Pub Date : 2025-11-21DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02053-z
Rachel E. Schachter, Laura Cutler, Kelly M. Purtell, Shayne B. Piasta, A. Busra Ceviren, Jessica A. R. Logan
Early childhood classroom environments are critical for children’s language learning. The differing types of activity contexts in which children participate likely shape opportunities for language learning, yet how these activity contexts are studied is limited both in terms of observation timing as well as the measures used to study these activity contexts. In this study, we describe the frequency and duration of activities in 100 EC classrooms focusing on teacher organization of classroom activities and examine the extent to which the proportion of time children spent in specific classroom activities (i.e., large-group circle, small group, activity time: choice, meals/snack) predicted changes in children’s language skills over the course of an academic year. Findings indicated that large-group circle was the most frequent activity context in both Fall and Spring and that activity choice constituted the largest proportion of instructional time for both Fall and Spring. Proportion of time in activity contexts did not predict language change. Implications for research are discussed.
{"title":"Activity Contexts in Early Childhood Classrooms and Children's Language Change","authors":"Rachel E. Schachter, Laura Cutler, Kelly M. Purtell, Shayne B. Piasta, A. Busra Ceviren, Jessica A. R. Logan","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02053-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02053-z","url":null,"abstract":"Early childhood classroom environments are critical for children’s language learning. The differing types of activity contexts in which children participate likely shape opportunities for language learning, yet how these activity contexts are studied is limited both in terms of observation timing as well as the measures used to study these activity contexts. In this study, we describe the frequency and duration of activities in 100 EC classrooms focusing on teacher organization of classroom activities and examine the extent to which the proportion of time children spent in specific classroom activities (i.e., large-group circle, small group, activity time: choice, meals/snack) predicted changes in children’s language skills over the course of an academic year. Findings indicated that large-group circle was the most frequent activity context in both Fall and Spring and that activity choice constituted the largest proportion of instructional time for both Fall and Spring. Proportion of time in activity contexts did not predict language change. Implications for research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145575677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-20DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02057-9
Christopher Pierce Brown, Lauren C. McKenzie
How early elementary teachers instruct their students new information matters. However, in contexts like the United States, early elementary school classrooms are becoming more regulated and standardized, which leaves little room for teachers to engage in instructional activities that offer their students choice and voice in their learning. This matters because such learning activities improve students’ social and emotional development and increase their interests in such academic areas as literacy and mathematics. Two key groups that are often absent from these conversations about what types of learning experiences should be occurring in early elementary school are the classroom teachers themselves and their students. We begin to attend to this issue by presenting findings from a case study that examined how two classrooms of second graders and their teachers in Texas made sense of how students should be taught new information in school. Examining these teachers and students’ sensemaking of instruction reveals several opportunities for early childhood stakeholders to support teachers in early elementary classrooms so that they can engage in a range of teaching practices that allow all their students to thrive as learners in and out of school.
{"title":"Seeing Teaching and Learning Differently: A Case Study of How Second Grade Teachers and their Students in Texas Make Sense of Instruction","authors":"Christopher Pierce Brown, Lauren C. McKenzie","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02057-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02057-9","url":null,"abstract":"How early elementary teachers instruct their students new information matters. However, in contexts like the United States, early elementary school classrooms are becoming more regulated and standardized, which leaves little room for teachers to engage in instructional activities that offer their students choice and voice in their learning. This matters because such learning activities improve students’ social and emotional development and increase their interests in such academic areas as literacy and mathematics. Two key groups that are often absent from these conversations about what types of learning experiences should be occurring in early elementary school are the classroom teachers themselves and their students. We begin to attend to this issue by presenting findings from a case study that examined how two classrooms of second graders and their teachers in Texas made sense of how students should be taught new information in school. Examining these teachers and students’ sensemaking of instruction reveals several opportunities for early childhood stakeholders to support teachers in early elementary classrooms so that they can engage in a range of teaching practices that allow all their students to thrive as learners in and out of school.","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"146 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145553349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-18DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02070-y
Jaakko Hilppö
In this micro-ethnographic study, I explore the tensions and contradictions of sleep practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings from a cultural-historical activity theory perspective. By drawing on interactional analysis of children’s and adults’ sleep time conduct in two Finnish kindergarten groups and an analysis of interviews with them, the kindergarten leaders and the children’s guardians, my study shows how the troubles experienced stemmed from several contradictions embedded in the sleep time practices and their enactment. These results are consistent with existing research but also go beyond it by providing a more nuanced and layered picture of the conflicting demands placed on sleep time in ECEC settings. Such a picture is vital if we want ECEC settings to provide for more quality sleep during early childhood, and assist in finding ways which allow for this.
