindergarteners in Hong Kong and their parents. Methods: Data were collected through individual child tests and parent questionnaires. Results: Structural equation modelling revealed that parents' perfectionistic strivings had a direct positive link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via home mathematical activities, and then approach motivation. Parents' perfectionistic concerns had a direct negative link with children's mathematical abilities, an indirect link via approach motivation to learn mathematics, and an indirect link via avoidance motivation to learn mathematics. Conclusions: Early childhood practitioners are recommended to raise parents' awareness of how to communicate high-performance targets to children in a constructive manner.

Evolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation). Describing and refining those ideas has increasingly received attention over the last two decades. However, we see two scopes of improvement in the field: (1) There is a need to examine children's ideas about evolutionary concepts holistically rather than focusing at specific aspects. (2) Although research has shown that older students have different ideas about animal and plant evolution, there is little data on children's ideas about plant evolution to compare with their ideas about animal evolution. All of this results in an incomplete record of children's pre-existing ideas that would help to design assessments or interventions. Consequently, we developed a set of questions, about the evolutionary principles and interviewed 24 kindergarten children. Most children had basic ideas about individual variation in animals and plants but experienced a lack of knowledge about the origin of variation. Most children seemed to acknowledge plants as living beings and reasoned equally about animals and plants for most concepts. However, many children failed to reason about reproduction and inheritance in plants because they believed plants would not reproduce sexually. Confronted with a selection scenario, most children struggled applying concepts previously shown on an individual level to a population level. Considering our findings, we propose ideas about how to measure and foster children's pre-existing ideas about evolution.

Mathematical competence in school-related contexts is a multidimensional construct that encompasses several content areas and cognitive components. Kindergarten children have experiences with different types of mathematical content. However, empirical research has focused mostly on children's numerical skills, and less is known about their development in other mathematical content areas and interdependencies between areas, especially when it comes to less-structured approaches to early childhood education. The study investigated two research questions: (1) What is the structure of kindergarten children's mathematical competence? (2) How do the different dimensions of mathematical competence develop over time? One-to-one interviews were completed with 442 kindergarten children to assess their mathematical competence at three measurement points. The results indicate that mathematical competence among kindergarten children should be treated as a multidimensional construct. Furthermore, the results indicate that skills in different content areas affect later skills in the same and in other content areas. Therefore, the results highlight the importance of addressing multiple mathematical content areas in early childhood.

This article investigates the frequency of what we define as supportive and unsupportive parental behaviors and whether there is a statistically significant difference in the frequency of parental behaviors in reference to different parental characteristics (level of education, employment status, socio-economic status). This research involved a sample of 3500 parents of children aged 5 and 6. The results show that such supportive parental behaviors are used more frequently than unsupportive ones. Still, approximately 25% of parents implement modes of behavior that the literature suggests hinders children's optimal development, whereas for 10% the frequency of such behaviors is very high. The results confirm that the level of education, employment status, and socio-economic family status represent significant factors in the quality of parental care. Moreover, these can enhance the risk factors in given familial contexts. In the process of creating support programs and finding ways of strengthening family resilience, and other public policies and strategies to prevent risks of social exclusion caused by familial factors, it is important to bear in mind the heterogeneity of the risks of social exclusion within the family and to respond to the specific needs and challenges of different parents and children. When it comes to developing policy, a one-size-fits all approach should, be avoided.

Teacher-facilitation of play is proposed as an effective method for supporting early literacy learning, however, educators remain uncertain how to balance child-autonomy in play while also directing play toward explicit academic objectives. In response, this study sought to understand how kindergarten teachers can successfully facilitate play to support early literacy development. Classroom observations and semistructured interviews were gathered and qualitatively analyzed to identify key perspectives and classroom practices that lead to the educators' successful facilitation of play to support literacy. Results of this study showed how different core literacy skills can be supported through different types of play, with each offering unique and critical opportunities for learning. Results also demonstrated how a multitude of core literacy skills can be supported through guided approaches to play, and begin to illustrate how teachers are facilitating a continuum of guided play to support literacy learning.

We examined the relations between mothers' reading skills, home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills and word reading and whether their relations vary across urban and rural contexts in China. Four hundred third-year kindergarten Chinese children (M[subscript age] = 74.50 ± 3.77 months) were recruited from Jining (N = 232) and the small towns of Luqiao and Mapo (N = 168). The children were assessed on emergent literacy skills (pinyin letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming [RAN], and vocabulary) and word reading. Their mothers were also assessed on reading skills and completed a questionnaire on HLE (direct teaching, shared book reading, and access to literacy resources [ALR]). Results of structural equation modeling showed that (a) mothers' reading skills correlated with shared book reading and ALR in both groups, (b) direct teaching predicted children's pinyin letter knowledge, and ALR predicted phonological awareness and vocabulary in both groups after controlling for mothers' reading skills and parents' education, and (c) mothers' reading skills had an indirect effect on children's word reading through vocabulary (in the urban group) or phonological awareness (in the rural group). Multigroup analyses further showed that the effect of direct teaching on RAN was stronger in the rural group. These findings suggest that HLE exerts its effect on children's emergent literacy skills and word reading across contexts, even after controlling for mothers' reading skills.

In this study, we examined the relationship between phonological awareness (PA), morphological awareness (MA), and character reading in Chinese kindergarten children. One hundred and twenty children were assessed in each of their three years at the kindergarten, with 12-month intervals in between. Using cross-lagged panel modeling, we found that: (1) from Time 1 to Time 2, character reading predicted PA and MA, and PA negatively predicted illiteracy; (2) from Time 2 to Time 3, MA predicted PA and character reading; (3) significant autoregressive effects were found in all three main variables at the two time intervals. The results indicated the benefits of reading experience to the development of oral language skills and the pivotal role of MA in both reading and oral language skills in Chinese early readers.

The interest in Computational Thinking (CT) development among young learners increases with the number of studies located in literature. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to address two main objectives: (a) the effectiveness of empirical interventions on the development of CT in children aged of 3-8 years; and (b) the variables that influence the effectiveness of the interventions. Following PRISMA procedures, we identified 17 empirical studies with 34 effect sizes and 1665 participants meeting the inclusion criteria from Web of Science database. Overall, we found a statistically significant large effect size (d = 0.83 [95% CI: 730, 0.890]; p < 0.001) on the CT development of 3-8 years old children, which provides empirical support for having young children to engage in CT experiences. The effect size was significantly influenced by moderating variables including gender, scaffolding, and education level. Intervention length showed a marginally significant effect. Therefore, educators could refer to the significant moderators when designing tailored interventions for CT development in early childhood education while a call for more empirical studies of CT development in young children is proposed.