This research assessed the implementation of the “Matatag” curriculum by examining teachers’ perceptions on implementation, perceived benefits, challenges encountered and learning process development and the relationship between implementation levels and learning process and development. Data were collected from 43 teacher-respondents through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that the curriculum is generally well-implemented, with teachers strongly agreeing that core components such as assessment practices, technology integration, and age-appropriate teaching strategies are effectively applied. Perceived benefits include improvements in students’ literacy, problem-solving, social interaction, emotional regulation, and respect for diversity, highlighting the curriculum’s support for holistic development. However, several challenges hinder full implementation, including overcrowded classrooms, lack of teaching materials, limited digital access, insufficient training, and low parental involvement. A significant positive relationship was found between the level of curriculum implementation and both perceived student benefits and learning development outcomes. These findings suggest that better implementation leads to stronger educational outcomes. Based on the results, an Enhanced Curriculum Implementation Support Plan was proposed to address the identified gaps, focusing on teacher training, improved resources, classroom management, community involvement, and sustained funding. This study underscores the need for continued support and systemic improvements to ensure the curriculum’s long-term effectiveness and equity. The results provide valuable insights for school administrators, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to improving the quality of education through curriculum reform.

ABSTRACT This paper critiques the limitations of current standardised assessment practices for young children and introduces the CASEC model (CARIÑO in Assessment impacts Emotional Competence) as an alternative. Grounded in relational pedagogy, the model integrates CARIÑO -spontaneous, immediate, and intense demonstrations of love- to support the development of emotional competence in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. The paper also explores the ongoing debate around assessing 4-year-olds, arguing that such approaches often prioritise numerical data for global comparisons over children's individual developmental needs. In England, children aged 4 to 5 are typically assessed under the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFSF) shaped by neoliberal policy agendas. Drawing on a single case study from an English setting, the paper examines how relational interactions informed by CARIÑO impact emotional development and presents the CASEC model as an approach that captures these relational moments. The findings demonstrate the significance of immediate emotional exchanges in the face of policy pressures and position CARIÑO as central to inclusive, emotionally responsive practices in ECEC. The conclusion calls for assessment approaches that allow emotional competence to emerge organically through practitioner-child interactions, urging a rethinking of current ECEC assessment policies.

Fashion retailers face a critical sequencing dilemma in their digital transformation journey, with 87% of analytics efforts failing to bridge technical investment to concrete business results. This paper addresses this analytics value gap by introducing a three-stage evolution model that allows fashion retailers to build analytics capability systematically to maximize business impact. Based on marketplace data including 5,381 fashion items and analyzed through ROI calculation and machine-learning comparison, we show that the data quality foundation (Stage 1) generates exceptionally high returns, at a ratio of 17.5:1 in ROI. The returns in subsequent stages are lower with 8.0:1 in Stage 2 and 4.5:1 in Stage 3. Our modeling experiment reveals that sequential progression through maturity stages is critical, as skipping stages leads to performance degradation in forecasting accuracy. The framework provides fashion executives with an evidence-based roadmap for digital transformation, emphasizing sequential capability building and strategic resource allocation. Results also reveal that premium prices correlate positively with social engagement, while discounts show no strong association with product ratings, questioning standard markdown practices. We provide implementation guidance with clear transition criteria to support fashion retailers in evolving from analytics adoption to intelligence leadership.

As the foundation stage of an individual's lifelong development, the science of preschool education management system directly affects the quality of education and children's development trajectory. In recent years, the management of preschool education in China has made remarkable progress under the impetus of policies, but there are still structural contradictions in the aspects of institution building, market regulation and family synergy. From the perspective of educational psychology, this paper combines Piaget's cognitive development theory, Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory and ecosystem theory to systematically analyze the deep-seated influence of China's traditional education model on preschool education management, and compares the preschool education management experiences of New Zealand, Malaysia and other countries, to explore the path of applying theories of educational psychology in the reform of management system. The study finds that the current management of preschool education in China is characterized by imperfections in the system, excessive marketization, and cognitive bias of families, while international experience shows that a collaborative management model based on the laws of children's psychological development can better maximize the effectiveness of education. The study suggests that a reform framework integrating the principles of educational psychology be constructed from the three dimensions of policy improvement, home-school collaboration, and teacher empowerment to provide theoretical references for the scientific development of preschool education management in China.

