This study focused on the ways in which early childhood special education teachers (ECSETs) perform their consultative work and the prevailing structural factors that are connected to it. The significance and centrality of ECSETs’ consultative work have increased as a growing number of ECSETs provide consultative support to other personnel with the aim of enhancing support for children's daily lives

In the absence of large-scale investments of public resources, families in many communities are faced with making early care and education (ECE) decisions within a set of limited options. There is a need to better understand how families make decisions in these environments, the factors that influence their decisions, the information they need and how specific program or community characteristics may

Early childhood is a particularly important time to nurture resilience. Strengthening measurement of resilience processes for young children is essential to advancing resilience science and application. The current study provides an initial validation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) for parent/caregiver-report during early childhood (CYRM-EC). Participants included 265 children in

One of the most intractable conflicts in the world is the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which has resulted in considerable losses, destructions, and sufferings for both societies. Such national conflicts had been found to relate to children's social perceptions and behaviors.

With past research largely focusing on overall time spent using screen media (including televisions), little is known about how the type and context of mobile screen use in early childhood is associated with children's behavior. The current study aimed to examine how the proportions of time spent on types of engagement (program viewing vs. interactive app use) and social contexts (solo vs. co-use)

Although caregiver-implemented interventions are effective in promoting the development of young children with delays and/or disabilities, there has been limited understanding of how caregivers perceive caregiver-implemented intervention and coaching practices. This study aimed to explore caregivers’ perceptions of their experiences as intervention agents for their young children with delays and/or

Emotion understanding is an important competency that children begin to develop during the first years of life and serves as an essential building block for lifelong learning. Emotion understanding is linked to developmental outcomes including academic, cognitive, and social-emotional skills. Not surprisingly, efficacious interventions to promote children's social emotional skills have been developed

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents struggled with high levels of economic insecurity and mental health difficulties. Social cognitive theory suggests that receiving criticism from others contributes to psychological distress. This mixed-methods study explored longitudinal associations between receiving criticism about parenting choices and parental anxiety, depression, and financial worries during

The Missouri Parents as Teachers (PAT) Parent Education Program is a voluntary and universal home visiting program available to all Missouri families who are expecting a child or who have a child ages birth to kindergarten entry. Families participating in the Missouri PAT Parent Education Program receive a variety of family support services, including family personal visits with trained parent educators

Participation instability has been recognized as a major challenge in state child care subsidy programs and may undermine the benefits of these programs to the children and families they are intended to support. Payment rates – the maximum amounts that state subsidy programs will pay for child care in a given period – directly determine which providers are affordable to subsidized consumers and what

Teacher gesturing is an effective strategy for promoting vocabulary learning during book reading in early childhood settings. While studies find significant variation in teachers’ use of gesture, existing studies have not explored within-teacher and across-book differences in gesturing, reducing the ability to better understand how teachers and books drive gesturing to support language learning. To

Recently, cross-domain research has shown that some early cognitive precursors of language, reading, and mathematics overlap and predict one another. This study investigated how early cognitive predictors across domains could predict future academic skills across domains using data from 563 students in kindergarten to second grade (ages 5 to 8; 288 males; largely monolingual English). The roles of

The CLASS-PreK instrument is widely used to evaluate early childhood classrooms, but how classrooms using Montessori, the world's most common alternative education system, fare on CLASS is understudied. Because CLASS focuses largely on teacher-child interactions as the situs of learning, but in Montessori theory, child-environment interactions are considered more primary, Montessori classrooms may

This paper highlights the importance of examining individual, classroom, and school-level variables simultaneously in early childhood education research. While it is well known that Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) in school-based studies can be used to account for the clustering of students within classrooms or schools, less known is that HLM can use random effects to investigate how higher-level

Guided by uses and gratifications theory, the current project invited parents (N = 358) to submit YouTube videos (N = 973) recently viewed by their children aged 0 to 8. Parents rated each video for its perceived impact on their child, while coders evaluated each video for its content. Results indicated that in-depth educational lessons were rare in these videos, and potentially harmful depictions

