Abstract In an effort to enhance the quality of early childhood education (ECE) at scale, nearly all U.S. states have recently adopted Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). These accountability systems give providers and parents information about program quality and create both reputational and financial incentives for program improvement. However, we know little about whether these accountability reforms operate as theorized. This study provides the first empirical evidence on this question using data from North Carolina, a state with a mature QRIS. Using a regression discontinuity design, we examine how assignment to a lower quality rating influenced subsequent outcomes of ECE programs. We find that programs responded to a lower quality rating with comparative performance gains, including improvement on a multi‐faceted measure of classroom quality. Programs assigned to a lower star rating also experienced enrollment declines, which is consistent with the hypothesis that parents responded to information about program quality by selectively enrolling away from programs with lower ratings. These effects were concentrated among programs that faced higher levels of competition from nearby providers.
Introduction: Psychomotricity is an area of knowledge that seeks to understand the relationships between the psyche (mind) and motor skills (body). Through it, we seek to understand how movement stimuli enable education to be effective for the integral development of the child and how this process occurs in Early Childhood Education. The objective is to present principles of a State of Knowledge on the influence of Psychomotricity on children's cognitive, affective and motor development, establishing pedagogical bases for its development in Early Childhood Education. Methods: This is a bibliographical research of the State of Knowledge type, through the exploration of databases, pointing out current issues and discussions, synthesis and analysis of concrete experiences of researchers through the results of their research. Results: Regarding the results, 10 texts were selected, produced from 2019 to 2024 and which generated two categories: 1) Affection and the human: foundations for a comprehensive education; and 2) Psychomotricity in education and its contribution to learning through motor, cognitive and affective development; and; 3) The importance of psychomotor activities for stimulating the body and movement. Conclusion: It was concluded that psychomotricity has clear links with the child's learning process and is necessary for the effective development of the child's motor, affective and cognitive development. However, from the perspective of the State of Knowledge, psychomotricity is an area that is currently little explored, but which has quality content and is of great importance for comprehensive education in Early Childhood Education.
CLARA BEATRIZ DE BRITO AMARAL, A. Z. B. de Souza, José Carlos de Sousa et al.
BACKGROUND: Measles supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs) are an integral component of measles elimination in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite their success in increasing vaccination coverage, there are concerns about their negative consequences on routine services. Few studies have conducted quantitative assessments of SIA impact on utilisation of health services. METHODS: We analysed the impact of SIAs on utilisation of selected maternal and child health services using Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys from 28 LMICs, where at least one SIA occurred over 2000-2014. Logistic regressions were conducted to investigate the association between SIAs and utilisation of the following services: facility delivery, postnatal care and outpatient sick child care (for fever, diarrhoea, cough). RESULTS: SIAs do not appear to significantly impact utilisation of maternal and child services. We find a reduction in care-seeking for treatment of child cough (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.95); and a few significant effects at the country level, suggesting the need for further investigation of the idiosyncratic effects of SIAs in each country. CONCLUSION: The paper contributes to the debate on vertical versus horizontal programmes to ensure universal access to vaccination. Measles SIAs do not seem to affect care-seeking for critical conditions.
Iryna Postolovska, Stéphane Helleringer, Margaret E. Kruk et al.
Abstract Multiculturalism and anti‐bias education remain a significant area of pedagogical practice and scholarly inquiry for early childhood researchers and practitioners. Yet much less attention has been paid to detailing anti‐racist components within the classroom, and also within the broader field of early childhood education, including its foundational knowledge base. This article addresses this gap by advancing a framework for early childhood education informed by specific tenets of anti‐racism theory. Drawing on an analysis of White power and privilege and systemic racism, it outlines three main principles of anti‐racist early childhood education. Next, it presents a critical exploration of these principles and how they can be used to transform the existing paradigm of U.S. early childhood education, so as to offer equitable learning opportunities for racialized children.
Montessori education was developed over 100 years ago, and persists as a marginal ‘niche reform’ of the standard model. Here I discuss two unresolved dichotomies in early childhood education – the tension between work and play, and between structure and freedom. I explain how Montessori collapses and thereby resolves the dichotomies, and does so in a contemporary theoretical frame – one that is dynamical rather than linear. I next describe the origins and functioning of Montessori preschool environments, outcomes from the most methodologically sound studies to date, and impediments to Montessori’s more widespread adoption. I also show how Montessori is a culturally responsive pedagogy, and conclude by return to the dichotomies and how Montessori makes sense for the modern era.