Intelligent product design significantly enhances daily convenience and improves work efficiency. Within intelligent product design, the conceptual phase serves as a critical foundational stage. Existing conceptual design methods typically require substantial time investment and human resources. Human–large language model (LLM) collaborative design offers a more efficient and cost-effective alternative by reducing reliance on human efforts. Meanwhile, it introduces potential design conflicts among multiple agents involved in the collaborative design process. To address these challenges, we propose an innovative framework called design Coco-pilot that integrates quality function deployment (QFD) into human–LLM collaborative conceptual design. The framework consists of three modules: interactive empathising through LLM-guided dialogue, automated and traceable construction of the QFD matrix, and QFD-guided multi-agent collaborative design. We apply the framework to develop the concept of the intelligent flight assistant. A multi-metric evaluation involving licensed pilots and aviation experts demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed design. Our design Coco-pilot presents a novel approach that redefines user-centered design, facilitates intelligent product development, and explores new directions in human–LLM collaborative design.

Purpose Born global firms (BGs) face a significant challenge from inception: rapid internationalization despite limited resources. To overcome this inherent conflict, BGs often seek external resources from various actors in their entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE). However, the identities of the active actors in BGs’ EE and the resources that they provide at the foundation stage have not been established. Accordingly, this study explores the roles of various EE actors, the resources they provide, and how these resources help advance BGs’ internationalization. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by conducting interviews with 26 experts—CEOs and senior managers of BGs and various EE actors—in three countries. The data was analyzed by three-stage content analysis. Findings The findings indicate that EEs of BGs comprise venture-related and pre-existing, personal ties that give access to internally focused and externally focused resources. The venture-related ties provide internally focused resources that help advance externally focused resources; the latter are critical for BGs’ internationalization. The externally focused resources of venture-related and pre-existing personal ties are complementary in advancing BGs’ internationalization. Originality/value Harnessing the principles of EE, the study addresses the roles of the various types of actors. It then goes a step further to verify the unique resources provided by each actor and the synergetic effects between them in advancing BGs’ internationalization.

Assess sociodemographic disparities in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses and determine whether England's universal assessment of 'school readiness' could provide a signal for ADHD-related educational needs. Population-based cohort study. Bradford, UK. Education and health records were linked using the Connected Bradford database for individuals who completed their first year of compulsory schooling (age 4-5 years) between the 2006/2007 and 2018/2019 academic years (n=1 25 330). School readiness was indexed by the 'good level of development' threshold within the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. Primary healthcare records were used to identify individuals with clinical codes recorded that indicate ADHD diagnosis. Regression analyses allowed controlling for covariates, including sex, ethnicity, free school meals receipt and local area deprivation. Male and White British heritage individuals were more likely to have received a diagnosis for ADHD than females and those of South Asian heritage or other ethnicities, with the lowest diagnosis rates among South Asian girls. Those who attained a 'good level of development' were also less likely to have received a diagnosis for ADHD (attained: 1.0%; not attained: 2.6%, OR=0.40, 95% CI (0.35, 0.45)), even after controlling for covariates (OR=0.42, 95% CI (0.37, 0.48)). There are structural inequalities in ADHD diagnosis, particularly across sex and ethnicity. Universal school readiness assessments, such as the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile used in England, could act as a signal of ADHD-related educational needs and aid more equitable pathways for ADHD identification and support.

A bibliometric analysis of nature-based solutions and urban forests as a nature-based solution using Web of Science and CiteSpace™ during its foundational stage

In the context of increasingly urgent demands for improving educational quality, particularly at the preschool level, which serves as the foundational stage in the national education system, the development of a quality assurance framework for early childhood teacher education programs has become an essential requirement. This article proposes the development of a quality assurance framework based on UNESCO’s CIPO model (Contexte-Input-Proces-Output), aiming to support a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of early childhood education programs in Vietnam. The proposed framework integrates input factors (such as student competencies, teaching staff, facilities, etc.), the training process (curriculum, teaching methods, assessment, etc.), outputs (graduates’ professional competencies), and outcomes (their contributions to the community and responsiveness to societal needs). We expect that this proposed quality assurance framework will serve as a scientific tool for teacher training institutions to review, improve, and enhance training effectiveness. In doing so, it will contribute to building a high-quality workforce of early childhood educators capable of meeting the demands of educational reform and the sustainable development of society, both now and in the future.

