Ensuring children's safety and preventing accidents are fundamental challenges in early childhood education. Previous studies have shown that professional experience shapes visual attention: novices focus primarily on individual children, whereas experienced caregivers distribute their attention across children and their environment. However, knowledge regarding prospective childcare professionals' development of these skills is scarce. Moreover, prior research has focused mainly on factor structures and mean differences, with limited attention to structural relationships among sub-components of risk sensitivity. This study examined the developmental structure of risk sensitivity among Japanese childcare students using Sequential Relation Analysis and the Successive Scalogram Analysis package. A questionnaire assessed students' abilities to detect risks and observe childcare situations. In addition, the study explored sequential and equivalence relationships among the sub-components of risk sensitivity. Results showed that noticing subtle changes in children forms a foundation for recognizing broader environmental and situational influences. Furthermore, several sequential relationships among observational abilities and risk detection abilities were identified. These findings provide insights into the structure of risk sensitivity and suggest the need for tailored educational strategies in childcare training programs.
This study addresses ambiguities in kindergarten teachers' professional development (PD) stages and pathways by constructing a multidimensional stage model. Using two large-scale national surveys (N > 2000) and Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), we empirically validated a framework delineating PD across three core dimensions: professional beliefs/attitudes, knowledge, and competence. These dimensions comprise six defining factors: career awareness/attitude, practice/reflection attitude, professional knowledge, management/planning skills, communication skills, and environment creation skills. The LPA identified three distinct developmental stages within each dimension, revealing that PD progression is dynamic and context-dependent. Critically, teachers may occupy different stages across dimensions simultaneously, challenging assumptions of linear development. The model offers a diagnostic foundation for targeted PD interventions, enabling precise identification of individual teachers' developmental positioning to facilitate differentiated professional learning and stage-appropriate support. A significant practical implication is the potential development of online assessment systems leveraging this framework to efficiently diagnose PD stages/pathways and foster personalized, systematic teacher growth.
This study investigated the challenges and opportunities for inclusive education for children with disabilities in early childhood settings. Using a sequential explanatory design, the study combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected through surveys from 221 teachers and 63 parents, along with four focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Key findings identified that parents generally support the inclusion of their children in preschool and feel their safety is better ensured there than at home. While teachers displayed moderately high knowledge of inclusive education, many held negative beliefs and did not receive adequate training. The study identified children with cognitive impairments that were found to be the most challenging to accommodate in inclusive early childhood education. Regression analysis showed that various factors accounted for 25.5% of the variance in implementing inclusive education. Although government policies and local NGOs provide support, challenges for implementing inclusive education in preschools still exist.
Social-emotional competence (SEC) is widely considered foundational for early academic development, yet the relative importance of its specific dimensions during the preschool years remains unclear. In this meta-analysis, 71 studies (N = 26,484) were synthesized using random-effects models. The analyses indicated stronger associations between early academic competence and both social awareness (r = 0.394) and self-regulation (r = 0.349), whereas the associations involving social skills (r = 0.285) and social problem-solving (r = 0.226) were relatively smaller in magnitude. Moderator analyses indicated that the association between self-regulation and academic competence varied by age, academic subject, and SEC measurement approach, and that the association between social problem-solving and academic competence was moderated by gender and age. These findings support a developmentally differentiated view of preschool SEC and highlight the importance of considering specific dimensions rather than global indicators. The results also offer practical insights for early childhood educators by identifying social-emotional competencies that are particularly relevant for supporting early learning in preschool classroom contexts.
Playgroups in Australia bring parents and playgroup leaders together to enrich children's experiences through play. Facilitated playgroups, led by teachers with a pedagogical purpose, are less well understood. This cultural-historical study investigated 16 imaginary play sessions involving 16 children, aged 13 months to 4 years, and their families over a 10-month period. It focuses on two key aspects of pedagogical practices: object-oriented play pedagogy, which uses objects in play to facilitate communication, introduce a scientific concept and develop meaning and co-experiencing drama in collective play, where objects are used to create drama in the play problem. Together, these practices reveal the complexity of pedagogy and learning and create conditions in which children develop a motive orientation toward engaging in scientific play within the playgroup setting. The unique pedagogical practices of teachers in playgroups are theorised, contributing to deeper understandings of pedagogy, professionalism, and professional work across cultural and national contexts.
Touch is a key element of social interactions within early childhood and forms part of a relational pedagogy. Children naturally use touch daily and research demonstrates that it is a vital component of child development. Effective educators use touch sensitively and appropriately to support children from hand-holding for safety, to high-fives for praise. However, using touch is not without challenges and in recent years there has been a resurgence of 'no-touch' policies in schools and settings. Through the lenses of current literature and research alongside attachment and traditional theory, this literature-based conceptual paper seeks to demonstrate how these policies go against current research and offers an evidence-informed argument to counter them. Arguing that educators have a duty of care acting in loco-parentis, incorporating sensitive and appropriate touch between educators and children in schools and settings strengthens social and emotional bonds, enhances learning and is vital within childhood and essential for human survival.
