Marcia L. Preston , Megan McClelland , Janelle Craig , Elana Herbst , Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
{"title":"Cognitively engaging physical activity has an immediate impact on preschool children's executive function","authors":"Marcia L. Preston , Megan McClelland , Janelle Craig , Elana Herbst , Roberta Michnick Golinkoff","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Executive function (EF) skills are important for a wide-range of outcomes, including academic achievement and socio-emotional development. Previous research with adolescents and adults provides support for a connection between physical activity and improvements in EF, though less is known about the impact of physical activity on EF for <em>preschool</em> children. Additionally, not all physical activity has been equally supportive of EF development. Utilizing a pretest-posttest intervention with 111 children (M <em>age</em>=58.5 months, 53 % female, 91 % White, 59 % Latino), the current study examined the immediate impact of cognitively engaging physical activity on three components of preschool children's EF skills. As expected, the cognitively engaging physical activity condition resulted in the greatest immediate improvements in performance on EF tasks, though in some circumstances, physical activity alone and cognitive engagement alone were also effective. In addition to confirming the hypothesis, this study also adds to the existing literature in that the intervention was effective for preschool children and the effects were found immediately after a short intervention. The findings here are especially promising given that children benefited from the intervention after only twelve minutes of activity, thereby providing further justification for increasing daily opportunities for physical activity and exercise play for preschool children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 91-101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143445629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Participation in early childhood education in Kosovo: (Re-)migration and international orientation as a resource for the participation of early childhood education institutions","authors":"Saranda Shabanhaxhaj, Heike Wendt","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates inequalities in early childhood education (ECE) attendance and mathematics and science competencies in Kosovo, a small country in south-east Europe that has been significantly impacted by war, unrest, and economic instability over recent decades, forcing people to migrate. The present research examines to what extent parents who experienced war-related migration as children and whose own children are now fourth graders are influenced by those experiences with regard to their educational decisions and practices. Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction and Boudon's theory of educational choice, as well as concepts of hybridity and multilocality, are used as a basis for investigating the relationship between migration, family background, and ECE attendance to explore the complexity and fluidity of migration processes. In the context of this resource-focused approach, we argue that migration-related hybridity and multilocality also represent an educational opportunity and can transform social origins, potentially mitigating educational inequalities in ECE attendance. Data from the TIMS-study on N = 4496 Kosovar fourth-grade students whose parents were affected by the large waves of migration in the 1990s were analyzed. In Kosovo, war-related displacement and migration have changed family structures and practices, as evidenced by the finding that 7 percent of children grow up in a binational family and 21 percent of all mothers use migration-related language practices (French, Italian, German, or English) with their children. There are no significant differences in ECE attendance in relation to the immigration of at least one member of the nuclear family. However, there is a significant positive correlation between migration-related language practices and decisions to send children to ECE institutions; these children also performed better in mathematics and science at the 4<sup>th</sup>-grade level. The findings point out the importance of educational opportunities for displaced persons for the education of subsequent generations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 102-111"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143454548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gigliana Melzi, Paola Montúfar Soria, Verónica Mesalles
{"title":"Latine caregiver math talk across contexts and its relation to child math outcomes","authors":"Gigliana Melzi, Paola Montúfar Soria, Verónica Mesalles","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Caregiver math talk is an important mechanism for young children's math learning. The present study examined the amount, content, and pragmatic intent of math talk used by U.S. Latine caregivers with low incomes and explored concurrent associations to child math outcomes. Seventy-three caregivers were asked to teach their preschool-aged children to set the table and share a wordless picture book. Caregivers produced and elicited more math talk in the household chore task compared to the book-sharing task. Caregiver math talk in the household chore task only was significantly and negatively related to math outcomes. Results point to the need to consider the contexts in which families engage in math learning and how caregivers construct math learning experiences for their children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 133-142"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Examining young children’s transitions from drawing into early writing","authors":"Kelly Campbell, Anne E. Cunningham","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Examining young children’s progressions in drawing, from scribble lines to graphic representations of people, places, and objects—to their writing of alphabetic symbols—may open windows into knowledge of early cognitive, language, and motor development. In the present mixed-method investigation, we first review prior literature on such transitions, which includes discussion of the stages