Online parenting interventions hold promise for increasing access to behavioral support for families with low income and who reside in rural areas. The current study evaluates the efficacy of a mobile app-based parenting support program, the Family Check-Up Online (FCU-O) with telehealth coaching support, for parents of children 1.5-5 years old at risk of experiencing parenting challenges. We tested

The ability of public-school pre-K programs to promote the school readiness of children and provide a seamless transition to kindergarten is theorized to be dependent in part on children remaining in the same school. Research on school mobility in elementary and middle school shows that switching schools is associated with poorer academic outcomes. However, less is known about the transition between

Given the importance of early care and education (ECE) programs for children's development and parents’ labor force participation, it is critical to ensure communities — particularly those home to historically marginalized populations — have predictable and equitable access to programming and services. Yet, there are few useful data resources and thus relatively little research examining variation

Despite evidence of the benefits of early care and education (ECE) for child development and family employment, the supply of providers is scarce and variable; leading many families with young children to experience limited and inequitable access. To examine the multidetermined nature of access, this study leverages a multidimensional, family-centered definition and a nationally representative sample

Teacher–child relationships in young children's classrooms are foundational for children's learning. Teachers’ beliefs about race and the causes of racial inequity might be one set of beliefs that has implications for the practices they use to develop positive relationships with children. With a sample of 18 teachers and their 73 toddler and preschool children, we explored ways teachers’ beliefs about

Parenting has long been a topic of research based on its importance for family and child outcomes. Recent methodological advances in person-centered approaches suggest that our understanding of parenting could be further advanced by examining parenting typologies across various parenting behaviors longitudinally. Accordingly, the current study aims to examine latent transitions in parenting practice

This study is part of the ‘EarlyMath’ project, in which two teacher trainings, identical in terms of method and scope, but different in terms of focus and content, were developed to enhance global and math-specific teacher–toddler interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC). We aimed to answer two questions: (1) Do teacher trainings improve global and math-specific interactions and (2)

High-quality childcare services are vital to children's development and family wellbeing but are not equitably accessed by all children. In the United States, programs supported by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) have the potential to reduce these inequities. Economically eligible Black children use CCDF-supported services at higher rates than other children, but less is known about disparities

This study evaluated the effects of infant and early childhood mental health consultation dosage (IECMHC) on observations of classroom climate and teacher behavior management practices in seven schools from a charter school network. Classrooms were prioritized for consultation based on indicators collected during observations and either received no consultation, one cycle, or two or more cycles, each

Biases towards conflict out-groups pose significant barriers for conflict resolution. These biases can perpetuate social divisions, hinder positive intergroup relations, and impede long-term peacebuilding efforts. Therefore, intervening early, before biases are fully formed, is necessary. This article reviews existing knowledge and presents a research synthesis of effective educational interventions

Health inequities related to poor diet, food insecurity, and obesity negatively affect children from low-income minority families. The USDA administers Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs (FNAPs) in Early Care and Education settings (ECEs) to safeguard the health of vulnerable children. However, the extent to which FNAPs provide an equitable food environment in ECEs remains unclear. Examine FNAPs’

Helping other people benefits children and is fundamental to a functioning society. A novel training, Raising Helpful Toddlers (RHT), focuses on beneficial Indigenous heritage parent socialization practices previously described. RHT participants were thirty U.S. toddler parents/caregivers, aged 28–46, 26/4 female/male ratio; 73.3 % White, 13.3 % Asian, 6.7 % African or Black/African American, 3.3 %

Math ability is critical to children's future school and career success, and prior studies show that flexible attention to magnitudes (FAM) predicts children's future math abilities over and above other early math skills. FAM broadly refers to the ability to switch flexibly between attending to different dimensions of magnitude (e.g., size and numerosity). In the current study, we created an intervention

In 2019, Chicago began transitioning from a targeted pre-K program to free, full-day universal pre-K (UPK). By design, the transition intended to expand capacity over a few years, prioritizing access in more disadvantaged areas before moving on to more advantaged areas. We analyzed the transition path, showing capacity and enrollment over time across neighborhoods categorized by poverty rates, racial

