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Background: Physical activity (PA) and nutrition in children have an impact on overall physical and mental well-being, cognitive, and social development. This study aims to report on the best current available evidence on PA, body composition proxies, and nutritional status of South African children and adolescents, based on the published findings between 2018 and 2022, which comprise the 2022 Healthy Active Kids South Africa Report Card. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of online databases, along with hand searching and a gray literature search, was conducted based on PA, body composition proxies, and nutrition indicators defined, in part, by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. Results: Compared with the 2018 report card, there was an improvement in the majority of PA indicators which include overall PA (B–), active transportation (B–), physical fitness (B–), and government policy and programs (C). Body composition proxies and most of the nutrition indicators remained unchanged. The indicators that regressed from 2018 to 2022 included community and environmental influences (D), as well as participation in organized sport (D–). Conclusions: Despite the apparent improvement in overall PA levels in children and adolescents, there is a lack of tangible evidence of actual implementation of policies and programs. There was also a lack of nationally representative data for most indicators. Overall, there is a need to identify intersectoral, equitable approaches for promoting PA and healthy eating in South African children and adolescents and ongoing monitoring and surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical literacy development in early childhood, viewed by many as the foundation for lifelong physical activity engagement, is significantly influenced by parents. Our aim was to explore parents' understanding of physical literacy and gain insight into their perspectives on physical literacy promotion. We recruited 18 parents of children between 5 and 8 years old in Australia. Using semistructured interviews and thematic analysis, we identified several key issues regarding parents' understanding and implementation of physical literacy. Parents expressed interest in improving their implementation of physical literacy practices and had (often unintentionally) provided support for physical literacy subcomponents in the past. However, they described difficulties prioritizing physical literacy above other parental demands and expressed conflicting perceptions regarding where the responsibility should lie for developing their child's physical literacy (e.g., at home or at school). To ensure that the physical literacy "message" reaches parents, we encourage physical literacy promoters to consider the target (e.g., responsibility, priorities, and awareness) of their promotional strategies. Further investigation into the influence of sociocultural and economic factors on parents' understanding and application of physical literacy is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing public urgency to close equity gaps in health and development by addressing inequities at multiple levels of childrens developmental ecosystems. Current measurement strategies obscure the dynamic structural and relational patterns of oppression, adversity, and disadvantage that children can experience in their local intimate developmental ecosystem, as well as the leverage points that are necessary to change them. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between a universally available measure of neighborhood socio-economic context, the National Neighborhood Equity Index (NNEI), and a population measure of early child development and well-being, the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Data from a convenience sample of 144,957 kindergarteners in neighborhoods across the US demonstrate that children living in neighborhoods with more equity barriers are more likely to be on vulnerable developmental trajectories than those who reside in neighborhoods without any equity barriers. A multi-dimensional measurement approach that incorporates both the EDI and the NNEI can be used to quantify ethnoracialized patterns of structural disadvantage during critical periods of health development. These measures can inform community action to intervene early in the lifecourse to optimize childrens health development trajectories at a population level.

Objective Background Method Results Conclusion Implications This study examined the associations between mothers' support of children's basic psychological needs (e.g., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and children's sibling relationship quality in early childhood. We also examined the mediating role of older siblings' self‐regulation among these associations.According to self‐determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), autonomy, competence, and relatedness are fundamental psychological necessities that support children's socioemotional well‐being and social relationship qualities.Our knowledge of how these family processes operate, however, is unclear, especially among families with young children (aged ≤6 years). The study involved 275 Latina, non‐Hispanic Black, or non‐Hispanic White mothers in the United States. They were asked to report their levels of support for children's basic needs, self‐regulation, and sibling relationship qualities.Mothers' support of children's competence and relatedness, but not autonomy, was positively related to children's positive involvement with their younger siblings. However, mothers' support of autonomy, competence, and relatedness was unassociated with children's sibling rivalry. Further, older siblings' self‐regulation mediated the positive association between mothers' support for children's autonomy and sibling positive involvement. Older siblings' self‐regulation did not mediate the associations between mothers' support for children's relatedness or competence and their positive sibling involvement.Both maternal support for basic psychological needs and older siblings' self‐regulation may contribute to positive sibling relationships in early childhood.Our findings inform practitioners, educators, and caseworkers that interventions enhancing children's self‐regulation may foster positive sibling relationships in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions play an important role in fostering positive parenting and healthy child development. This qualitative study explored the affective experiences of racially diverse US fathers with low income across the prenatal, postnatal, and early childhood periods. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 24 fathers. Interview questions asked about fathers’ early parenting experiences that elicit parenting emotions of different valence. Results from thematic analysis demonstrated activation of multiple emotions depending on different proximal and distal experiences. Specific to proximal experiences, fathers reported feeling both excited and anxious about pregnancy and joyful and disappointed at childbirth. Related to distal experiences, fathers reported feeling encouraged by their social support networks that further aid their parenting, but feeling marginalized given systematic barriers (e.g., societal bias, high incarceration rates of Black fathers). Most importantly, fathers’ parenting emotions, especially negative ones, led to them resolving to stay involved in their children's lives, gaining a sense of responsibility, and changing behaviors to do right by their children. Fathers resorted to various coping strategies to regulate their negative emotions. Overall, fathers with low income are emotionally resilient. Infant and early childhood health professionals should support fathers' mental health to promote father‐child engagement and thus, ultimately, young children's mental health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of self‐regulation during the preschool years is due, in part, to children's development of cognitive resources