(2021). From playing with numbers to playing with clay. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 153-156.

ABSTRACT In toddlers, the transition from home to childcare might elicit high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Measuring cortisol may give an indicator for children’s experience and hence, may help improve this transition. We applied linear mixed model analyses to investigate the cortisol levels of 119 toddlers during their transition to childcare across time of day (morning, afternoon, and evening)

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of pedagogical intervention on early childhood education professionals’ emotional availability to children with different temperament characteristics. Participants were 136 children (intervention group = 87; control group = 49) aged 1–6 years from 16 early childhood and care centres in Finland. The PedaSens intervention was a 9-month programme

ABSTRACT In this study, we explored how free play and scaffolding practices in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) related to children’s externalising problems both in ECEC and later in school. Furthermore, we aimed to reduce the knowledge gap of whether these relations depended on children’s differences in emotional temperament. We used structural equation modelling to analyse data from 7421

ABSTRACT Pretend play in early years is considered key to the development of both children’s and pre-service teachers’ skills. Teachers’ involvement in pretend play might be an effective tool for supporting children’s play skills and self-confidence, communication, cooperation and decision-making. Drawing on qualitative interviews with pre-service and in-service teachers and on children’s observations

ABSTRACT In the survey conducted among graduates of pedagogical faculties of four universities: in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine, differences were found in the self-assessment of professional competence acquired in the course of studies. This study contributes to future deliberations, emphasising the importance of curricular and systemic changes, i.e. moving away from the system

ABSTRACT This article focuses on different rationalities of governing children in the context of different ECEC facilities, how the rationalities potentially influence the ways children are cared for and educated, and how this is related to the reproduction of social inequalities. Inspired by Foucault’s work on government, it focuses on the ways parents understand how their children should be formed

ABSTRACT Child care quality in general, and caregiver-child interactions in particular, are salient predictors of children’s outcomes. While the importance of process quality is well known, the complex relations between structural quality and process quality are far less researched in family child care, compared to centre based child care. Flanders shows unique features to do so, considering its high

ABSTRACT This article sets out to discuss physical prerequisites for creativity. Creativity has come to be regarded as one of the most valuable attributes a person can have, at least in today’s Western societies. This article builds on and incorporates material from a Swedish project called Entrepreneurship Liminal space, Creativity, and Understanding. The article covers analysis from interviews and

ABSTRACT The concept of open functions was introduced to capture an intended feature of van Eyck’s seminal play sculptures – they do not suggest a specific action. In a recent study, Van der Schaaf, A. L., S. R. Caljouw, and R. Withagen. (2020. “Are Children Attracted to Play Elements with an Open Function?” Ecological Psychology 32: 79–94) aimed to determine the degree of openness of Parkour play

ABSTRACT This article describes a ceramic arts research project that provided children with opportunities for meaning making using bone china clay, a medium with strong cultural and historical links to the city where the research took place. The children were positioned as artists and their work was curated and presented for exhibition by an international ceramic artist, affording equal status to their

ABSTRACT In the discourse on children and early childhood education, the concern to ‘give children a voice’ has become increasingly important in recent years. The starting point for this development is the idea of a ‘competent child’ whose perspectives, perceptions and ideas are valuable and important. For this reason, ECE has set itself the goal of attentively listening to children and taking them

ABSTRACT Quality in early-childhood education and care is a decisive element in children’s development and learning, with professional standards of practitioners a critical element in ensuring quality provision. An on-going research project into professional development (PD) initiatives for ECEC practitioners in Denmark focuses on a practice-based initiative engaging with the Abecedarian Approach to

(2021). Creating forums for plural Covid narratives and dialogues in early childhood. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 29, Plural Narratives about COVID–19 and Early Childhood, pp. 1-5.

