Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
What might the concept of queer joy offer to early childhood educators in New Brunswick, Canada? As a part of a study about the supports and barriers to comprehensive sexuality education in New Brunswick, Canada, we sought to speak with early childhood educators about the ways in which sexuality education happens in early childhood centers. We wondered: What kinds of sexuality education is already happening within early childhood centers and under what conditions? What do educators need to feel supported in this work? In a study with 11 early childhood educators, we found that they often spoke about 2SLGBTQI+ people and families through a lens of inclusion. Yet, despite this inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ identities into the normative ECE space, there was no understanding of queerness and transness as joyful—and no real thinking through what queerness and transness might offer the educator and the classroom space in early childhood centers. As we imagine the possibilities for sexuality education within ECE contexts, we look forward to seeing what might happen when children and educators summon queer joy.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Gratitude has been regarded as a moral virtue in most cultures. This study examines how cultural differences may influence children’s expression and understanding of gratitude. Two vignettes involving a high- and low-cost situation of expressing gratitude were presented to Japanese preschool-aged children, and their responses to the scenarios were recorded. Compared with the results of a previous study conducted with American children (Nelson et al., 2013), more Japanese children associated positive feelings with the benefactor when they were helped, would help the benefactor if they were in need, and cited reciprocity as a reason for doing so. The findings confirm the hypothesis that the emergence of gratitude as a moral virtue is also observed in preschool children from non-Western countries, and commonalities in moral development across cultures were found. At the same time, depending on the cost incurred by the benefactor on offering help, we found cultural differences in various aspects of gratitude. The findings suggest that gratitude, which encompasses the norm of reciprocity, is triggered in Japanese children in response to the cost to the benefactor.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Internationally, there is a growing interest in both intergenerational practice and outdoor learning opportunities such as those provided in Forest School settings. This participatory action research project, planned by a university researcher and early years educators working together as co-researchers, set out to investigate intergenerational practice in an urban outdoor environment with children aged under 5 years, and older adults. The focus was upon interactions, knowledge exchange and benefits. Data from forest diaries, interviews and observations was analysed thematically, resulting in the development of four main themes relating to different forms of participation and their value for those involved: affective participation, collaborative participation, learning through intergenerational participation and challenging participation. This study contributes to the body of knowledge that highlights the value of intergenerational activity and suggests that opportunities should be sought to involve older adults in the lives of young children within early childhood education, particularly within informal outdoor places such as Forest School.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Play is an integral part of childhood which is done for the sake of enjoyment but also confers many benefits. For young children who attend childcare, preschool, and elementary school, play is frequently done outside the home and with peers. The public health measures of the COVID-19 pandemic confined many families to their homes while parents had to continue to meet demands of work and home responsibilities. We surveyed (n = 175) and interviewed (n = 62) a convenience sample of parents of young children (aged 1–8) in the USA about how their children’s play was affected. Parents shared concerns that their children missed opportunities for social play. Parents reported novel efforts to facilitate their children’s play, including rearranging furniture, repurposing spaces, and providing new toys. While at home, children’s play increased in every room of the house; they played more with family members; and their preference for technology toys increased from an already high rank. Play times shifted toward earlier in the day. Parents reported that play activities included physical activity, seated play, screen time, and creative activities. In interview, parents observed that the content of play reflected themes of the pandemic (such as mask-wearing) and a desire for normalcy (such as playing school).