that can regulate their behavior. However, there is little direct evidence that age influences the extent to which young children's strategies involve such resources. We investigated age differences in the extent that young children's strategies imply cognitive resources. A sample of 154 children (77 girls; M age 45.15 months, range 30–60 months) and mothers from middle‐class families (M income = $89,541) in a small mid‐Atlantic American city (94.2% White). They participated in a 9‐min delayed reward task in which mothers told children they must wait to open a gift; children were reminded every 3 min. The latency, frequency, and average duration of the extent to which children's strategies implied cognitive resources were examined in relation to task time and age. In line with Kopp's framework, results from multilevel models indicated older preschool‐age children engaged strategies implying higher‐level cognitive resources more quickly and frequently, but not longer than younger children. Regardless of age, children engaged cognitive resources more quickly, more often, and longer in the first 3 min of the task than later in the task, suggesting that such engagement was not sustained. The findings are discussed in terms of both the emergence and complexities of regulatory strategy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation parenting (AP) is a parenting construct derived from research and theory on paternal caregiving that includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit‐setting. Although components of AP have been linked to different domains of children's self‐regulation skills, comprehensive measures of AP and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. These limitations greatly constrain our understanding of the potential benefits of paternal AP for children's self‐regulation development, including the maturation of inhibitory control (IC) in early childhood. Thus, the present study tested associations between paternal AP at age 3 and growth in parent‐reported IC across ages 3–5 in a sample of low‐income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% White, 8% Latinx, 61% not Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. AP during a clean‐up task at child age 3 years, but not a teaching task, was associated with greater growth in IC across ages 3–5 years. Implications of the current findings are presented for understanding associations between paternal AP and children's IC and broader self‐regulation skills with diverse samples of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does it mean for all children to be seen as whole and 'appropriate'? How can early childhood educators and families understand a child as capable and whole within the evaluative systems around disability? Through the narrative inquiry of a mother/early childhood teacher, this paper explores the complex entanglements between identity-affirming practices for all children represented in the fourth edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practices, and the relationship with deficit-based evaluations for children with disabilities. This case study explores possibilities for empowered collaborations between early childhood educators and families, resistance to deficit-based identities while navigating evaluations, and the creation of culturally sustaining interventions emerging from shared knowledge of children. The paper looks closely at perspectives and practices that invite critical engagements around evaluation, making space for new possibilities, and new perceptions for supporting all children as 'whole'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) has become a hallmark for educational practice in the United States. From DAP's initial publication in 1986 to the most recent revision published in 2022, DAP serves as a reference point for teacher education to support effective teachers' development and practice. However, DAP is a construct shaped by individuals' experiences and sociopolitical contexts and not a uniformly understood construct. Teacher educator faculty's role is central to supporting students' understanding and faculty serve as interpreters of information by making choices and drawing on their beliefs and experiences to shape students' understanding and implementation of DAP. Faculty use reflection as a tool to support their choices of resources, assignments, and content related to DAP. This manuscript will offer important considerations related to students' understanding of DAP and illustrate how faculty beliefs and reflection guide faculty in this role of interpreter of the construct of DAP within the sociopolitical contexts that influence teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 4th edition of the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) had an opportunity to provide the field an inclusive blueprint. While there was an attempt in this edition to respond to decades of critiques (e.g. Bloch [1992]. "Critical Perspectives on the Historical Relationship Between Child Development and Early Childhood Education Research." In Reconceptualizing the Early Childhood Curriculum: Beginning the Dialogue, edited by S. Kessler, and E. B. Swadener, 3–20. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.; Cannella [1997]. Deconstructing Early Childhood Education: Social Justice and Revolution. New York, NY: Peter Lang.; Escayg [2019]. "Who's got the Power?": A Critical Examination of the Anti-Bias Curriculum." International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy 13 (1): 1–18. .; Langford [2010]. "Critiquing Child-Centered Pedagogy to Bring Children and Early Childhood Educators Into the Center of a Democratic Pedagogy." Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 11 (1): 113–127. .; Pérez and Saavedra [2017]. "A Call for Onto-Epistemological Diversity in Early Childhood Education and Care: Centering Global South Conceptualizations of Childhood/s." Review of Research in Education 41 (1): 1–29. .; Souto-Manning and Rabadi-Raol [2018]. "(Re)Centering Quality in Early Childhood Education: Toward Intersectional Justice for Minoritized Children." Review of Research in Education 42 (1): 203–225. .), the new edition continues to centre dominant developmental approaches where adults hyperfocus on children's differences or individual characteristics rather than on changing educational structures and practices that promote inequity (Ferri and Bacon [2011]. "Beyond Inclusion: Disability Studies in Early Childhood Teacher Education."). The revised guidelines do not go far enough to address inequity and to give teachers and programmes tools for addressing injustice for all young children. This manuscript builds on previous critiques of DAP by explicitly addressing the exclusion of disabled children from the guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to examine the impact of reading storybooks and the presence of different characters such as humans, animals, and fantasy characters in storybooks on children's costly sharing behaviour. A total of 235 children participated in the study. The children were presented with 20 stickers and were asked to choose their 10 favourites. They were then instructed to share as many stickers as they wanted from their chosen 10. The children randomly assigned to following storybook conditions: human, anthropomorphic (animal-like), fantasy characters and a neutral storybook group. After reading the stories, the costly sharing procedure was repeated. As a result, increase in sharing rates from pre-test to post-test, it was determined that the highest increase occurred in children who listened to a storybook with human characters. The increase in costly sharing behaviour of children who listened to the storybook with human characters was significantly higher than the change in the costly sharing behaviour of children who listened to anthropomorphic and neutral storybooks. The increase in sharing behaviour of children who listened to fantasy character storybooks was significantly higher than that of children who listened to neutral storybooks. No other differences were observed