In line with international trends in early childhood care and education (ECCE) recognising the importance of early learning, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa has pledged to professionalise the sector, increase access and improve quality. From a systemic point of view, professionalisation of the sector will require collaboration on…

Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care is child care provided by family members, friends, neighbors, or babysitters, and it is often defined by what it's not. It's not licensed child care, which is provided by teachers and child care workers in child care centers or family child care homes that follow regulations set by the state regarding…

Education, either formal or informal, plays an important role to help the masses. As such, educators, especially trainees, are entrusted to teach young generations all important elements, principles, or concepts in a wide range of disciplines. Surely, such an undertaking, especially for early childhood care and education, requires quality…

This mixed-methods study explored (1) family day care (FDC) educators' confidence and capability to support children's mental health, and (2) assessed their own mental health and wellbeing. Descriptive analysis of the survey (n = 144) highlighted that most participants were in the normal range for mental health and wellbeing; however, identifying…

In several countries, childminders grew in times of economic austerity and growing awareness of the economic function of childcare, as they were legitimised by a "home as heaven" ideology and low costs. As a result, childminders have long been regarded as the "Cinderellas" of childcare. Three decades later, scholars and…

Vietnam has been experiencing remarkable economic growth, which has brought about a mass urban migration. Despite the large number of young children, there is no public child care for children under 3 years old and public kindergartens are out of reach for many families because of high associated costs and residency status requirements. Given…

Colombia has endured one of the world's longest internal displacement crises in recent history. Programs that address the practices and psychosocial wellbeing of the community of caregivers of young children in protracted crises are urgently needed. We developed and implemented a program aimed at strengthening the resilience and wellbeing of…

Half of all infants and toddlers receive care in nonparental settings, such as centers and family child care (FCC) homes. On average, infants and toddlers spend more hours per week in care than preschoolers do. Yet infant-toddler care has been identified as lower quality than care for older children, suggesting that professional development (PD)…

Because numerous studies show that early child-adult attachment significantly affects a child's socio-emotional and cognitive development, we propose that establishing attachment-based child care can contribute to a healthy and happy childhood. This proposition is part of a new theoretical and experimental field and, thus, research is limited.…

The core challenge our proposal seeks to address is how to ensure that every American family and child has access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education (ECE) services in a critical period of human development, breaking a shortage of investment in young children. America's status quo asks the most of parents when they have…

A pioneer in the infant/family field in the United States, Magda Gerber was the founding director of Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), known for its unique two-generation approach to the care and education of young children. This paper offers a summary of Gerber's teachings from the late twentieth century with citations pointing to their…

In this important new book, Sharon Lynn Kagan and her colleagues focus on the more than 2 million individuals who care for and educate nearly two thirds of the American children under age 5 participating in nonparental care. Providing the most thorough synthesis of current research on the early care and education teaching workforce to date, the…

Research Findings: Although there has been considerable research on the associations between the qualifications of teachers in center-based settings and preschool-age children's developmental outcomes, very little is known about the relationships between home provider qualifications and the developmental outcomes of toddlers who attend licensed…

Parent-mediated intervention programs have demonstrated benefits for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interest is emerging in other community-level models, such as those that can be integrated into child care settings. These programs have the potential to reach a wide range of high-risk toddlers who spend the majority of their day in…

Research Findings: This study evaluated the effectiveness of 2 professional development interventions aimed at improving the quality of care provided by caregivers in ordinary infant-toddler child care settings, both center- and home-based. In all, 183 participants in a community college course on infant-toddler theory and practice, an in-service…