This paper reviews previous literature about peer acceptance and friendship, two of the most critical aspects of peer relations that have received most of research attention during the past years. In this review, we will focus on the processes explaining the way children use the ability to socialise with peers; explore the hypothesis that certain aspects may interact with peer acceptance and friendship, that is, behavioural, psychological, and physical; and finally, indicate on which terms peer acceptance and friendship are interconnected. Those data may constitute a concrete base upon which peer acceptance and friendship need to be investigated separately when measuring peer competence. Pedagogical implications will also be highlighted as a guidance for parents, teachers, and others who work with young children to design effective prosocial activities.

Studies addressing the issue of bullying during the preschool period are still extremely rare. The main aim of the present research was to study the prevalence rates of bullying in preschool children using a multimethod approach. Participants were 167 preschool children (ages 4–6) and 8 classroom teachers. Measures were four forms of bullying: verbal, physical, and relational bullying and rumour spreading. Data were collected through peer nominations, self- and teacher reports, and natural observations. Results have shown that the frequencies of bullying episodes vary greatly according to the source of information. Moreover, agreement between informants was either nonsignificant or moderate. This is extremely important when conducting relevant empirical research with preschool populations. It is probable that inconsistent results obtained in previous research may be due to the selection of one or another source of information. It is of primary importance to design methodological tools that are both valid and reliable if prevention programs against victimisation are to be consistent and effective.

The preference of preschool children for interactive traditional paper books has long been proved. More novel than traditional interactive books are the Augmented Reality (AR) books, which took a place in the book market for more than a decade now. For this study, we have used the Mosaic approach as a form of participatory research. The main methods used included children's presentations, interviews, observations, photo-taking, and taking part in a voting procedure. Our findings showed that the requirements for using AR books are not yet met by mobile devices that the youngest users have, so their audience is still limited. Even though the AR book seemed to be more promising for engaging children's attention longer, this was not possible because of the constraints imposed by the very delicate screen handling and children expressed their preference for the traditional interactive book.

Given that there is a lack of children’s active involvement in the school design process, the aim of the present multimethod study was to gather data in relation to children’s active involvement towards the improvement of their own school’s physical environment. Over a period of three months, twenty-nine children aged 4-5 years participated in this process, using a range of methods according to the Mosaic Approach [Clark, A., & Moss, P. (2008). Spaces to play: More listening to young children using the Mosaic approach. London: National Children’s Bureau Enterprises]. So, multi-faceted methods were encouraged and observations, interviews and participatory techniques such as photograph taking, maps, drawings and discussions were applied during the intervention sessions. Pre and post intervention changes concerning the quality of classroom environment were evaluated using a standardized version of ECERS-R. Results are encouraging in that children’s voices can be included and therefore child-centered techniques can be implemented while using standardized measures to assess the quality of educational contexts such as the ECERS-R scale.

This study explores strategies that preschool teachers employ during storybook reading facilitating emotional knowledge. Observations and interviews were conducted, and audiotapes of storybook reading sessions were obtained in 12 preschool classes in Greece. Two categories of strategies emerged from the data: teachers exchanged simple dialogues with children aiming at the apprehension of emotions and feelings in relation to the story's plot and teachers laid emphasis on children's active participation in book reading interactions using more complex conversations and emphasising on the emotional states in a sophisticated way.