Development of professional competencies is a key outcome of undergraduate programs preparing practitioners to work with infants and toddlers. Competencies for working with young children were examined among 1300 undergraduate students at 12 universities. Students completed a series of online questionnaires indicating their knowledge, beliefs, and…

This 'teaching tip' shares the success of a service-learning opportunity created to work with university students in a meaningful way in the community. It describes a program called Fit 4 Tots that resulted in more toddlers, university students and community members benefiting from learning and movement experiences.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions are considered contexts wherein physical activity (PA) can be effectively promoted. Some approaches have been used in the early childhood setting to identify how teachers incorporate movement opportunities into the ECEC curriculum. However, studies are still scarce regarding pedagogical…

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen significantly in the past two decades. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of mental health providers who have specialized training in delivering evidenced-based services to this population. Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an evidenced-based treatment recommended for…

The purpose of this pilot study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility of an experiential teaching and learning initiative that trained undergraduate students studying speech-language pathology to serve as family navigators promoting social communication and language development in infants and toddlers from lower-income backgrounds. Three…