among the groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between multidimensional household poverty and cognitive and behavioural development during the formative years of childhood (from 9 months to 9 years), using nationally representative longitudinal data from Ireland for the cohort of children born in 2007-2008. The results indicate substantial inequalities in Irish children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes at age 9 by multidimensional poverty duration. Children with at least one spell in poverty (out of four interviews) have worse cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Dynamic structural equation models provide evidence in support of a hybrid family investment/family stress model. Although family investment processes account for some of the cumulative effects of childhood poverty on cognitive outcomes, family stress processes help explain the links between poverty and both cognitive and behaviour outcomes in early childhood. Overall, poverty is strongly related to child outcomes over time via the direct effects of current poverty on child outcomes and path dependency in both poverty and child outcomes over time. There are also indirect effects via the two child outcomes reinforcing each other as children grow older (with the effects of behaviour problems dominating those of cognitive ability), even as the parental investment and maternal stress pathways become less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The concept of assemblage, drawing on the posthuman theorisations of Deleuze and Guattari, delineates a dynamic and new materialist approach to an event. In this approach, desires, material agency and (de)(re)territorialisation emerge as key concepts, and open ways to understand the school classroom in early childhood as a territory where lines of flight challenge the boundaries of normative education. This paper focuses on a classroom assemblage and aims to cartography the material relations between human and non-human bodies, where (de)(re)territorialisation forces are constant. We draw on diffractive ethnography in order to think-with-theory, making use of a vignette and a diagram containing its material relations. Our analysis highlights the agentic relations of matter in the assemblage, the role of desire as a dynamic force and the ever-changing flow of (de)(re)territorialisations that emerge in it. This study shows the complexity of material experience in early childhood, where desire and deterritorialisation frame creative and unexpected processes that defy the idea of education and classroom activities as linear processes controlled by adults. On the contrary, the cartography depicted in this research supports an idea of education as a space for the emergence of creative lines of flight, material relations and non-linear meaning-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way a young child uses language has an impact on their future life. Early language acquisition is a determinant in adult employment, mental health and relationships with others. At the same time there is a broad evidence base that play and learning in the natural environment is beneficial for young children's physical, emotional, social and cognitive development. However, literature about how these two contributions to children's early development intersect and combine, in particular whether and how early language learning in children aged between 3 and 7 years might be enhanced in nature, is harder to find. For this paper, we undertook a systematic literature review to explore and report on research within this important area. Based on an in-depth study of 181 articles, we found that scant literature exists about how children's language is developed within natural environments. Although this appears to be a topic that is discussed in practice-oriented publications, it was found that very few researchers are focusing on and reporting within this area. Twelve papers were thoroughly analysed and three themes identified and discussed; desire to communicate, communication skills and literacy skills. This paper concludes by suggesting areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a growth in the amount of literature and a resurgence of interest in what Jools Page identified as 'professional love'. This research builds upon and extends Page's work considering what love looks like in practice and describing a 'loving pedagogy'. Despite recent research, love is still seldom talked about in the context of early childhood education and very few studies have considered what love looks like on a day-to-day basis within an early childhood setting. This small case study has identified that love is, indeed, present there in practice. Loving interactions were observed between adults and children in a preschool setting and how love manifests itself discussed with three educators during intimate conversations. This study compares observed practice with the educators' understanding of love and shows that a loving pedagogy exists within daily interactions and that there is a place for love within an early childhood setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job crafting offers an exciting way to understand how people engineer their jobs to create more meaningful work. Work is meaningful if workers perceive their work as significant and serving an important purpose. To examine how four early childhood educators individually and collaboratively craft their work, the study reported here examines data from a case study in a Canadian daycare centre collected over a 16-month period by participating in theory/practice inquiry meetings and individual educator interviews. Educators develop an individual understanding of their job's requirements, individual beliefs and values but also acquire a shared understanding as they collaboratively craft their work in daily informal discussions. Explicit collaborative job crafting could contribute to professional development and improved job satisfaction for Early Childhood Education and Care practitioners. To develop an explicit collaborative understanding of their profession co-workers and supervisors need enabling working conditions such as opportunities and support for professional knowledge sharing, professional reflection, continuous training, and therefore ongoing professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children vary in how sensitive they are to experiences, with consequences for their developmental outcomes. In the current study, we investigated how behavioral sensitivity at age 3 years predicts mental health in middle childhood. Using a novel repeated measures design, we calculated child sensitivity to multiple psychological and social influences: parent praise, parent stress, child mood, and child sleep. We conceptualized sensitivity as the strength and direction of the relationship between psychosocial influences and child behavior, operationalized as toothbrushing time, at age 3 years. When children were 5–7 years old (n = 60), parents reported on children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Children who were more sensitive to their parents' praise at age 3 had fewer internalizing (r = −0.37, p = 0.016, pFDR = 0.042) and externalizing (r = −0.35, p = 0.021, pFDR = 0.042) problems in middle childhood. Higher average parent praise also marginally predicted fewer externalizing problems (r = −0.33, p = 0.006, pFDR = 0.057). Child sensitivity to mood predicted fewer internalizing (r = −0.32, p = 0.013, pFDR = 0.042) and externalizing (r = −0.38, p = 0.003, pFDR = 0.026) problems. By capturing variability in how children respond to daily fluctuations in their environment, we can contribute to the early prediction of mental health problems and improve access to early intervention services for children and families who need them most. Research Highlights: Children differ in how strongly their behavior depends on psychosocial factors including parent praise, child mood, child sleep, and parent stress.Children who are more sensitive to their parents' praise at age 3 have fewer internalizing