This chapter addresses the association between nurturing prosocial classroom behavior in young children, literacy, and income inequality. Literacy will be explored as it relates to social competence in the classroom as influenced by income inequity. One highlighted area of importance is a play-based, child-focused environment that is culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of the whole child. Socioeconomic disparities in literacy skills have been increasing over the past 40 years. This subject must be addressed in order to effectively meet the cognitive, social, and emotional needs of each individual child. Literacy skills are developed during early childhood. It is also the case that limited literacy during early childhood increases the risk of children displaying aggressive behavior at school as they progress to higher grades. For these reasons, tackling the problem during the early years with developmentally appropriate adult-child interventions are what is needed to reverse the trends placing an increasing number of young children at-risk of academic underachievement.

Language learning and developmentally appropriate assessment requires a classroom environment organized for active learning. Effective classroom management in primary grade young children requires that teachers have adequate emotional intelligence and practice reflectively. The appropriate use of technology with young children who are learning a second language is of utmost importance. Managing classroom interactions to achieve an optimal environment for language acquisition of children is vital during early childhood. The teacher support necessary to achieve this must include teachers learning how to nurture active parental engagement in ways that specifically support the socio-emotional needs of young children so that they are more ready to strengthen language skills. The research-based evidence of appropriate pedagogical techniques to implement with young children must be grounded in understanding applied linguistics.

This chapter addresses the association between nurturing prosocial classroom behavior in young children, literacy, and income inequality. Literacy will be explored as it relates to social competence in the classroom as influenced by income inequity. One highlighted area of importance is a play-based, child-focused environment that is culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of the whole child. Socioeconomic disparities in literacy skills have been increasing over the past 40 years. This subject must be addressed in order to effectively meet the cognitive, social, and emotional needs of each individual child. Literacy skills are developed during early childhood. It is also the case that limited literacy during early childhood increases the risk of children displaying aggressive behavior at school as they progress to higher grades. For these reasons, tackling the problem during the early years with developmentally appropriate adult-child interventions are what is needed to reverse the trends placing an increasing number of young children at-risk of academic underachievement.

This chapter addresses how early childhood professionals can implement technology in early childhood settings with infants and toddlers. Early childhood educators face complex expectations to ensure children learn and develop optimally. Technology use with infants and toddlers in early childhood settings introduces additional intricacies and nuances. This chapter explores and assesses technology usage with infants and toddlers. The impact of violent media on infants and toddlers is explored. The use of applications in early childhood settings is discussed, including consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on technology usage, along with research-based solutions and recommendations to using technology with infants and toddlers. Implications for early childhood teacher education and professional development are also summarized. Finally, future trends related to technology usage with infants and toddlers are discussed.