IntroductionThere is evidence of both positive and negative impacts of interactive electronic devices (IEDs), such as tablets and smartphones, on young children’s development and health outcomes. Consultations with early years practitioners, parents and policy makers recognise IEDs as a valuable resource for early-year learning. However, concerns exist regarding their potential negative impacts on children’s self-regulation, parent-child interaction and physical activity.The primary aim of this study is to understand the longitudinal impact of IED use, in particular duration (hours per day) and mode (educational vs non-educational; age-appropriate vs non-age-appropriate), on emerging abilities (ie, self-regulation, social development, executive function, language and numeracy) in 3-year-old to 5-year-old children. The secondary aims are to explore the impact of IEDs on health-related outcomes (ie, body mass index and motor skills), behavioural outcomes (ie, movement behaviour, parent-child interaction) and educational outcomes (ie, school readiness).Methods and analysisWe aim to recruit 1377 children from economically diverse areas in the Mid and North of England, UK. We will measure children’s exposure to IEDs using a mobile sensing application tool which records app usage, while the primary outcome, emerging abilities, will be measured through the Early Years Toolbox. The secondary outcome measures will include the following: accelerometry (24-hour movement behaviour), National Institute of Health (NIH) Toolbox (motor skills), STIM-Q preschool questionnaire (parent-child interaction) and early years foundation stage profile (school readiness). We will employ multilevel regression models to examine the association between IED duration and mode with emerging abilities. We hope this study will contribute to the development of guidelines for parents and educators regarding the use of IEDs.Ethics and disseminationThe study has received approval from Sheffield Hallam University (ID: ER69550320). Engagement with the public and stakeholders will guide the dissemination plan. The insights gained from this project will be shared through publications and will inform policy briefs distributed to health and educational organisations.Trial registration numberNCT06810570.

Leadership development is a critical but underexplored dimension of primary education. While extensive research has examined leadership in secondary and higher education contexts, the pathways through which leadership capacities are nurtured among primary educators remain less comprehended. This study explores the experiences of primary school teachers as they aspire a leadership development journey. Guided by their leadership identity development, the research adopts a qualitative approach, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 15 aspiring teachers across a range of primary schools. This paper's analysis revealed four key factors influencing leadership growth: the importance of mentorship, the navigation of school cultures, access to professional development, and the formation of leadership confidence. Findings highlight the central role of relational support and reflective practice in cultivating leadership potential. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of leadership formation at the foundational stages of education and offers practical implications for schools seeking to nurture leadership capacity among their teaching staff, and it calls for more structured leadership development pathways within primary schools and greater attention to early leadership identity formation in educational leadership discourse.

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly transforming primary education, a foundational stage for cognitive and social development. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of AI integration in primary education, highlighting key opportunities such as personalized learning through adaptive systems, enhanced student engagement via interactive technologies, teacher workload reduction through automated tasks, innovative tools like AR/VR and LMS, and cultivation of AI literacy and future skills. However, significant challenges persist, including infrastructure and resource inequality, insufficient teacher training and competency, ethical and data privacy concerns, risks of overreliance on AI undermining critical/creative skills, and policy-institutional lag. The study further proposes strategies to address these challenges, such as supportive government policies, comprehensive teacher professional development, ethical standards for data protection, balanced curriculum design, and promotion of AI literacy. By examining these dimensions, the paper aims to inform equitable, effective, and ethically sound AI integration in primary education.

Recently, New Evolutionary Sociology (NES) has proposed three sociological forms of selection pressure: Spencerian, Durkheimian, and Marxian. While the specification of these selection processes represent a major advance, the question of how and why deliberate, purposeful sociocultural transformation occurs remains open. To address this gap, this paper suggests adding insights from Weber’s work on carrier groups, working out a Weberian theory of selection in two moves. First, Weber’s carrier groups are better candidates than memes to be the sociocultural analogy to genes. Carrier groups develop, protect, and propagate cultural assemblages that consist of world views, material/ideal interests, and an ethic, with carrier groups and their assemblages being the Weberian units of selection. Second, Weber’s historical sociology suggests three phases of sociocultural evolution that highlights the diversity of selection processes and measures of success: (1) a foundational stage in which carriers act like mutations, (2) a diffusion stage where carriers emulate gene flow, and (3) a sedimentation stage where carriers institutionalize their assemblages. After delineating a Weberian selection process, implications for NES, cultural sociology, and sociology’s conventional historiography are addressed.