and externalizing problems at age 5–7 years.Child sensitivity to mood also predicts fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistence is a critical factor that significantly predicts life outcomes. Although individual differences in persistence emerge early in life, the knowledge of effective strategies for cultivating persistence in young children remains limited. Based on these two studies, we suggest that emotional validation, defined as the acceptance of emotions without judgment, is a beneficial technique for promoting persistence in the wake of frustration. Study 1 examined 150 parents of children aged 4–6 years and found that parents' tendency to validate their children's emotions was positively associated with children's trait persistence. We conducted a randomized experiment (N = 93, aged 4–6 years) in Study 2 to establish a causal relationship between emotional validation and persistence in preschoolers. Children who received emotional validation feedback (n = 31) exhibited higher levels of persistence than those who received emotional invalidation (n = 31) and no feedback (baseline, n = 31) on a frustrating task. The persistence between the emotional invalidation and no‐feedback conditions was not statistically different. This finding highlights the vital role of emotional validation in promoting persistence in children at trait and state levels. In summary, this study offers a compelling strategy for empowering young children with resilience and determination when they encounter challenges. Research Highlights: Parental emotional validation predicts the trait‐level persistence of children aged 4−6 years.Children who received emotion‐validation feedback persisted longer on a task than those who received emotion‐invalidation feedback or no feedback.Children in the emotion invalidation condition did not differ from those in the no‐feedback condition in terms of persistence.Future studies are required to investigate the mechanisms underlying emotional validation in promoting task persistence in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to understand the general trajectory of children's executive function, as well as whether there was heterogeneity among monolingual English-speaking and dual language learning children in their growth of executive function. In addition, the study examined whether monolingual English-speaking and dual language learning children demonstrated different developmental trajectories in their executive function development. Two executive function measures, the Peg Tapping and the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task, were used in the study. Findings of 122 children (Mean age = 3.68 years; 57% monolingual English speaking, 43% dual language learning) showed there was linear growth on children's executive function. Both monolingual English-speaking and dual language learning children varied significantly in their initial level of executive function and in their growth rate of executive function over time. In addition, monolingual English-speaking children demonstrated higher initial levels of executive function than dual language learners, while dual language learning children showed a faster rate of growth in executive function measured by the Peg Tapping test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the context in which Irish outdoor ECEC learning is situated and examines insights from outdoor education practitioners. Using a qualitative lens, we look at 'quality' interactions and the scope which outdoor learning offers for impactful teaching and learning. Research was conducted during the first stages of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020, involving participants who worked in outdoor and forest school settings. The results of this study indicate the major role that the physical environment and the educator play in the construction of quality interactions outdoors, and it examines the potential future growth of outdoor ECEC in Ireland as a result of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to bolster the school readiness of Latinx children from low-income homes in the United States have focused on fostering parent engagement in children's education. Measurement of parent engagement in early childhood however, has been critiqued for having too narrow a focus on school-based involvement and missing other aspects of Latinx parent engagement. Using a recently developed culturally sensitive assessment of Latinx parent engagement, we test for associations between dimensions of Latinx parent engagement in learning and indicators of school readiness in a diverse sample of Latinx families (n = 114). We find significant associations between multiple dimensions of Latinx parent engagement and indicators of child school readiness. In addition to promoting parent-teacher connections, efforts to support Latinx school readiness equitably are encouraged to attend to various culturally relevant aspects of Latinx parent engagement in early childhood. In particular, investing in programing that supports parents' well-being and capacity for home-based engagement in learning may be a promising way to support the school readiness of Latinx children living in historically disinvested neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosocial behaviours such as sharing are essential for young children's collaborative learning experiences and social development. When learnt during the early years, these behaviours enable positive peer interactions and relationship building in social settings, laying the foundation for young children's social and emotional competencies with implications for individual and societal wellbeing. It is, therefore, critical that the early years are optimised to facilitate the development of young children's prosocial behaviours. Set against this context, we present the findings of our qualitative teacher inquiry project that examined the role of social stories intervention in developing children's prosocial behaviours, particularly sharing. The study was conducted at a private kindergarten in Singapore with four preschool children between the ages of four and five with difficulties in sharing resources with peers in classroom settings. The findings show children's gradual progress from self-centred behaviours to independent problem-solving and other-oriented sharing behaviours, demonstrating the importance of consistency, teacher facilitation and authenticity as the three key elements of a successful social stories intervention. Thus, this small-scale qualitative study adds value to the limited literature on social stories intervention to promote sharing behaviours in preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to measure telomere length in healthy children living next to Urmia Lake, Iran, which is exposed to salt dust from a drying lakebed. In this case-control pilot study, we recruited 39 sex- and age-matched healthy children from two different geographic regions to study the relative telomere lengths using qPCR. We categorized the study samples into high-impact and low-impact areas based on wind direction, aerosol particle level, and distance from the lake. Our main results revealed that children living in high-impact areas have shorter telomeres than those living in low-impact areas. Furthermore, according to our statistical model, parental age significantly affected telomere length in children, but inversely. When the father’s age impact was positive, the mother had a negative effect. Based on our results, to prevent Urmia Lake from dying out completely, national and international organizations should implement comprehensive visions and strategies for its restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:We leveraged an observational, repeated-measures study to examine the within-child associations between sleep quality and emotional self-regulation, controlling for between-child effects. Methods: Children aged 3-5 years and one parent each were recruited from the community in northern New England between 2019 and 2022. Parents completed online surveys at baseline