or sequences of mark-making, drawing, and early writing. We then discuss existing measures of human figure drawings, name writing, early writing, oral language (mean length of utterance of the child’s descriptions of each drawing/writing sample), and content themes. Next, for five children aged 3-5 years attending a university-affiliated preschool, we examine repeated sets of drawings and early writings, ranging from 23 to 73 samples per child, from archival materials. Each case study includes both (a) narrative descriptions of each child’s progressions and (b) analyses of scores on the included measures. With the overall aim of preparing for a larger study that includes regular and more data-intensive samples subject to blinded scoring, we provide comparisons within each child and across children—featuring linear trends and high intra-individual variability– regarding development of graphic symbol systems (i.e., drawing and early writing) during the foundational preschool years.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 317-327"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143891720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Surrain, Susan H. Landry, Tricia A. Zucker, Yoonkyung Oh
{"title":"Exploring differential impacts of a parent intervention on reading and toy play across ethnic and linguistic groups","authors":"Sarah Surrain, Susan H. Landry, Tricia A. Zucker, Yoonkyung Oh","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ways that parents respond to their children's initiations and guide their learning are associated with subsequent language development. Responsive parenting interventions have shown positive impacts on parent behaviors and child outcomes. However, less is known about how intervention effects vary for families from different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of Play and Learning Strategies examines the effect of the intervention for three subgroups: Spanish-dominant Latine families (<em>n</em> = 142), English-dominant Latine families (<em>n</em> = 112), and non-Latine families (<em>n</em> = 137). Parents of preschool-aged children (<em>M</em> age = 52.8 months) were randomized to the intervention or a control condition and observed interacting with their child in two settings – book reading and toy play – before and after the intervention period. Spanish-dominant Latine parents received the intervention in Spanish, while the other two groups received it in English. There were significant main effects of the intervention on parent and child behaviors during book reading for all three subgroups. In contrast, intervention effects varied by subgroup for parent and child behaviors observed during toy play. The Spanish-dominant Latine parents showed larger gains in parent and child outcomes when observed in the toy play setting, compared to the other two subgroups. These differential effects were not explained by the number of completed sessions, coach-rated engagement, or family composition. Our results highlight the importance of observing multiple contexts in research with families from minoritized backgrounds and considering linguistic and cultural differences and strengths in parent interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 13-24"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143035190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kyong-Ah Kwon , Wonkyung Jang , Timothy G. Ford , Sherri Castle
{"title":"The Head Start teacher paradox: Working conditions, whole well-being, and classroom quality","authors":"Kyong-Ah Kwon , Wonkyung Jang , Timothy G. Ford , Sherri Castle","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The purpose of this study was to examine Head Start (HS) teachers’ characteristics, working conditions, whole well-being, and classroom quality and their associations compared to other (non-HS) ECE teachers. The study collected survey and direct assessment data on a range of working conditions and whole well-being (physical, psychological, and professional well-being) from 262 teachers (112 HS teachers and 150 ECE teachers, including private child care and public pre-K teachers). Additionally, we used emotional/behavioral and instructional supports among 83 teachers in their classrooms. Our findings from the propensity score analysis revealed that HS teachers are better educated, have better resources in general, and provide higher classroom quality, but they have more job demands, are less likely to have daily breaks, and have overall poorer whole teacher well-being, which was unexpected and paradoxical. Job demands, well-being resources, and a high-quality physical environment were all significant predictors of teacher well-being. We also found that some resources (i.e., well-being resources, physical environmental quality) served as moderators, either buffering the negative impact of physical job demands or having a combined, synergizing effect in fostering teacher well-being. Finally, teachers’ job demands and whole well-being were found to predict classroom quality. The study highlights the unique strengths, needs, and challenges of HS teachers and offers insights into optimizing working conditions to promote their well-being, which may also help improve classroom quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 371-382"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144072275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachel E. Schachter , Lisa L. Knoche , Junrong Lu , Molly J. Goldberg , Paige D. Wernick , Shayne B. Piasta , Hope Sparks Lancaster
