The Dialog Vol28Iss02_STEM.indd The Dialog: A Journal for Inclusive Early Childhood Professionals 4 What better way to close out the last days of summer than with the summer issue of Th e Dialog! We want to thank you for your support and patience as Th e Dialog has continued to proceed through substantial changes, particularly in our online platform and submission portal. We are thrilled with the outcomes and continue to work on implementing changes and improvements so that the journal can continue to support inclusive early childhood education professionals. News and Updates In our last issue, we announced that Dr. Ann Mickelson had stepped into the role of Edi- tor-in-Chief. Over the summer, Dr. Marla Lohmann joined her in the role of Editor. In coming weeks, we will begin building our edictoral team with a search for additional inclusive early childhood profession- als to join us as associate editors, editorial review board members, and ad hoc reviewers. Watch for the call to be posted on the journal website and our social media!! Over the next several months, we will be an- nouncing our editorial board, as well as many other exciting changes. We urge you to follow us on Face- book, LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X. In addition, please consider submitting a manuscript to be considered for publication in an upcoming journal issue. We are excited to bring you the Summer 2025 issue of Th e Dialog: A Journal for Inclusive Early Childhood Professionals! Th is Dialog Special Issue, Science, Technology, Enginnerring and Mathemat- ics in Early Childhood (STEM), curates a collection of fi ve research articles with corresponding reser- ach-to-practice summaries to support your work. STEM in early childhood education involves integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into fun, hands-on learning expe- riences for young children. It’s not about formal lessons, but rather about fostering curiosity, prob- lem-solving, and critical thinking through play and exploration. Th is approach helps children develop essential skills and a strong foundation for future learning in STEM fi elds...and beyond! Research Articles In Examining the Infl uence of Practice-Based Teacher Education Approaches on Primary Grades Teacher Candidates’ Development of Inclusive and Equity-Based Mathematics Teaching, Polly shares a study that examined how practice-based teacher education (PBTE) approaches in two elementary education mathematics pedagogy courses infl u- enced teacher candidates’ enactment of Inclusive and Equity-Based Mathematics Teaching (IEB- MT), a synthesis of theory and research for eff ec- tive mathematics teaching for all students. Polly conlcudes the article with implications for both course activities and clinical practice experiences From the Editors Introduction to the Special Issue Ann M Mickelson Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Charlotte Marla J. Lohmann, Ph.D. Colorado Christian University The Dialog: A Journal for Inclusive Early Childhood Professionals 2025, Volume 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.55370/thedialog.v28i2.2067 Contact: Ann M Mickelson amickels@charlotte.edu Copyright © 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Dialog: A Journal for Inclusive Early Childhood Professionals 5 for teacher candidates to support their capacity to teach mathematics eff ectively. In our second article, Fostering STEM in Ear- ly Childhood Programs: Practices of Preschool Par- ents with STEM Backgrounds, Keengwe presents a qualitative study that explored the experiences of families with backgrounds in STEM (Science, Tech- nology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the strategies they use to support their young children’s STEM learning. Analysis of interviews revealed that family role models, preschool curricula, and a child’s intrinsic motivation and passion play key roles in fostering early interest in STEM. Th ird, Platas, examined whether students in early childhood teacher education programs gained more knowledge in realtion to supporting early mathematical development in the subsequent de- cade since a previous study. In her article, Does a Decade Make a Diff erence? Changes in Pre- and In-service Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge of Early Mathematical Development, she compares data on pre- and in-service teachers’ knowledge of math- ematical development gathered during 2008 as measured by the Knowledge of Mathematical De- velopment Survey (KMDS) and compares it to data gathered in 2017-2018. In A Head Start on STEM: Investigating the Re- lationship of Early Childhood Educator Knowledge and Self-Effi cacy, Th ompson and colleagues de- scribe their research on teacher knowledgeand self effi cacy for STEM instruction. Th e authors used a multiple method design including scales, surveys, and self-refl ection logs of 13 Head Start preschool educators over 11-months. Th e fi ndings suggested a signifi cant increase from pre-survey to post-survey in the participants’ self-effi cacies for supporting pre- school-age children’s STEM instruction. Finally, Urquhart and colleagues’ article, Choos- ing and Disusing Educational Technology: Examining Parents’ Decision Making about Math and Literacy Apps for Th eir Young Children shares their research on parent decision making for selecting mathemat- ics and literacy apps for their children. Research-to-Practice Summaries To supplement the fi ve research articles included in this issue, each author team also contributed a re- search-to-practice summary to share practical implica- tions of their research for your work with young children and families. Th ey are presented aft er the research articles. We hope you enjoy this summer 2025 issue of Th e Dialog! Ann M. Mickelson, Editor-in-Chief Marla J. Lohmann, Editor INTRODUCTION