{"title":"Troubled Sleep in ECEC: Exploring Tension and Contradictions in Two Finnish Kindergarten Groups’ Sleep Time Practices","authors":"Jaakko Hilppö","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02070-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02070-y","url":null,"abstract":"In this micro-ethnographic study, I explore the tensions and contradictions of sleep practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings from a cultural-historical activity theory perspective. By drawing on interactional analysis of children’s and adults’ sleep time conduct in two Finnish kindergarten groups and an analysis of interviews with them, the kindergarten leaders and the children’s guardians, my study shows how the troubles experienced stemmed from several contradictions embedded in the sleep time practices and their enactment. These results are consistent with existing research but also go beyond it by providing a more nuanced and layered picture of the conflicting demands placed on sleep time in ECEC settings. Such a picture is vital if we want ECEC settings to provide for more quality sleep during early childhood, and assist in finding ways which allow for this.","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"127 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145536568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02047-x
Jessica K. Hardy, Laura S. McCorkle, Robert C. Pennington, Thai Williams, Amanda L. Duncan, Casey K. H. Kim
{"title":"Coaching Practitioners and Families to Provide Academic Instruction to Young Children: A Systematic Review of Single Case Experimental Studies","authors":"Jessica K. Hardy, Laura S. McCorkle, Robert C. Pennington, Thai Williams, Amanda L. Duncan, Casey K. H. Kim","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02047-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02047-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"375 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145532090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-17DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02043-1
Jing Ning, Jang Hyejin
{"title":"Pathways to Quality: Teacher Efficacy Mediates Professional Perceptions’ Impact on Teacher–Child Interactions","authors":"Jing Ning, Jang Hyejin","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02043-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02043-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145532091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-15DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02060-0
Hilal Karakuş Özkan
{"title":"Examining the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Parental Math Involvement: The Role of Parental Math Beliefs","authors":"Hilal Karakuş Özkan","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02060-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02060-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"150 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145515843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-14DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02059-7
Jerrell C. Cassady, Sydney Katherine Johnson, Danielle Davis, Quinton Quagliano, Ana C. Aoqui, Mary Gibble
{"title":"Impact of a Book Distribution Program on Reading Performance at Kindergarten Enrollment","authors":"Jerrell C. Cassady, Sydney Katherine Johnson, Danielle Davis, Quinton Quagliano, Ana C. Aoqui, Mary Gibble","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02059-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02059-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145509063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-14DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02028-0
Sarai Coba-Rodriguez, Elizabeth Cambray–Engstrom
This qualitative study examines how 17 Latina mothers define parental involvement and engage with their children’s Head Start program. Findings indicate that Latina Head Start mothers conceptualize an involved parent as one who dedicates time to their children, fosters open communication, understands their interests, and remains aware of their friendships. Parental involvement also includes maintaining communication with teachers and participating in school-based activities. While all mothers in our study were actively engaged in their children’s learning at home, few participated in Head Start activities due to work and school schedules, life events, and language barriers. Although these barriers are well-documented, our study highlights a critical yet often overlooked perspective: rather than questioning Head Start’s flexibility and accessibility, mothers attributed their limited school participation to their own personal constraints. This self-blame may reflect a broader systemic issue in how spaces structure family involvement, often reinforcing a deficit-based narrative rather than addressing institutional barriers.