Many low-income and minority children in the United States and globally are at risk of poor educational trajectories and, consequently, diminished life courses, because their households and neighborhoods lack resources to adequately support learning and development prior to formal schooling. This review summarizes evidence on center-based early childhood education (ECE) for three- and four-year-olds as a means of assuring school readiness in cognitive and socioemotional skills. While the details of ECE programs merit further research, it is clear that ECE can benefit children, especially those most disadvantaged, with additional societal benefits and positive long-run economic returns. Universal ECE is not a cure-all, and its success requires ongoing alignment with subsequent education and attention to child household and community conditions. Because resource deprivation is concentrated in low-income and minority communities, publicly funded universal ECE can also be a powerful instrument for the promotion of social equity.
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, and collaborative practice of interpretation, ethical critique, and invention. Thinking through the trilogy of repair, release, and return, we make three significant moves in the paper. First, we repair pedagogy from unfortunate and quite common misunderstandings. Second, we release early childhood education from the suffocating dominant narrative of child development as its primary source of intelligibility and moral legitimacy. Finally, we return to the idea of early childhood education as a pedagogical project and offer a series of interconnected propositions that respond to the conditions of our times. Overall, we argue that if early childhood education studiously attends to pedagogical thought, its problematic developmentalism might become obsolete.
This paper provides a review of the literature from 2009 to 2014 on student use of technology in early childhood education. Previous efforts to synthesize the literature are somewhat dated, non-specific about age range, and focus almost exclusively on literacy. Thirty peer-reviewed articles from 11 countries, selected from a comprehensive search of the literature, were organized under five main categories: literacy, engagement, social interactions, mathematics, and miscellaneous topics. The overall effect size, based on only 12 studies and 33 measures was moderately high (d= 0.71, SD=0.60). Considerable qualitative and quantitative evidence indicated that technology had a significant impact on literacy development. Fewer studies, mostly qualitative in design and small in sample size, reported that technology had a positive impact on engagement, social interactions, and mathematics skills. A handful of studies provided qualitative evidence that technology had a positive impact on sequencing, visual perception, creative thinking, and fine motor capability. Methodological concerns included limited sample sizes and descriptions, not documenting the consistency and accuracy data of collection tools, the extent of adult intervention, and the limited range of technology tools used.
This bibliographical article discusses the importance of early childhood education as a fundamental stage for the integral development of the child, considering cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural aspects. The analysis of scientific literature shows that interactions, play, teacher mediation, and a contextualized curriculum are central elements for promoting meaningful learning. Various authors reinforce that the first years of life represent a decisive phase for the formation of lasting competencies, which requires sensitive, planned pedagogical practices guided by children's rights. The research also reveals the relevance of organized and welcoming school environments, the active participation of families, and respect for diversity. Assessment is treated as a continuous and formative process that should value the individual paths of each child. Furthermore, the influence of technologies and the need for an interdisciplinary approach that breaks with the fragmentation of knowledge are discussed. Finally, it is highlighted that quality in early childhood education depends on the articulation between public policies, teacher training, and an ethical commitment to children's rights. The study reinforces the urgency of an educational practice based on listening, affection, and valuing childhood as a present moment.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the uses of multimodality within early childhood education classrooms for the purposes of literacy education. Wohlwend (2008) urges educators to keep age-appropriate practices in place, even amid a shift in educational requirements and expectations. In this paper, the use of age-appropriate, multimodal practices for young learners is explored. Though there is not necessarily research specific to multimodality in early childhood, the literature shows that multimodality is present in forms of play; the use of toys, devices, and technology; drama; and social interactions. Through these modality-rich avenues, literacy development can still be achieved through engaging structures for children. Multimodality creates opportunities to position the student as the expert in their own learning and create collaborative learning environments. Potential issues with these uses of multimodality include conflicts around devices in the classroom and negative social interactions. Additional research is needed to connect the fields of multimodality and early childhood education.