and 2, 4, and 6 months post-baseline. Child sleep quality was measured with the validated Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire modified for preschoolers; higher scores indicate worse sleep quality (range 32-96). Child emotional self-regulation was measured with the validated Child Social Behavior Questionnaire; higher scores indicate better emotional self-regulation (range 1-7). Adjusted mixed-effects linear regression was used to model the associations between nighttime sleep quality (exposure) and emotional self-regulation (outcome)measured at each of the four study time points while disaggregating the between- and within-child effects. Results: Children (n = 91) were largely white, non-Hispanic (88.7%), and from a higher social-economic status. Sleep quality scores averaged 38.9 (SD: 6.6) at baseline; 23.1% of children had scores >41, which is considered evidence of significant sleep problems. Emotional self-regulation scores averaged 4.2 (SD: 1.0). There was a significant within-child association between sleep quality and emotional self-regulation. Specifically, a decrease in sleep quality at any one time point, relative to each child'smean sleep quality, related to worse emotional self-regulation [standardized beta, βs = -0.31; 95% CI (0.53, -0.09)]; the between-child effect was not significant. Results were consistent when limited to children with complete data at all study visits (n = 78). Conclusions: The findings support a causal, within-child association between sleep quality and emotional self-regulation in preschool-aged children, with effects evident over 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to examine the mothers' interactive behaviors with their children related to their history of adverse experiences at childhood and parental sense of competence. The sample was composed by 47 mothers and their children of 2-to-5-year-old. One observational session of mother–child interactions was recorded. In another session, the questionnaires (Adverse Childhood Experience [ACE] and Parental Sense of Competence Scale [PSOC]) were applied. Parenting Interactions with Children coded the maternal interactive behavior: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO). The sample was divided according to Medium–High- and Low-PICCOLO performance into two situations respectively (free- and structured-play). The results showed that maternal interactive behavior performance in both situations was similar in the medium–high and low groups, independently of the mothers' history of adversities at childhood and sense of parental competence. In conclusion, mothers showed overall positive interactive behavior patterns, also in all specific domains, and a high level of parental sense of competence, independently of recollected adverse maternal childhood experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting training has been considered crucial to improving child development. The Tanoto Foundation's parenting program intervention was started in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted government policies in Indonesia. Preventive measures that limit mobility affect the sustainability of face-to-face parenting interventions. The study aimed to explore alternative intervention methods, such as face-to-face, blended, online with facilitators, and self-learning, for parenting skills learning during emergencies. A 1-year non-randomized quasi-field experiment using a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach was conducted to 762 participants. SIGAP Q, the HOME Inventory, and CREDI were used for quantitative measurements, while interviews and focused group discussions (FGDs) provided qualitative data. The quantitative data were analyzed using multiway ANOVA, and the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that all interventionmodalities delivered positive outcomes. In contrast, face-to-face delivered the largest gain, followed by online with facilitators, blended learning, and online self-learning (a web-based learning management system). As an alternative, online with facilitators is the best for delivering parenting materials, followed by online self-learning (independent) modes of intervention. Blended and online models provide alternative models in emergency contexts. Implications are discussed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the effects of object weight and hand dominance on the end-point kinematics of the hand-to-mouth (withdrawal) movement in a functional reach-to-drink task for typically developing school-aged children. Using 3D motion capture, speed (average velocity and peak velocity), straightness (ratio), and smoothness (number of velocity peaks and log dimensionless jerk) of hand movements were calculated for the withdrawal motion with three different bottle weights (empty, half-filled, and full). Average velocity (550.4 ± 142.0 versus 512.1 ± 145.6 mm/s) and peak velocity (916.3 ± 234 versus 842.7 ± 198.4 mm/s) were significantly higher with the empty versus half-filled bottle and with the non-dominant (average: 543.5 ± 145.2 mm/s; peak: 896.5 ± 207 mm/s) versus dominant (average: 525.2 ± 40.7 mm/s; peak: 864.2 ± 209.2 mm/s) hand. There were no differences in straightness or smoothness. These findings indicate that increasing weight in reach-to-drink task puts greater constraints on the task. The slower movements with the dominant hand might denote better precision control than the non-dominant hand. The quantitative motion capture results show average values for the kinematic variables for a functional reach-to-drink task in a typically developing population of school-aged children with changing weights of the bottles that are relevant to a real-life scenario. These results could inform the design of individualized therapeutic interventions to improve functional upper-extremity use in children with neurodevelopmental motor disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nHIGHLIGHTSResearch has found that as early as preschool, children from diverse backgrounds are more at risk than their peers to experience bias and racism from teachers and negative behavioral outcomes. Given these negative early childhood school experiences can create greater risk for children and more stress for their families, it is important that research is utilized to change such experiences and support more positive development outcomes for young children. The purpose of this article is to prevent an approach to organize and participate in school differently. Our approach involves developing equitable systems that supports early childhood centers to develop equitable systems by building upon the foundational principles of anti-racism, equity, and barrier prevention rather than seeking to intervene upon inequitable systems through professional development and attempting to remove barriers that have already caused harm as is with traditional approaches.Administrators can support equitable and anti-racist practices by organizing ongoing professional learning with experts and research-based content.Educators should demonstrate competency for working with children and families from diverse backgrounds.Families and community members are critical assets to ensuring early-childhood centers are reflective of students’ cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aim was to examine the perceptions and experiences of parents regarding corporal punishment of children during early childhood within the context of traditional families. Participants of this qualitative phenomenological study were parental pairings of 11 preschool-aged children living in Eyyübiye district of Şanlıurfa, Türkiye. Data were collected through participant interviews during home visits and content analysis was followed for data analysis. It was revealed through the findings that parents used various forms of corporal punishment as a means of protecting family dignity as well as disciplining their children. It was also pointed out those traditional and cultural elements including parental respect, patriarchal structure, parental responsibilities of children, religious