For refugee caregivers who may live in remote areas or be a highly mobile population, creating parenting programs that fit their needs and accommodate their mobility can be highly beneficial. In this article, we evaluate a 6-month, audio-only early childhood development (ECD) intervention delivered via phone (3 calls per month) to caregivers of Syrian and Jordanian backgrounds in Jordan. A sample of

Latino parents support children's academic skills through their involvement in daily living activities. Prior work has focused on conventional literacy (e.g., book reading) and numeracy activities (e.g., teaching numbers). Less-visible home activities that are high-priority, high-value cultural practices in Latino communities are food sharing (e.g., eating together) and food-related household chores

The purpose of the current study is to use secondary data to examine the extent to which the ECERS-3, specifically the factor structure, is equivalent across Black and Latine/Hispanic teachers, racial and ethnic classroom composition, and race/ethnicity of students. Data were drawn from a large-scale 2015-16 validation study of the ECERS-3 in three states (Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington) that

Enhancing access to high-quality early childhood education (ECE) represents one promising pathway toward reducing the disparities in school-related outcomes for children from under-resourced and minoritized communities. In this paper we describe the Trauma- and Resilience-informed Early Enrichment (TRiEE) initiative, an innovative community schools (CS) approach to ECE that was designed to bolster

Mounting evidence suggests that home engagement in mathematics is related to variability in early math skill. Although prior work has investigated parental predictors of home math engagement more broadly, it remains understudied whether the same factors relate to toddlers’ home math environment, and if home math experiences are associated with toddlers’ math skills. Here we asked whether parents’ beliefs

The child-centered beliefs held by educators in early childhood education (ECE) are important in high-quality interactions between children and adults and are central to the recent policy emphasis on childcare quality. Using a national ECE workforce sample of home- and center-based centers from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (N=7,505), this study examined the relationships between

Children who experience greater math talk during home math activities demonstrate higher levels of math knowledge. The current study was designed to test whether the features of storybooks affect the amount and kind of extratextual math talk parents and preschool children produce during storybook reading. Parent-child dyads (N = 50) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: implicit or explicit

Over the past thirty years, developmental and learning sciences have started to illuminate the need for better access to anti-racist, culturally sustaining early childhood education and care programs. While physical access to programs continues to be an urgent need in the U.S., many communities of color continue to demand access to early childhood education spaces that are safe for their children to

This study investigated links of executive functioning to gains in school readiness skills and explored the mediating role of children's behavioral engagement in the PreK classroom. We collected direct assessments of executive functioning (EF) and observations of behavioral engagement for 767 children (mean age 52.63 months) from racially/ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds three times over

To provide a landscape of mathematics activities children experience in U.S. preschool and kindergarten classrooms, we observed time children spent in mathematics activities (and — as a contrast — literacy) in 101 geographically diverse early childhood classrooms in seven U.S. states. We also observed what mathematics content, grouping strategies, and management formats teachers engaged during classroom

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) enables families to participate in paid employment and promotes positive outcomes for children. Maintaining a stable ECEC workforce is critical to these endeavours. However, the retention of qualified early childhood educators is a pervasive problem globally. While much has been written about reasons for leaving the sector, there has been less

Documenting how federal and state child care policies increase equitable access to high-quality early care and education (ECE) for families with low- and moderate-incomes remains a challenge in part due to overlaps in policy enactment. This study used an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) to describe changes to providers’ participation in Maryland's child care subsidy program following implementation

Mixed-delivery prekindergarten (Pre-K) systems with slots in both public schools and community-based organization (CBO) settings are common in the U.S. Historically, policies and investments in many of these systems have placed CBOs and, by extension the children who attend them, at a disadvantage relative to public school programs and peers. In this descriptive study, we used secondary data to explore