Studies indicate shared book reading (SBR) may support preschool children's language skills via extratextual talk. This exploratory descriptive study compared both the language-supportive strategies (questions, comments, scaffolding), and content of extratextual talk by early childhood (EC) teachers from 48 preschool classrooms (23 higher language gain [HLGCs] and 25 lower language gains [LLGCs]) during SBR. We transcribed and coded videos of SBR activities for language-supportive strategies and content. Findings showed that regardless of classroom language gain, EC teachers primarily provided comments, offered limited questions, and used minimal scaffolding. Comments and questions mostly gave information; content was mostly conceptual and behavior management oriented. Scaffolding was limited but equally upward and downward. Few differences emerged between HLGC and LLGC teachers' language-supportive strategies although LLGC featured more non-corresponding comments and HLGC featured more questions repeating text or a child's utterance. We discuss the implications for SBR practices and research.
This study investigated the repercussions of unequal compensation policies within New York City's early childhood care and education ecosystem. We focused on how compensation differentials shape the interconnected experiences of non-public school centers' teachers, directors, and families and how these effects cascade system-wide.Through Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), we integrated the ecological systems theory and the social construction and policy design theory to understand how policies privilege some groups over others. This study utilized a qualitative case study approach, analyzing 40 semi-structured interviews with directors (n = 10), teachers (n = 20) and parents (n = 10). Findings show that compensation and work condition disparities affect every layer of the early childhood education and care ecological system, shaping teacher morale, retention, program stability, classroom quality, and families' experiences of care. Setting and location differences revealed systemic bias in NYC's Universal Pre-K expansion, raising concerns about whether universal access policies can achieve equity without addressing the labor conditions that sustain them. The study calls for compensation policies that recognize early childhood educators' professional labor and support a more equitable mixed-delivery system.
There is limited research exploring child-to-adult ratios in nursery settings in England since changes were made to the EYFS by the Conservative government. This article explores the findings of an online survey using qualitative analysis to provide insight to the lived experiences and perceptions of participants regarding the changes to child-to-adult ratio in England. This study involved 154 Early Years Practitioners and explored statutory child-to-adult ratio guidance, adherence to it, and the perceived impact child-to-adult ratios have on practitioner well-being and the quality of early childhood education. In practice, participants found that an increase in the number of children cared for by practitioners led to feelings of unsafe practice with detrimental effects on children's developmental needs. The changes to child-to-adult ratio for 2-year olds in England demonstrate a disregard for young children's rights, entitlement and needs at the national policy level and is something that many nurseries have chosen to resist at the local practice level. This paper contributes to the debate of appropriate child-to-adult ratios in early years settings, highlighting the need for policymakers to consider the practical implications, and potentially adverse outcomes, associated with increasing ratios on child development and practitioner well-being within early childhood education.
This study was aimed to develop the Preschool Psychosocial Resilience Indicators Test for Natural Disasters (PRINDS), a test designed to assess the psychological resilience of preschool children in the context of disasters. The study was conducted from March 2024 to July 2025 in four kindergartens across two provinces in Turkey, involving 218 children aged between 4 and 6 years. During the process of developing the test, studies were performed on item formulation and content, developmental, face, and construct validity. This study employed both expert opinions and the 'think-aloud' method. The analyses yielded a four-factor structure (67.78% variance): disaster knowledge, first aid, emotional awareness, and coping. The Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.78 to 0.83, with a total scale score of 0.87. PRINDS study was determined to be both valid and reliable. The PRINDS offers a comprehensive assessment tool that may contribute to early identification of resilience strengths and development of disaster preparedness strategies.
This study presents the development and standardization of the Greek Scale of Preschool Graphomotor Skills (Greek-SPGS 4-6), designed to assess graphomotor abilities in children aged 4-6. A nationally representative sample of 1167 typically developing preschoolers participated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a six-factor model (pencil manipulation, handwriting control, spatial concepts, writing orientation, figure reproduction, scissors use), with good internal consistency. Item response theory confirmed the scale's sensitivity to different proficiency levels and age-related task difficulty. The tool demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including construct validity and reliability. Its nonverbal format ensures cultural adaptability and suitability for diverse populations. SPGS 4-6 addresses the need for culturally appropriate tools to assess handwriting readiness, enabling early detection of graphomotor delays. Age- and gender-specific norms offer benchmarks for educators and therapists to monitor development and guide interventions. This research supports evidence-based practices in early childhood education and screening.
Job crafting refers to employees' proactive customization of work to align with their motives and strengths. Although extensively studied in organizational contexts, it remains underexplored among early childhood education (ECE) teachers. This study developed and validated the Early Childhood Education Job Crafting Scale (EJCS) and examined its associations with positive occupational outcomes. Using data from 508 ECE teachers in eastern China, confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor structure: task, relational, cognitive and work-life crafting. The scale demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability. Descriptive analyses revealed moderately high job crafting levels, with cognitive crafting scoring highest, followed by task, work-life and relational crafting. Teaching experience and family status were significantly associated with variations in job-crafting behaviors. EJCS scores positively correlated with person-organization fit (r = 0.75), work performance (r = 0.63) and professional identity (r = 0.62). This study validated the EJCS for measuring ECE teachers' job crafting and highlighted its positive impact on occupational experience and well-being.