beliefs, and intergenerational transmission, which shaped how parents utilized and perceived corporal punishment. Finally, our study results were discussed in light of the relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactive multimedia is currently a significant topic in terms of learning speaking skills. This study aims to describe the use of interactive multimedia in stimulating early childhood speaking skills based on a literature review that has been conducted. The study method used in this literature study is the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) method. Data was obtained from the Scopus and Google Scholar databases using scientific articles from reputable international journals with the Scopus Q1–Q4 index. Article searches using the title and keywords “Interactive Multimedia,” “Multimedia,” “Interactive Multimedia in Early Childhood,” or “Speaking Skills” are limited to the last ten years, starting from 2013–2023. The findings showed that the articles in the source database were 10.982 articles, and the final selected papers left 40 articles for review. The results of the study found that: a) the use of interactive multimedia in early childhood learning is dominated by Android-based interactive multimedia (50%), video (30%), and animation (20%); b) the use of interactive multimedia in stimulating early childhood speaking skills is dominated by android media (45%), video (40%), and animation (15%); c) the challenges faced when using interactive multimedia in early childhood learning are limited infrastructure and resources, and not all schools have adequate facilities for the use of technology-based learning media and a lack of teacher creativity. The contribution of this research can provide insight into the use of interactive multimedia to stimulate early childhood speaking skills effectively and efficiently. Thus, the use of interactive multimedia can be a research target in selecting interactive multimedia that is appropriate and effective for stimulating students’ speaking skills at all levels of education and on different research topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital fluency is part of the early childhood curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand but there is evidence that early childhood kaiako (teachers) lack confidence in this area of their work. Although many public library services maintain ongoing partnerships with early childhood education (ECE) providers, the extent to which these collaborations support digital fluency remains unclear. This research investigates the extent and nature of public library partnerships with ECE providers with a specific focus on collaboration on digital fluency. It explores the benefits and challenges associated with these partnerships in supporting the digital fluency curriculum in Aotearoa. A questionnaire consisting of multiple choice and open-form questions was sent to all public library services in Aotearoa gathering data on the types of programmes public libraries currently offer to ECE services, any focus on digital fluency, the benefits and challenges of the current partnerships, and plans and strategies for future collaboration. The findings reveal that most participating libraries have established partnerships, offering learning opportunities through storytimes, makerspaces, and various other activities. The use of digital devices, apps, and websites to support learning is evident, suggesting significant potential for public libraries to collaborate more extensively with ECE providers in fostering young children's digital fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the international context, including children with diverse needs and backgrounds in early childhood settings is at the heart of education policy and planning. Nevertheless, a lack of a consistent and clear definition of inclusive education will leave the concept wide open for different interpretations and sometimes misinterpretations, which potentially leads to exclusionary practices in the name of inclusion. Our study examined how early childhood inclusion is defined in China, Germany and the UK. Peer-reviewed studies between 2000 and 2020 were systematically examined under the framework of the four dimensions of inclusion of ‘access, acceptance, participation and achievement’. 15 studies were selected that showed various aspects of the definition. Discussions on the inconsistent and tokenism definition of inclusion from various stakeholders are presented. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developmental psychologists aspire to conduct research that informs interventions and policies to prevent income-related disparities in child development. Among growing researcher discussion about the value of interventions that target “structural” and resource-related correlates of income inequality and child development (e.g., housing, food, material goods, cash), rather than individual, person-centered correlates (e.g., parenting behaviors), the perspectives of mothers with low incomes may provide important context. 281 mothers with young children and low incomes rated various structural and individual interventions, framed as having minimal costs and entry barriers, for their perceived helpfulness. Analyses were pre-registered. Overall, mothers rated all interventions very highly, though they rated structural interventions as slightly more helpful than individual interventions. Mothers rated interventions they used in the past as less helpful than those they hadn’t previously used. An exploratory qualitative analysis revealed mothers’ desires for supports in other intervention domains beyond those addressed in our survey. Together, mothers’ responses indicated that they did not see individual interventions as inherently unhelpful due to a focus on individual states, knowledge, and skills. Implications for developmental psychology and intervention science are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with a history of behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament face a heightened risk for anxiety disorders and often use control strategies that are less planful. Although these relations have been observed concurrently in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, few studies leverage longitudinal data to examine long-term prospective relations between cognitive control and anxiety. Using longitudinal data from 149 adolescents (55% female; from predominantly White middle-class families), we assessed temperament in toddlerhood and cognitive control and anxiety at 4, 12, 15, and 18 years of age. At age 4, separate measures of task switching and inhibitory control were obtained via the Dimensional Change Card Sort and Stroop tasks, respectively. At 12, 15, and 18 years of age, planful control was assessed with the AX-Continuous Performance Test, and anxiety symptoms were assessed via self-report. Growth curve models revealed that children with greater inhibitory control at age 4, regardless of BI status, experienced a sharper increase in anxiety symptoms across adolescence. Children with heightened BI during early childhood displayed lower levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a more rapid improvement in these skills across adolescence. Children with greater task switching ability at age 4 displayed higher levels of planful control at age 12, but experienced a smaller increase in these skills across adolescence. Finally, children's growth rate for anxiety was unrelated to their growth rate for planful control. These findings reveal that early-life temperament, cognitive control, and anxiety remain interconnected across development, from toddlerhood to at least late adolescence. Public Significance Statement: This study indicates that temperament and executive function in early childhood predict the future development of anxiety and executive function across adolescence. However, changes in anxiety across adolescence did not relate to changes in executive function across the same period. Together, results suggest that early interventions may have