The current study examines the allocation of instructional time in half-day versus full-day pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) classrooms within a Colorado public school district that predominantly serves Hispanic and low-income students. Using 114 observations from 34 pre-K classes over two years, with up to 14 repeated observations per teacher, we analyze the distribution of time across various activities

A growing number of research studies are attempting to increase access to naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) for autistic toddlers and their families by translating these approaches into Part C Early Intervention systems. As efforts to increase the use of NDBIs across EI systems grow, it is important to expand the scope of research to evaluate the implementation impact of this

Across geographically diverse samples, engagement in stimulating activities with young children is considered an important element of parenting that promotes cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional development. Indicators of stimulation activities are often summed, based on the assumption that more stimulation is better and that different stimulating activities are equivalent. Instead, this study

Family perspectives about their child's suspension and expulsion have been understudied. This qualitative study used focus group methodology and individual family interviews to explore the perspectives of families with a child who was suspended or expelled from an early childhood classroom. Participants in this study were twenty caregivers who were the biological or adoptive parents of a preschooler

Technology today can possibly help make early childhood interventions more accessible to young children in need. In the present study, we conducted all assessment and training of both parents and children entirely online to examine the effectiveness of an online parental coaching programme in facilitating young Filipino children's language, literacy, and numeracy skills. Ninety-four families with 3-to

This study examines the perspectives of a sample of parents and primary caregivers who received child care subsidies through New Mexico's at-risk eligibility designation, which is reserved for families who are or are at risk for becoming involved with child protective services (CPS). Qualifying families pay no copays, have limited documentation requirements, and are provided with additional enrollment

Research on predictors of burnout among preschool teachers is a crucial topic, particularly in the context of those working in warzones. This study aimed to investigate the predictors of burnout among 562 preschool teachers employed in 183 preschools located in the war-torn region of Ukraine. The study was conducted as an online survey and key constructs were captured by using well established measures

Children from migrant and seasonal farmworker (MSFW) families are among the most educationally disadvantaged and underserved groups in the United States; however, they have received limited research attention. Using a large nationally representative sample of MSFW children in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs, this study offered national portraits of MSHS Spanish-English speaking children's

The present study investigated the extent to which the quality of both parent-child and teacher-child relationships uniquely and interactively relates to a child's task persistence in first grade. Furthermore, the study also examined the role of a child's task persistence in the quality of their relationships with their parents and teachers after controlling for the child's gender, temperament, academic

Attendance plays an important role in student academic success; yet few studies examine associations between preschool attendance rates and academic skills for children enrolled in early childhood programs. To address this gap, this population-based study examined associations between preschool attendance rates and language, literacy and mathematics skill growth for a cohort of four-year-old children

This study addresses the issue of equitable access to early care and education (ECE) taking the state of Hawaiʻi as an example. We used spatially-based measures of demand-adjusted slots, cost burden relative to family income, and quality that quantified the supply of ECE services within a five-mile drive, a ten-mile drive, and a 30-min public transit commute from a family's home. Multivariate spatial

Young children rapidly learn facts about the world. One mechanism supporting knowledge acquisition is memory integration: derivation of new knowledge by combining separate, yet related facts accumulated over time. There are both developmental changes and individual differences in young children's learning through memory integration. However, there is little research on how everyday social interactions

The purpose of this study was to critically examine 14 early educators’ descriptions of their classroom discipline policies and procedures. A DisCrit lens was utilized to investigate if and how multiply marginalized young children may still experience exclusion. Participants described the use of discipline policies and procedures that were exclusionary, such as suspensions and ‘soft’ expulsions. Teachers

This study examined how the number of hours of early childhood education (ECE) is associated with young children's behavior problems and early academic achievement in Singapore, a non-WEIRD (“Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic”) country with families using long ECE hours. We drew data from the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study. Participants were 3- to 6-year-old children

Investing in early childhood development (ECD) is critical for individual and societal development. Variable-centered research on ECD has shown that family wealth, maternal education, and parenting practices predict childhood outcomes overall. However, little is known about differences in the ECD patterns and their predictors. This study examined the latent classes of ECD using data from three waves