ABSTRACT As the COVID-19 virus has spread worldwide, much attention has been paid to its impact on the health and wellbeing of adults, with less attention to how the virus has impacted on young children. This article draws on documentation and video data from a kindergarten in Aotearoa New Zealand. It discusses the working theories of 4 year-old children whose teachers encouraged them to draw, construct

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic poses multiple challenges for young children in the modern world. Listening to, and capturing, the experiences and perspectives of young children on the pandemic are congruent with our sense of an inclusive, democratic society which values solidarity and the right to be heard, yet too often the voices of young children are excluded from consideration. This paper reports

ABSTRACT The article presents preliminary findings from a family survey about children’s experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown, which was administered through the pediatric network SICuPP (Italian Society of Primary Care Pediatricians – Lombardy) in Northern Italy. The study involved 3443 parents with children aged from 1 to 5 years and from 6 to 10 years living in Lombardy region, the earliest

ABSTRACT We explored the factors associated with the stress signs among children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Although children showed increased stress signs, they also showed increased development of good behavioral traits during this period. Parenting styles were significantly correlated with the psychological and physical stresses experienced by children. While a punitive parenting style

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a world crisis of an unprecedented nature. In March 2020, due to closing of non-essential private and public educational institutions, early childhood professionals had to quickly adapt and respond to the demands for social distancing, hygiene, new protocols and transition to online education. Alternatively, educators engaged in distance teaching and learning

ABSTRACT School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the education of 91% of students worldwide. As a critical process in supporting young children’s resilience, play is increasingly recognised as a valuable pedagogical strategy within a shifting educational landscape during the pandemic. This study reports on findings from a survey on play in early childhood education of 310 early

ABSTRACT This article is an early commentary on a kindergarten story from Aotearoa – New Zealand during the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown in 2020; detailing community outreach and new ways of providing a kindergarten experience for children at home. A backdrop to this commentary is the political context of a popular Labour-led government managing a pandemic with the intent to eliminate the virus, which

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic tremendously disrupted ECE in the U.S., closing many private programs and nearly all public preschool and primary classrooms. To understand this impact, we used multiple strategies, including a nationwide survey of parents; a review of state policies, guidance and resource documents; and scans of media coverage to obtain information on how the pandemic has shaped policy

ABSTRACT This article describes and analyses the corona virus pandemic consequences on Brazilian early childhood education, on small children families' life conditions and on teacher's work, since March 2020, when preventive measures, such as social distancing and schools closure, were adopted by states and municipal authorities in the country. The text covers four main aspects of this situation: (a)

This article analyses the impact on Early Years Education policy of the crisis provoked by COVID 19 pandemia and raises some questions about the future. For a better understanding of this impact COVID 19, I present the construction of this educational level since the nineteenth century contrasting two essential models – the educational assistance model and the pedagogical educational model. A current

(2021). Correction. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 29, Plural Narratives about COVID–19 and Early Childhood, pp. i-i.

(2021). Correction. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT This article describes and analyses the corona virus pandemic consequences on Brazilian early childhood education, on small children families' life conditions and on teacher's work, since March 2020, when preventive measures, such as social distancing and schools closure, were adopted by states and municipal authorities in the country. The text covers four main aspects of this situation: (a)

ABSTRACT This article is an early commentary on a kindergarten story from Aotearoa – New Zealand during the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown in 2020; detailing community outreach and new ways of providing a kindergarten experience for children at home. A backdrop to this commentary is the political context of a popular Labour-led government managing a pandemic with the intent to eliminate the virus, which

(2020). Editorial. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 771-773.