the best chance of improving adolescents' anxiety trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood education is an institutional introduction of children to the world, making it essential for policymakers, educators and society to find the best way to provide such an introduction. Following a new policy in Saudi Arabia, daycare centres have been renamed 'hospitality centres', bringing a set of duties and rights rooted deep in the ethics of hospitality. However, empirical research on nursery provision is generally lacking in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study examined the experiences of children and caregivers in two children's hospitality centres in the capital city of Riyadh. Through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews and field observations, the authors observed and listened to the experiences of educators and children in two of the new hospitality centres. Open and focused coding of the interviews and structured observations helped to identify the way the ethics of hospitality manifested itself in the daily experiences of the caregivers/hosts and the children/guests. The results demonstrated the complexity of the situations in which the ethics of hospitality encountered reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide increase in childhood overweight and obesity underscores the need to study variables like fundamental movement skill (FMS) levels from early childhood. This study investigated the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between body mass index (BMI) and process-oriented FMSs, including locomotor skills and object control skills in 675 Finnish children, aged 3–8 years at baseline (50.5% female, mean age 5.5 years) over 3 years. Standardized BMI-for-age SD scores (BMI SDS z-scores) followed Finnish national standards. The FMS assessment comprised four subtests from the Test of Gross Motor Development, third edition. Age-adjusted standardized residuals of FMS or skill domains and BMI SDS z-scores were used in a two-level, cross-classified, cross-lagged regression analysis, accounting for gender, and baseline value of the dependent variables. The results showed no statistically significant longitudinal relationship between BMI and FMS or its skill domains for either gender in either direction. This suggests that BMI and process-oriented FMS, encompassing locomotor skill and object control skill, develop independently, possibly influenced by unexplored variables. These findings contradict earlier results based on product-oriented measurements, which may include a physical capacity component. The outcomes further underscore the importance of monitoring weight status from early childhood, given its significant association with later-life weight conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation parenting includes behaviors that challenge children to approach novel situations, explore their environments, and take physical and socioemotional risks through a balance of encouragement and limit-setting. Although components of activation parenting have been linked to lower levels of children's problem behaviors, comprehensive measures of activation parenting and longitudinal research on families from low socioeconomic backgrounds are lacking. The goal of the present study was to test associations between paternal activation parenting at age 3 and children's externalizing and internalizing problems at age 5 in a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse fathers. Participating fathers (N = 171; 9% Black, 47% white, 8% Latinx; mean household income = $25,145) and their children (51% female) were drawn from the Early Steps Multisite Study. Activation parenting during a teaching task at child age 3 was associated with lower levels of internalizing problems at age 5 and decreases in externalizing problems from baseline (age 2). Implications of the current findings are presented for future research on associations between activation parenting and child problem behaviors, including the potential for the development of prevention and intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, some educational settings, particularly territories with high levels of educational inequality, uphold conventional teaching strategies where emotional education and critical thinking receive little attention. This study is rooted in our intention to contribute to peace education in early childhood educational environments by fostering critical thinking and empathy, a predictor of prosocial behavior in children. The aim of this study is, first, that young children develop empathy by recognizing situations of oppression and injustice in children's literature using critical literacy practices; and second, to contribute to young children's development of critical thinking. Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis, we suggest that critical literacy practices enhance empathy and critical thinking in young children through three strategies: reading selected children's literature aloud, responding through multimodal texts, and having an open dialogue about critical issues that affect children in local communities. This article contributes to the literature about literacy, empathy development, and peace education with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: In today's increasingly digitalised society, there is a growing need for information on how parents can support their children's language development at home. We investigated the associations between three types of parental linguistic support and children's language skills in different domains. Methods: Between April 2019 and March 2020, 164 children aged between 2.5 and 4.1 years and their parents were recruited via daycare centres in Helsinki. Information on how frequently parents read, told free stories and sang to their children was collected. The children's lexical and grammatical skills and general language ability were assessed using validated instruments. Results: More frequent reading, storytelling and singing were all separately associated with higher‐level expressive lexical and general expressive language ability. More frequent reading and storytelling were also associated with higher‐level phonological skills. Only reading was associated with receptive skills. The regression analyses revealed that reading had the highest explanatory value for lexical and general language ability after controlling for the effect of background factors. Furthermore, storytelling had the highest explanatory value for grammatical skills. Conclusion: The results highlight the benefits of parental reading. However, broad use of all parental linguistic activities is recommended to support the development of children's different language domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childcare providers experience a variety of mental and physical challenges that impact their personal wellbeing as well as the quality of care they provide for children. Rural family childcare (FCCH) providers—an individual who professionally provides care to children within their home—may especially need resources to support their physical and mental wellbeing. An existing program, Here For You, For Them (HERE), may be able to support these providers; however, previous testing of the program has only been conducted in childcare centers. Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the HERE program for rural FCCH providers. 