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Ensuring access to high-quality programs and services can improve children’s long-term health and education outcomes and reduce inequities in health, income, and education in the population. The professional well-being of those working in the early childhood education sector has been negatively associated with levels of turnover, which in turn can impact program quality more broadly. Considering the variability of professionals working in the field of early childhood, it is important to better understand how their experiences influence their professional well-being. This study aims to address this gap, through a mixed methods exploration of survey responses to items on an Early Childhood Professional Well-Being questionnaire. We conducted both an Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) on 27 items and also a conventional content analysis of one open-response item and then compared and contrasted results to create a fulsome illustration of patterns of early childhood professional well-being. The LPA revealed five distinct profiles of professional well-being: highest well-being, generally high well-being, active agency, comfortable well-being, and low wellbeing. Years of experience and newcomer status had a relationship to profile membership, with more years of experience associated with higher professional well-being and newcomer status with lower or medium levels of well-being. Our content analysis revealed mostly negative perspectives regarding professional well-being, most often due to various, overlapping external factors. Greater understanding of profile membership and what may impact it as well as the larger external systems that affect early childhood professionals will help to inform policy supports for professional well-being of specific individuals, thereby promoting professional wellbeing and, in turn, overall program quality.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
High-quality early childhood education is key for children’s positive and long-term outcomes. Countries differ on how they quality assure provision. In England, Ofsted is the independent inspection body, often the source of controversy for lack of transparency in ratings. However, there is a dearth of evidence on how inspectors’ judgements are made, particularly in the early years sector. This study examines the consistency and nature of individual judgements in Ofsted reports, through an in-depth corpus analysis of inspection reports for non-domestic early years providers (nurseries and preschools) in England. It is the first to analyse the extent to which inspections focus on well-regarded understandings of high-quality early childhood pedagogy and provides an appraisal of the affective tone of the reports, using sentiment analysis. Results show that inspectors are fairly consistent, with similar high frequent terms present across reports, but the inspection focus may be too limited in scope. There is an over-emphasis on school readiness based on outcomes of older children, without clear references to the participation and engagement of younger children and process variables. A more positive tone in the reports is more frequent in high-quality rated settings, except for the section describing children’s outcomes, the shortest across reports.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Offering choice and opportunities for play in the classroom are ways to increase children’s motivation by appealing to their needs for autonomy and competence. Research shows that implementing choice-based learning in the classroom is beneficial for children and provides multiple opportunities for collaboration and discussion. In this study, the research team applied self-determination theory, seeking to explore and report on the experiences and perceptions of free play and choice-based workstations in a kindergarten classroom. Data were collected through classroom observations, an individual interview with the teacher, and focus group interviews with the children. Additionally, children’s artifacts were collected and analyzed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and member checking was utilized. Data was analyzed by each member of the research team, applying holistic analysis, and identifying meaning and patterns across all data. The data analysis resulted in three themes emerging, “Overall, it’s just been really, really successful,” “It’s kind of a balancing act,” and “we get to. . .” The joy of choosing. These themes were reported on in the study and were aligned with the research questions. Recommendations for school administrators, teacher educators, teachers, and families include continued advocacy for play and choice in early childhood classrooms, in addition to utilizing this study as a framework for play-based and choice-based pedagogical integration.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Risky play provides various benefits to child growth and development. The culture of overprotection among Hong Kong parents have decreased young children’s opportunities to engage in play that involves physically challenges. This study expanded our understanding of parents’ views and behaviors on allowing their preschool children opportunities for risky play. Two hundred and three parents of children aged 2 to 8 years completed a questionnaire regarding their understanding and practices of risky play, and their attitudes toward risk-taking. Parents perceived risky play as more appropriate for boys at a younger age than for girls. Parents with higher education background were more likely to allow children to engage in risky play at a younger age. Moreover, a significant relationship was identified between parents’ own attitudes towards risk-taking and the views on their child’s age for involvement in risky play. Qualitative analysis further revealed that parents acknowledged the roles of risky play in enhancing physical development of children, and in having benefits for children’s mental health. However, parents perceived risky play as something having possibility of leading to accidents. Implications on parent education relating to risk as an essential learning process on child development and as a way to build resilience are discussed.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Over recent years there has been a raft of literature drawing attention to the inequity of working conditions for those in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector in England; however, it remains rare that we have the opportunity to hear the voices of the practitioners telling their own story. Through an online anonymous survey, we gained rich qualitative data from 59 ECEC practitioners in England who discussed feeling disillusionment, injustice and exhaustion; experiences and emotions that were magnified through their experiences during and after the pandemic. In this article we argue that the ECEC sector has reached breaking point, and that immediate action is needed if we are to avoid the loss of a passionate, skilled and dedicated workforce, and if we are to avoid the risk of our most vulnerable children suffering the consequences.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, Ahead of Print.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a learning method considered suitable for the spirit of the times and the period because of its ability to promote the acquisition of the skills required in the 21st century. In recent years, this method has been gaining increased expression in education systems worldwide and the Israeli education system as well. The present study examined the learning experience of kindergarten managers with PBL from their own perspectives. Sixteen experienced kindergarten managers with more than 10 years of seniority participated in the study. The research used a qualitative method and data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The main findings reveal the characteristics of PBL in kindergartens, as well as evaluation processes and reflective aspects of the evaluation of PBL. The main conclusions of this study are that PBL implementation in Israeli kindergartens is in an advanced stage, that the project is constructed until the final product is completed and presented, and that the PBL method contributes greatly to the functioning of the learners in the 21st century.