The transition to kindergarten is one of the significant transition steps for children in early childhood. The family, being the closest circle of the child, supports the development of the child in the transition and affects the transition process with its resources and needs. In this regard, this study examined the experiences and participation…

Objective: To gain insight into the extent of body mass index (BMI) change during an academic year for children with overweight or obesity at entry to an early learning programme with nutrition and physical activity components ("Head Start"). We explored whether meeting with families to discuss weight and nutrition and age of entry in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Family Check-Up initiated during kindergarten on teacher-report of children's emotional and behavior concerns in fourth grade. Participants were 57 primary caregivers, along with their children and teachers. Participants were randomized to a Family Check-Up condition or school-as-usual…

Estimates show that one in six children aged three through 17 in the United States have one or more developmental disabilities. Many early childhood education programs aim to improve early identification of children with developmental disabilities and increase family engagement, specifically Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The present…

Families are the experts on their children. They often have the most knowledge about their children's strengths, support needs, and preferences. Furthermore, the family plays a critical role in their child's development, partnering with professionals in early intervention to identify child and family needs and to develop and implement strategies…

Many school districts provide one-time transition events to help students prepare for the rigors of kindergarten; yet, research shows families desire additional information and opportunities to help their children thrive once school begins. Researchers for this study interviewed 39 parents whose children participated in a three-week structured…

Family engagement has long been recognized as crucial to a child's overall academic achievement. The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) recognizes that evolving from traditional parental involvement to effective partnerships between families and family-facing practitioners improves learning outcomes for students as a critical practice…

There is growing recognition of the need and importance for high-quality science teaching and learning in early childhood. The increased emphasis on science stems from recognition of the following: (1) young children are curious and interested in making sense of the world around them (Larimore, 2020); (2) early science experiences not only support…

Child Trends and Start Early have partnered to better understand what early childhood systems builders need to build and support more equitable systems. The briefs in this series, called Conversation Starters, define a new framework for early childhood systems that center families' experiences and raise key considerations and next steps for…

This study explores the experiences of families of young children with disabilities through the early childhood special education process in order to discuss supports that families found most helpful and identify areas in which additional support is required. The goal of this study is to inform practitioners within the early childhood special…

As linguistic diversity increases in the U.S., it is essential for pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs to expand their capacity to serve families whose home languages are not English. Family engagement is a key component of early childhood education; however, it is unclear whether family engagement practices uniformly benefit students from diverse…

Background/Context: We lack a nuanced understanding of the potentials and needs of multilingual families, particularly those with forced displacement histories, in contributing to children's mathematics learning. As educators seek to increase refugee students' access to powerful mathematics learning, an understanding of how refugee families view…

A southeastern state engaged in a systematic landscape study to identify needs and priorities for young children and their families. Early childhood and research methods experts, representing five Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), along with equity and family engagement experts developed three strategies to collect data from various…

In the concept of early childhood education and care (ECEC), certain foundational principles stand out as vital and of paramount importance for ensuring ideal child development through different stages during the age of 1-5 years. While rooted in extensive research and best practices, the following five principles serve as guiding lights for…

Every year in Riverside School District, a pseudonym, children face the prospect of not attaining a prekindergarten school admission. Riverside has a large population of Black and Brown students and Haitian second language learners. The school also has a high percentage, 89.4%, of families who are considered to be low-income (School and District…