27 rural FCCH providers took part in a 16-week pilot study of the HERE program focused on mindfulness techniques and practices. Participants attended a monthly virtual training and received an activity pack consisting of different activity ideas including breathing techniques, mantras, yoga poses, and yoga stories. Participants completed bi-weekly implementation surveys and a post-intervention survey and semi-structured interview. Overall, the breathing activities were one of the most implemented activities and took the least amount of time (< 5 min). Providers stated they enjoyed the flexibility of the program and the activities but felt some of the yoga poses and stories were difficult to implement. Common barriers included challenges with children's behavior and the age of children as well as time constraints. Overall, the HERE program appeared feasible and acceptable for rural FCCH providers. Future efforts should consider providing additional wellbeing support for FCCH providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspension and expulsion have been documented concerns in childcare centers throughout the United States for nearly 20 years. This study examined suspension and expulsion practices in community childcare centers two years into the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2022). Survey data from 131 administrators of community childcare programs were analyzed. It was found that at least 67 individual children were reported expelled across 131 programs, a rate similar to pre-pandemic rates and higher than rates at the height of the pandemic. For suspension, 136 individual children were suspended from early learning programs during this time; a rate almost double pre-pandemic levels. Factors (availability of support, prior suspensions, suggesting the program is not a match, reported turnover, waiting lists, enrollment capacity, administrator reported stress, and teacher perceived stress) were examined to determine if they predicted expulsion. None of these factors significantly predicted expulsion. These results and their limitations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry-based project learning is an internationally recognised pedagogical approach where children work collaboratively to research and discover the answers to their questions through discussion, representation, and evaluation. This paper explores the findings from Phase One of a qualitative study examining how this approach has been interpreted in early childhood settings in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The findings from an online questionnaire sent to all settings registered on the New Zealand national data base revealed that the international discourse surrounding this approach has been a key influence in this context. There was, however, also evidence that more localised approaches that value indigenous knowledges, in alignment with the national early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (Te Whāriki. He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Ministry of Education. https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/Te-Whariki-Early-Childhood-Curriculum-ENG-Web.pdf) have been developed. Whilst participants identified pedagogical and practical challenges of undertaking inquiry-based approaches, the educational value of this approach for children was also strongly championed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although visual arts pedagogies are considered central within early childhood education programs, teacher self-efficacy has a direct impact on the quality and delivery of visual arts curricula. Until recently, the visual arts self-efficacy, pedagogical knowledge, and practice of in-service early childhood teachers have remained largely unexplored. The authors of this paper present a qualitative, iterative re-analysis of their three PhD studies which broadly focussed on early childhood visual arts praxis and specifically examined the visual arts beliefs and pedagogy of early childhood teachers in Australia and New Zealand. A thematic analysis of the intersecting self-efficacy findings raised in the three studies identifies the powerful influence of self-efficacy on teaching practice in the visual arts domain and offers new understandings about visual arts self-efficacy amongst early childhood teachers. The combined findings reveal several factors that restrain or enhance teachers' visual arts self-efficacy across time, including the impact of childhood experiences, pre-service training and epistemological beliefs. The paper also identifies several enabling conditions that appear to support teachers to develop and maintain positive visual arts self-efficacy beliefs, including practical engagement with materials, sustained professional learning, relational trust and intentional leadership. These enabling conditions offer practical strategies and research recommendations in service of positive visual arts self-efficacy to enhance quality visual arts teaching in early childhood contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Play in early childhood environments is critical to the social development of all children, including those with disabilities. Children with autism often experience delays in the development of play skills and may especially struggle with social play with peers. Thus, strategies to support social play in inclusive preschool settings are needed. The purpose of this article is to provide practitioners with an overview of evidence-based strategies to increase play interactions between children with autism and their peers in inclusive preschool settings. We outline the importance of play in early childhood classrooms, provide an overview of common play and social interaction challenges experienced by young children with autism, and describe and exemplify strategies to promote play between peers. We provide recommendations for collaborations between special educators and speech language pathologists working with children with autism to support children's play in inclusive environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article bewilders dominant discourses about child-animal relations by acknowledging and challenging the work of Gail Melson who positions animals as providing emotional, social and pedagogical support for children. Melson's psychological approach rests upon implicit assumptions that shape and support anthropocentrism whilst also critiquing a utilitarian approach to animals in educational learning spaces. The legacy effects of this approach are steeped in neoliberal discourse that entangle with pedagogy and practice. Unless modified these effects pass through generations as sticky webs of knowability that are difficult to contest. Research from Australia and Finland, framed by critical posthuman and relational ontologies, unsettles these effects to reconfigure child-animal relations as fluid and situated. 'Bewildering education' grants insights into historical political legacies that can be traced in education policy, practice and theory preoccupied with knowledge development, relations and meaning-making around the productive 'good' human subject. Child-animal relations expose complex and far-reaching effects of early childhood because processes of becoming and being human with other animals provides spaces for knowing 'difference' as a constituting force that disrupts anthropocentric relations with the world. Building a political history of animals that pays attention to agency and ethical relations reconfigures and reconstitutes animal species, not as objects of pedagogical inquiry, but rather as subjects and fellow earth dwellers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steiner might be considered the prototypic pioneer from a previous century, whose alternative education vision continues to have huge international appeal and status. Yet Steiner's 'pioneering' views of education are open to interpretation via the creation of an ironic visual collage work, 'pioneer' is examined as a paradox in itself, like a seemingly contradictory or absurd statement that is found on investigation, to be true. A paradoxical person therefore combines contradictory elements. Exploring examples of Steiner's global reach, such as storytelling in Steiner schools in New Zealand and the embedding of indigenous narrative knowledge in education, the danger of superficially rendering ancient cultural forms of knowledge to fit with western 'scientific' understanding is critiqued. Disrupting both what is meant by pioneer-led, 'literate' forms of communication such as educational tracts and curricula, this piece resists with the artistically pioneering and disruptive practices of scribble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]