{"title":"A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of coaching and the contribution of coaching processes to learning outcomes for early childhood teachers and children","authors":"Rachel E. Schachter , Lisa L. Knoche , Junrong Lu , Molly J. Goldberg , Paige D. Wernick , Shayne B. Piasta , Hope Sparks Lancaster","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coaching in early childhood (EC) settings (birth-8 yrs) is a commonly used tool for supporting EC teachers. Yet, research regarding the effectiveness of coaching is mixed, and the “active ingredients” or coaching processes associated with change are understudied. In this study, we examined the effects of coaching on EC teachers’ practice, knowledge, and beliefs and child outcomes and the contributions of specific coaching processes, with respect to both overall and unique effects. We meta-analyzed data from 124 studies with 1042 effect sizes. Results indicated overall positive effects of coaching (i.e., compared to no or little professional learning) on teachers’ practice, knowledge, and beliefs as well as child outcomes. When considering unique effects (i.e., coaching compared to the same professional learning without coaching), there were no effects on practice but positive effects on child outcomes. Findings for coaching processes were limited, with the coaching process of modeling consistently increasing the effects of coaching for teacher practice and co-teaching decreasing the effects for teacher knowledge and practice. No coaching processes moderated effects on child outcomes. This study is an important step in understanding potential mechanisms within coaching that contribute to change in various teacher and child outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 156-169"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor , Jacqueline Sims , Sihong Liu , Stephanie M. Curenton , Iheoma Iruka , Kerry-Ann Escayg , Beverly Bruno , Philip Fisher
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Examining the relationship between discrimination, access to material resources, and black children's behavioral functioning during COVID-19” [Early Childhood Research Quarterly Volume 62, 1st Quarter 2023, Pages 335-346]","authors":"Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor , Jacqueline Sims , Sihong Liu , Stephanie M. Curenton , Iheoma Iruka , Kerry-Ann Escayg , Beverly Bruno , Philip Fisher","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Page 80"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elia G. Ramirez, Jessica E. Whittaker, Jamie DeCoster, Robert C. Pianta, Virginia E. Vitiello
{"title":"Teacher-child relationship quality and kindergarten outcomes: The moderating role of classroom activity settings","authors":"Elia G. Ramirez, Jessica E. Whittaker, Jamie DeCoster, Robert C. Pianta, Virginia E. Vitiello","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grounded in the bioecological model of human development and attachment theory, this study examined whether the proportion of time children spend in activity settings in the kindergarten classroom moderated the relationship between teacher-child relationship quality and children's kindergarten academic and social-emotional outcomes. Participants included kindergarten students (<em>n</em> = 2439) and their teachers (<em>n</em> = 452) in a large and diverse school district in the United States. Using regression models that accounted for the dependence of students in classrooms, we examined the following three research questions: 1) To what extent is quality of children's relationships with their teacher at the beginning of kindergarten associated with growth in children's outcomes (academic, social-emotional, behavioral) over the kindergarten year? 2) To what extent is time spent in different classroom activity settings (i.e., small group, whole group, individual) associated with growth in outcomes? 3) Does time spent in different classroom activity settings moderate the association between teacher-child relationship quality and growth in children's outcomes? We found significant associations between teacher-child relationship quality and kindergarten outcomes as well as between small group setting and mathematics outcomes. We also found that group setting moderated associations between teacher-child relationship quality and some kindergarten outcomes. The findings illustrate the centrality of teacher-child relationship quality in supporting children's outcomes in the early years. Findings also suggest that although there may not be many direct associations between time spent in different settings and outcomes, to fully understand how teacher-child relationships are associated with children's outcomes, it may be important to consider the activity settings in which children spend their time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 295-306"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143883289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of reading attitudes in preschool children: Trajectories, antecedents and consequences","authors":"Shuting Huo , Xiujie Yang , Nan Xiao , Xiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The cultivation of positive attitudes toward reading is an important goal in early childhood education. This study examined the developmental trajectories of reading attitude in institutional contexts (IRA) and global reading attitude (GRA), their antecedents, and their associations with later literacy outcomes including word reading and vocabulary. One hundred and ninety-seven children (mean age = 52.72 at the first wave of data collection) were assessed individually for four times on their reading attitudes at 6-month intervals across their last two years in preschool. Information on home literacy environments was obtained from both parents, and data was also obtained on children's performance on several cognitive-linguistic tasks. Children's word reading and receptive vocabulary were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results showed that, on average, children's IRA did not change across the two-year follow-up, whereas their GRA declined in a linear fashion. Paternal home literacy environment variables played unique roles in predicting the initial level and growth rate of IRA and the growth rate of GRA. In terms of developmental outcomes, the initial levels of IRA and GRA predicted children's receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool after baseline performance, background variables and cognitive-linguistic skills were controlled for. Chinese word reading was predicted by IRA but not GRA; however, this prediction did not sustain after baseline performance was entered. The findings suggested that different aspects of reading attitudes overlapped greatly, yet were somewhat dissociated in terms of developmental trajectories, antecedents, and consequences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 215-228"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}