In Chilean early childhood education (ECE), teaching assistants (TAs) are numerically dominant yet largely absent from professional and policy frameworks. Drawing on Dahlberg and Moss's critical ECE perspective and an ethics of care framework, this qualitative study examines how TAs in two public ECE centres in Santiago construct discourses about their pedagogical practice. Data were generated through two focus groups and four individual interviews with 16 assistants working with children aged 0-4. Analysis followed Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four themes are reported: growing empowerment in learning activities; involvement in planning; an understanding of care routines as inherently pedagogical; and a curricular emphasis on social and personal development over school-readiness. These findings reveal an evolving pedagogical identity that challenges the care - education dualism and contests traditional professional hierarchies. The study contributes to debates on TAs' professionalism, schoolification, and ethics of care, calling for greater policy recognition of TAs as integral pedagogical agents.
This study focuses on integrating digital storytelling (DS) into early childhood education (ECE) by collaborating with teachers and on examining this process through a phenomenological lens. The data consisted of pre- and post-interviews with teachers and digital books produced in classrooms through collaboration between children, teachers, and parents. According to the findings, 35 digital books were produced in classrooms, and teachers mostly preferred integrating DS through parental involvement. The produced digital books focused on several different themes (e.g., culture and art, nature and environment, astronomy). Teachers reported that DS in ECE contributes to their professional development (e.g., learning alternative ways to address curriculum and integrate DTs into ECE), to the educational process (e.g., encouraging parental involvement and facilitating assessment), and to children (e.g., fostering learning motivation, language and communication skills, and self-expression). In addition, teachers reported some challenges regarding parental involvement and technical issues during the integration of DS in ECE.
This paper foregrounds the often-neglected role of corporeality in understanding the intersection between professionalism and gender in Early Childhood Education. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 32 male educators from Brazil and Italy and employing a hermeneutic approach, the study explores how these professionals perceive and articulate their embodied experiences and pedagogical practices. By emphasizing gender as an indelible thread in the fabric of professional identity, the analysis reveals distinctive dynamics within their practice, including nuanced conflict management, the use of humor, and a strong presence of physical and playful interaction. These aspects appear to constitute key ways through which men establish their professional legitimacy. The findings highlight the body as the primary medium through which performances of professional identity and gender are enacted and intersect, shaping perceptions of competence while being influenced by the various allowances and constraints experienced by male practitioners throughout their lives. Moreover, these insights may foster greater awareness of the role of the body in this profession, moving beyond representations that confine male and female gestures to fixed traits, and contributing to a less constrained experience for educators of any gender identity and, ultimately, to richer developmental environments for the children in their care.
This paper reports on a qualitative study conducted in Malta exploring a purpose-designed board game as a vehicle for promoting computational thinking (CT) among children aged 4-7 in early years classrooms. Drawing on classroom observations, focus group discussions and teacher questionnaires, the study examines how the game supported children's engagement with core CT skills, including sequencing, pattern recognition and decomposition. Findings suggest that the narrative-driven, unplugged format facilitated playful learning and peer collaboration, while teacher mediation was crucial in scaffolding children's understanding of CT concepts. Collaborative gameplay, in particular, was associated with deeper engagement and more observable instances of abstraction and algorithmic thinking, whereas competitive formats fostered motivation but sometimes led to more superficial decision-making. The study also identifies practical considerations for implementation, including time constraints, inclusion of pupils with additional needs, and the importance of professional development in sustaining effective use. These findings contribute to growing evidence that well-designed board games can serve as effective and inclusive tools for introducing CT in developmentally appropriate ways.
Even before starting school, children show substantial variability in their numerical abilities, suggesting that the home environment is a crucial context for supporting the development of foundational numeracy knowledge. Parental beliefs play a fundamental role in the home numeracy environment. This study examined 5 year-old children's numerical performance and its association with maternal expectations across socioeconomic status (high- vs. low-SES). Children's numerical skills (verbal counting, quantification, numerical notation, comparison and addition) were assessed through individual interviews, and maternal expectations were measured using a self-report questionnaire. Multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical classification revealed that high-SES children performed better across tasks, particularly in quantification, numerical notation and comparison. Kendall's tau-b correlations showed that low-SES mothers accurately estimated their children's performance in verbal counting and notation, whereas high-SES mothers did so in quantification and notation. In both groups, mothers tended to underestimate their children's abilities in set comparison and addition. Examining the different dimensions that make up the home numeracy environment provides insight into how number knowledge develops through early socialization in diverse social contexts.
In a global context marked by deepening social, economic, and linguistic inequities, where processes such as neoliberal restructuring, migration, racialisation, and linguistic hierarchies continue to shape access to education, early childhood settings are increasingly recognised as critical sites where inequality is both reproduced and contested. These dynamics are particularly salient in early childhood education, where young learners' identities and trajectories are already being shaped in ways that reflect broader structural asymmetries.