ABSTRACT This study explored early childhood educators’ experiences and understanding of bullying in early childhood. Fourteen early childhood educators were interviewed. All the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).The results showed four themes: (1) Educators’ emotional burden from children’s unexpected behavior, (2) Ambiguity of conscious

ABSTRACT Partnerships between parents and professionals in early childhood education and care (ECEC) are widely acknowledged as important for children’s well-being and learning. For children with immigrant backgrounds, bridges between the different social contexts that surround them are especially significant. The current paper synthesizes research-based knowledge on the barriers to and facilitators

ABSTRACT In most majority countries, early childhood educators’ work occurs in a context increasingly dominated by neoliberal logic. A large body of literature emphasises that neoliberalism flourishes in society by fuelling mutual distrust and competition among people to pursue individual performance and material gain. This system has crept into education systems which were set up with very different

ABSTRACT This comparative study investigated how early childhood education and care practitioners in South Korea and Norway perceive the concept of children’s well-being and their own roles in supporting and facilitating children’s well-being. Data were collected through online questionnaires from 198 practitioners and analysed utilising chi-square analyses. The results showed that South Korean practitioners

ABSTRACT Research on the predictivity of activity settings, preschool teachers’ activities, and children’s activities for interaction quality is inconsistent and cannot be transferred easily to specific national preschool contexts. The present study addresses this issue by assessing the interaction quality of 185 children aged 3–5 years attending 61 preschools in Austria using the Individualized Classroom

ABSTRACT This study examined kindergarten teacher students’ images of teacher, of children, and kindergarten at the beginning of kindergarten teacher education in 1992, 2008, 2013, and 2017. Theoretical examination of images and studies of teachers’ images formed the basis of this study. 156 students participated in the study voluntarily. Data was collected through drawings and open-ended questions

ABSTRACT Educational policies increasingly emphasise early childhood science engagement. As key influencers in children’s early learning, parents (n = 85) attending a science workshop in three urban schools in Ireland were surveyed regarding their attitudes towards science. Seventy per cent of parents believed that science education should begin in the pre-school years, before the age of four. Despite

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to explore ECEC-teachers’ attitudes toward gender through a transformation of the classic fairy tale ‘The Princesses and The Pea’. The stereotypes presented in fairy tales can be limiting for children today because they can reinforce traditional ideals of femininity and masculinity. The Norwegian ensemble Dybwikdans challenge gender stereotypes in ‘The Princess and

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to provide more knowledge on how outdoor time in Norwegian kindergartens is used as a resource for educational activities regarding science education and physical education. Through a questionnaire and a focus group interview, the study investigated early childhood teachers’ perceptions of their work with these subjects and included twelve teachers representing nine

(2020). Panel of referees. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. i-v.

ABSTRACT Guided by the transactional approach, this grounded theory study examined the reciprocal relations between the effects of participation in a preschool education intervention program on Syrian refugee children and their mothers’ parenting practices and concept of child. 128 children participated in a school-based intervention program in resettlement communities in Turkey. 32 mothers were individually

ABSTRACT Children possess different levels of mathematical skills when they begin their formal education. The home environment perhaps holds the key to such disparate maths skills in children’s in early years. The aim of this study is to examine home maths activities and mothers’ maths talk as the predictors of children’s maths talk and early maths skills. The home interactions of 40 preschool children

(2020). The importance of making explicit in educational research the role of pedagogy and teachers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 623-627.

ABSTRACT Family participation and involvement in schools has been reported to be crucial for improving academic achievement and social cohesion, especially among those systematically excluded such as migrants or the Roma population. However, these families often participate less in school life. This hinders any attempt to reverse the cycle of inequality experienced in Europe by the Roma and migrant

ABSTRACT In order to enrich the practices about the participation rights in the preschool education institutions, it is necessary to take the opinions of children concerning their experiences in school. In this research, it is aimed to take the opinions of Turkish preschoolers about their participation experiences in their schools. The participants of the study are comprised of 200 5-year-old children

ABSTRACT The present study seeks to address the dearth of research focussed on childminding (family day care or family childcare) in Ireland, despite its significant role in national childcare provision. One overarching aim was to explore childminders’ cultural models of praxis and pedagogy in the Irish context. This research was conducted within the theoretical framework of Ecocultural Theory (ECT)

