How Aspects of the Home Environment Promote Young Children’s Academic and Social Development

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Early Childhood Education".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 810

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Psychology Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
Interests: promoting the academic success of children from diverse (race/ethnicity, SES, linguistic) backgrounds; how parental beliefs and practices are associated with children’s academic development
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Guest Editor
Department of Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
Interests: early childhood education; universal design for learning (UDL); early childhood mathematics; STEAM in early childhood education; STEAM in inclusive settings; early childhood teacher education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore how home-based factors promote young children’s (approx. ages: 2–8 years) social/emotional and academic development. Most theories of development discuss the importance of the home in fostering children’s development (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979) without necessarily distinguishing which home factors are related to which aspects of children’s development. We welcome submissions that discuss how different aspects of the home (e.g., parents, siblings, grandparents, or different artifacts) foster children’s social/emotional and/or academic development. We welcome original research articles, concept/theoretical papers, and reviews that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Home learning experiences that help children develop social/emotional and/or academic growth in early childhood;
  • The use of digital devices in the home (tablets, laptops, etc.) and its impact on social/emotional and/or academic development;
  • How young children with disabilities are included in home-based social and/or academic experiences in early childhood;
  • How parents of young children with disabilities support their child’s social and/or academic skills;
  • How educators support home academic and/or social development;
  • Social/emotional skill development in early childhood;
  • Play-based learning at home to develop social or academic skills in early childhood;
  • The connection between social/emotional and academic development and factors that foster them.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Susan Sonnenschein
Dr. Michele L. Stites
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children’s social development
  • children’s academic/educational development
  • children’s early development

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 484 KB  
Article
Parenting and Coping During a Crisis: A Qualitative Cross-Cultural Study Two Years After COVID-19
by Galia Meoded Karabanov, Dorit Aram, Susan Sonnenschein, Michele L. Stites, Katerina Shtereva, Carmen López-Escribano, Merav Asaf, Margalit Ziv and Hadar Hazan
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1113; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091113 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 609
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic unprecedentedly challenged families worldwide, yet little is known about how parents from diverse cultural contexts retrospectively interpret their parenting roles and coping strategies. This study explores parenting adjustments two years after the pandemic’s onset among five cultural groups: Bulgarian and [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic unprecedentedly challenged families worldwide, yet little is known about how parents from diverse cultural contexts retrospectively interpret their parenting roles and coping strategies. This study explores parenting adjustments two years after the pandemic’s onset among five cultural groups: Bulgarian and Spanish (Eastern and Western Europe), Israeli Arabs and Jews (Middle East), and U.S. families. Fifty parents, primarily mothers of children aged 2–8, were recruited through snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using the Parenting Pentagon Model (PPM), which includes five constructs: Partnership, Parental Leadership, Love, Encouraging Independence, and Adherence to Rules. Data were analyzed using grounded theory and directed content analysis. Across cultures, Love and Parental Leadership were central to maintaining emotional stability and family cohesion. Partnership showed cultural variation: Bulgarian and Spanish parents often shared responsibilities, while U.S. mothers reported handling childcare alone, heightening work–life tension. Israeli-Arab fathers became more involved in caregiving, while Israeli-Jewish mothers described both strengthened and strained partnerships. Coping strategies were shaped by cultural values and family demographics (e.g., family size). The findings emphasize parents’ vital role in fostering family resilience during crises and stress the importance of culturally sensitive support to enhance families’ adaptive capacity for future challenges. Full article
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