The study aimed to explore how Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) methods of teaching which support young learners in acquiring the foundational skills necessary in kindergarten pupils’ early development. This study will be conducted in different public elementary schools in the Division of Tarlac during the School Year 2024-2025. The study included kindergarten teachers as the respondents of the study. The results of the study were used as basis for the training program for teachers on the implementation of EYFS methods of teaching for building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils. All the indicators on the methods of teaching on the Early Years Foundation Skills (EYFS) employed by the teachers in building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils with respect to play-based learning, hands-on sensory approach, and storytelling and shared reading are interpreted as “Strongly Agree”. Thus, play-based learning, hands-on sensory approach, and storytelling, and shared reading are the methods of teaching on the Early Years Foundation Skills (EYFS) employed by the teachers in building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils. All the indicators on the factors influencing the success of implementing the Early Years Foundation Skills (EYFS) methods of teaching on building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils in terms of teacher training, learning environment, availability of resources, and parental involvement are all interpreted as “Strongly Agree”. Moreover, all the indicators on the extent of implementing the Early Years Foundation Skills (EYFS) methods of teaching on building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils as assessed by the respondents in terms of literacy skills, numeracy skills, motor skills, and social-emotional skills are all interpreted as “Very High Impact”. There are significant differences in the extent of Implementing EYFS methods of teaching on building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils when grouped according play-based learning and storytelling and shared reading but no significant difference with respect to hands-on sensory approach as EYFS methods of teaching. However, there is no significant difference in the extent of implementing of methods of teaching on building skill-based foundation of kindergarten pupils when grouped according to factors influencing the success of implementing EYFS methods of teaching with respect to teachers’ training, learning environment, availability of resources, and parental involvement. Keywords: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Play-based Learning, Hands-on Sensory Approach, Story Telling and Shared Reading, Kindergarten Pupils, Building Skill-Based Foundation

This Community Service project aimed to introduce and enhance understanding of deep learning in mathematics education among elementary school teachers. The program also facilitated the use of Quizizz platform ti help teachers create interactive and engaging assessment experiences. Considering that elementary education serves as the foundational stage for students' future mathematical competence, this initiative seeks to empower teachers to establish meaningful and effective learning experiences. The program not only promotes deeper conceptual understanding among students but also encourages the development of essential 21st-century skills, often referred to as the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Attended by 30 teachers, the program combined conceptual learning with practical implementation. Results showed a significant improvement in participants’ understanding of deep learning and their ability to use Quizizz effectively. The initiative also fostered teacher enthusiasm and commitment to applying these approaches in the classroom. This program is expected to contribute positively to the development of meaningful learning environments and the cultivation of students’ 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.

It is known that children with lower neurodevelopmental abilities and children who live in poverty are at increased risk of contact with the criminal justice system, but whether these two risk factors interact is unknown. We used linked data from 519,920 children born in 2001/2002, who attended school in England. Prospective analysis tested whether Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) indexing functional development across six domains and pupil characteristics indexing poverty at age 4/5, predicted a caution or conviction by age 15/16. Higher scores on the EYFSP (indicating better functional development) were associated with decreased odds of a caution or conviction by the age of 15/16. Being eligible for Free School Meals (living in absolute poverty) at age 4/5 was associated with increased odds of having a caution or conviction by age 15/16. There was a statistical interaction indicating synergistic risk conferred by these two risk factors. Poverty and lower functional development independently confer risk of criminalisation, and together confer a 'double disadvantage'. Structural public health interventions should reduce the criminalisation of children by boosting functional development through Special Educational Needs support in schools, and by reducing the number of children living in absolute poverty.