ABSTRACT Arising from the question ‘How might we think of pedagogy in early childhood education?’, this article traces pedagogy’s histories, conceptual difficulties, inherent foreclosures, and contextual particularities. It argues that within the context of early education, pedagogy has become an obscure, sophisticated supplement of some sort rather than an indeterminate field of responsive, generative

ABSTRACT The Mosaic approach has been used as a form of participatory research for over two decades. It has been popular with researchers in the early childhood education and disability sectors because it encourages the participants to utilise a large range of communication tools, rather than relying on verbal and written data. Promoters of the Mosaic approach generally place great importance on capturing

ABSTRACT There is general agreement that young children are capable of accessing mathematical ideas and should be given the opportunity to do so in their early childhood educational settings. However, existing research has established a range of challenges for early childhood mathematics education; in particular, related to educators’ confidence and competence in teaching mathematics. This article

ABSTRACT Early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) is becoming internationally recognised as an important means for young children to develop their attitudes and behaviour towards sustainability. Yet, there is little research in addressing how ECEfS is differently understood within different cultural contexts, which can compromise the universality of sustainability and ECEfS. This study

ABSTRACT Evidence suggests that the quantity of linguistic input experienced by infants in early childhood centres relates to the quality of educator-infant interactions. However, little is known about the linguistic properties of mutually responsive educator-infant interactions. This study uses sequence analyses to identify patterns of educator-infant three-turn conversations, and examine whether

ABSTRACT Masturbation is common in pre-schoolers. Early childhood and early primary education are a period in which children learn about the social limits of privacy and sexual behavior. The approach to masturbation in preschool period is an important issue that concerns teachers and parents. Public masturbation can be successfully solved by behavioral intervention. The aim of the current study was

ABSTRACT Many studies have been conducted to identify the factors explaining individual differences in children’s emotion understanding (capacity to comprehend the nature, causes and consequences of emotions in the self and others). These studies represent a significant advance in our comprehension of the origins of the child’s capacity to understand emotions. However, almost nothing is known about

(2020). Editorial. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal: Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 451-456.

ABSTRACT Compassion is of high global relevance, being positioned as a core global competency for sustainable lifestyles promoting well-being, global citizenship and peace, which should be fostered in education. However, as a contested concept there is a vast gap in knowledge regarding compassion in early childhood education (ECE). In response, this research explored how one Pre-School community in

ABSTRACT Shown to be the single most influential factor in children’s early learning and development experiences, quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) teaching has attracted increasing interest in research and policy globally. Yet almost all definitions of quality ECEC teaching to date reflect only adults’ notions of the features that should define a good early-years professional. The

ABSTRACT This study explores toddling style in adult–child interaction. Toddling style was conceptualised by Gunvor Løkken in relation to toddlers’ playful and social style in peer groups; however, adults’ position was rarely explored. Therefore, this article aims to examine adults’ emotional and playful support in creating, maintaining and developing toddling style. A cultural–historical approach

ABSTRACT To date, there is little evidence regarding how well children from socially and educationally disadvantaged families succeed in interacting with other children and teachers in preschools. This paper aims to address this limitation by analysing the relationships between the quality of children's interactions in preschools and indicators of socio-cultural disparities, e.g. migrational and educational

ABSTRACT Drawing on sociocultural theorizing, this case study investigates and unpacks the qualities of scientific play during children’s inquiry-based science activities framed by imagination and play (i.e. Poetry Science). The data were gathered in Finnish preschool groups with children aged five to six years old (N: 31) over a five-week period. The data consist of video recordings, observational

ABSTRACT Recent studies have revealed that the development of self-regulation and social skills in preschool children is important for later academic success, social acceptance and psychological wellbeing. Children who lack these skills are at risk for not being able to socialize and may face rejection behaviors among peers, show aggressive behaviors, or suffer from other personal issues which prevent

ABSTRACT Providing the best start for our youngest generation is a growing priority internationally. Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) offers an approach to address complex system challenges and improve access to early childhood public services for young children and their families. The purpose of this paper is to use the Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance to reflect on the elements