{"title":"“How is Preschool Going?”: Latina Mothers’ Understanding and Practices of Parental Involvement in Head Start","authors":"Sarai Coba-Rodriguez, Elizabeth Cambray–Engstrom","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02028-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02028-0","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative study examines how 17 Latina mothers define parental involvement and engage with their children’s Head Start program. Findings indicate that Latina Head Start mothers conceptualize an involved parent as one who dedicates time to their children, fosters open communication, understands their interests, and remains aware of their friendships. Parental involvement also includes maintaining communication with teachers and participating in school-based activities. While all mothers in our study were actively engaged in their children’s learning at home, few participated in Head Start activities due to work and school schedules, life events, and language barriers. Although these barriers are well-documented, our study highlights a critical yet often overlooked perspective: rather than questioning Head Start’s flexibility and accessibility, mothers attributed their limited school participation to their own personal constraints. This self-blame may reflect a broader systemic issue in how spaces structure family involvement, often reinforcing a deficit-based narrative rather than addressing institutional barriers.","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145515846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Practices, Perspectives and Perceived Difficulties in Early Detection of Autism among Early Childcare and Education Providers in France","authors":"Quentin Guillon, Tanguy Fontaine, Fanny Riou, Bernadette Rogé, Magali Batty, Sophie Baduel","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02050-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02050-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"102 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145515848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-12DOI: 10.1007/s10643-025-02037-z
Alexis Merculief, Javier Omar, Gladys Aguilar, Lily Steyer, Jelena Obradović
Racial disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States. However, little is known about race-related beliefs among early childhood educators (ECEs). ECEs serve as the first representatives of formal education for children from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds, even as they navigate a highly stressful and under-supported profession. This study examined race-related beliefs among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 146 ECEs working in a large urban school district, and investigated differences in race-related beliefs by ECE age, tenure, education, and race/ethnicity. Participating ECEs identified as Asian (43.4%), White (24.0%), Latine (18.6%), and Black (14.0%). Approximately 40% had earned a graduate degree. Subsequent study aims utilized linear regression models to examine ECE daily stressors and burnout symptoms as predictors of race-related beliefs, controlling for ECE race/ethnicity, age, and education. Results demonstrated that ECEs generally reported equitable race-related beliefs. However, older ECEs, ECEs with less than a graduate degree, and ECEs identifying as Asian were also more likely to espouse inequitable beliefs. Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and education, greater burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) was related to greater alignment with meritocracy beliefs, more cultural deficit beliefs, and a belief that racism is no longer a problem in America. ECE daily stressors were not significantly related to any race-related beliefs. Findings from the present study highlight areas for intervention to increase equity, including increasing opportunities for higher education for ECEs, and implementing system-wide supports to reduce burnout.
{"title":"Early Childhood Educator Stress, Burnout, and Racial Equity Beliefs","authors":"Alexis Merculief, Javier Omar, Gladys Aguilar, Lily Steyer, Jelena Obradović","doi":"10.1007/s10643-025-02037-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02037-z","url":null,"abstract":"Racial disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States. However, little is known about race-related beliefs among early childhood educators (ECEs). ECEs serve as the first representatives of formal education for children from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds, even as they navigate a highly stressful and under-supported profession. This study examined race-related beliefs among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 146 ECEs working in a large urban school district, and investigated differences in race-related beliefs by ECE age, tenure, education, and race/ethnicity. Participating ECEs identified as Asian (43.4%), White (24.0%), Latine (18.6%), and Black (14.0%). Approximately 40% had earned a graduate degree. Subsequent study aims utilized linear regression models to examine ECE daily stressors and burnout symptoms as predictors of race-related beliefs, controlling for ECE race/ethnicity, age, and education. Results demonstrated that ECEs generally reported equitable race-related beliefs. However, older ECEs, ECEs with less than a graduate degree, and ECEs identifying as Asian were also more likely to espouse inequitable beliefs. Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and education, greater burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) was related to greater alignment with meritocracy beliefs, more cultural deficit beliefs, and a belief that racism is no longer a problem in America. ECE daily stressors were not significantly related to any race-related beliefs. Findings from the present study highlight areas for intervention to increase equity, including increasing opportunities for higher education for ECEs, and implementing system-wide supports to reduce burnout.","PeriodicalId":47818,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Education Journal","volume":"112 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145492512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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