In 2016, key stakeholders from the Ministry of Education in Belize visited The School of Education (SOE) at Mona, Jamaica to discuss how the SOE could assist them to achieve their strategic goal to advance early childhood education in Belize. Beyond the need to develop the competences of teachers and Education Officers to improve quality standards of Early Childhood Education (ECE), the discussion highlighted the dearth of locally generated Belizean research in ECE to inform decision making.

The ever-changing needs of society justify the necessity for teachers to engage in continuous learning. Teachers are encouraged to participate in professional development activities that will help them develop the knowledge and skills that are required to meet the needs of a 21st century society.

Poetry is multifaceted and timeless. Resultantly, its subject and its crafting provide a rich array of possibilities for engagement and use. Within this edition, poetry is presented as powerful, with the kinetic energy to teach, transform, and heal, even while revealing, subverting, and problematizing.

This collaborative action research study examined the development of critical thinking when the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine was implemented in a preschool classroom. One preschool teacher undertook this research with 13 preschoolers (aged 3-4 years). The thinking routine was conducted as an in-depth group discussion during circle time. The data collection for the research included field notes, vignettes and document analysis. The results indicated that the routine promoted critical thinking skills in preschool aged children.

Phonemic awareness is considered by many educators to be the critical fundamental tenet for childhood literacy. However, the challenging aspect of teaching young children is to teach in such a way that it becomes fun-filled, memorable, and relatable for them, thus ensuring lifelong learning. The results of this study showed that nursery rhymes and jingles could improve children’s phonemic awareness in an ethnically diverse setting.