Women lacking social support during pregnancy often have worse mental health, but we know little about the influence of social support on child development, or the impact for migrant women. We aimed to investigate the association between maternal social support during pregnancy and child development using the Born in Bradford birth cohort. Social support was evaluated using a composite score of items from the baseline pregnancy questionnaire. Outcomes were Communication and Language and Personal, Social and Emotional development school-readiness assessments from the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP, age 4-5 years) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, age 7-11 years), with associations tested using logistic and linear regression models. We explored the modifying effect of maternal migrant status. 3257 and 1413 cohort participants had EYFSP and SDQ outcomes, respectively. Higher levels of social support were associated with better EYFSP outcomes and SDQ scores. One SD higher social support score was associated with 13% lower odds of missing any EYFSP communication and language target (95% CI 0.79 to 0.95); 17% lower for EYFSP personal, social and emotional development (95% CI 0.75 to 0.92) and 0.65 (95% CI -0.98 to -0.32) lower overall SDQ scores, after adjustment for all variables. There was some evidence that maternal migrant status modified associations with SDQ, but not with EYFSP outcomes. Greater attention to the role of social support in pregnancy, and its social and cultural context, may be helpful in developing and implementing interventions aiming to improve early childhood development.

This study investigates the influence of gender and academic major on student performance in two English language assessments—the English Placement Test (EPT), administered by the National Center for Assessment (NCA), and the Preparatory Year Program Tests (PYPT), conducted in-house at a Saudi university. The primary aim was to examine whether these demographic variables significantly affect English language proficiency during the Preparatory Year Program (PYP), a foundational stage for university-level study. Drawing on a sample of 2,913 students, the study employed Bonferroni post-hoc analysis and factorial ANOVA to analyze differences in test scores across gender, major, and proficiency levels. The results revealed that female students consistently outperformed male students across all proficiency levels and test sub-domains. This gender-based difference may reflect broader sociocultural factors, including shifts in national education policy and evolving societal expectations. While students enrolled in health-related majors showed higher average proficiency scores, the academic major overall did not exert a statistically significant effect on general language performance. Entry-level proficiency emerged as a strong predictor of test outcomes. The findings underscore the critical role of gender and initial proficiency in shaping language achievement and suggest that standardized assessments may not fully capture the nuanced learning needs of all student groups. The study concludes with a call for gender-sensitive instructional support, differentiated curriculum design, and inclusive assessment strategies. Future research should explore qualitative dimensions such as student motivation, engagement, and study habits, particularly among male learners, to inform equitable language education practices in the Saudi context and beyond.

Sustainable development encompasses the integration of environmental, social, and economic dimensions to ensure balanced societal progress. Historically, development models have prioritized economic expansion, often resulting in environmental degradation and widening social disparities. These negative consequences were frequently regarded as acceptable tradeoffs for economic gain, contributing to pressing global issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and social inequity. Early childhood education plays a critical role in shaping values and behaviors aligned with sustainability. As the foundational stage of institutional learning, preschool education offers a unique opportunity to instill environmental awareness and sustainable habits. This study explores the perceptions and practices of educators regarding education for sustainable development in preschool settings. A survey was conducted among educators to assess the roles of key stakeholders, including educators, parents, and the community, in fostering sustainable attitudes and behaviors. The findings underscore the pivotal role of early education in developing responsible and environmentally conscious individuals. The collaborative involvement of families and communities further enhances the effectiveness of sustainability education, contributing to the long-term goal of cultivating future generations committed to sustainable living. Keywords: Early childhood education; environmental awareness; preschool education; stakeholder involvement; sustainable development.

Teacher education at the foundational and preparatory stages plays a crucial role in shaping early childhood learning experiences. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023 provides a structured pedagogical approach to address challenges in these stages. However, despite these policy frameworks, teachers in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) continue to face numerous pedagogical challenges. This paper aims to explore and analyze the pedagogical challenges encountered by KV teachers in foundational and preparatory stage classrooms and compare them with the challenges addressed in NCFSE 2023. Using qualitative research methods, data were collected through structured online interviews with 10 KV teachers from different campuses. This paper investigated various challenges, including classroom management, language barriers, a lack of inclusive education strategies, insufficient infrastructure, limited parental involvement, and difficulties in integrating technology into teaching practices. The findings highlight the gap between policy recommendations and ground-level implementation. Based on these insights, the study suggests recommendations such as specialized teacher training, recruitment of special educators, improved infrastructure, enhanced parental engagement, and policy-driven interventions to bridge the gap between policy frameworks and real-world classroom experiences. The study concludes that addressing these challenges through targeted reforms can create a more inclusive and effective learning environment, fostering holistic student development at the foundational and preparatory stages.