In order to understand Latina mothers' choices of childcare for their children ages birth to five, a qualitative study of 42 Latina mothers (ages 18 to 43) from Southern California was conducted. Research has found that work status, school status, mother's level of education, acculturation, household composition, income level, and neighborhood…

This study described infant/toddler teachers' (N = 106) perceptions of stress intensity and exhaustion (emotional, physical, mental) intensity. We examined the associations between stress and exhaustion and teachers' reports of stress sources and coping strategy use. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), teachers from Early Head Start…

This occasional paper is the ninth in a series on the National Quality Framework (NQF). The Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations govern the minimum standards and requirements that all providers of NQF regulated services must meet, including health and safety requirements. Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard…

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is related to childrens' socioemotional and cognitive development, and the most important aspect regarding quality in ECEC is staff's interpersonal or interactive skills. Despite this, research on staff's interactive skills is currently sparse in Norway. This study uses the Caregiver…

This study considered the influences of socioeconomic status (SES), home learning environment, and age of enrollment in early childhood education and care (ECEC) on early literacy and numeracy development of 5-year-olds in England (N = 2,577), Estonia (N = 2,110), and the United States (N = 2,234) by leveraging data from the International Early…

The early childhood education care (ECEC) practitioner landscape is complex and encompasses many roles including center-based and school-based administrative, teaching, and support staff as well as home-based unregulated child care family child care (FCC) providers and home-based regulated (e.g., registered or licensed) FCC providers who…

This study investigated the effect of children's first formal school years on mathematical skill profiles, measured by a variety of arithmetical skills and Spontaneous Focusing On Numerosity (SFON) tasks. By using person-centered approach the aim was to investigate whether the amount of formal schooling is associated with mathematical skills in…

Although observational instruments are considered to be the gold standard for measuring toddler childcare quality, large-scale studies often have to rely on interviews or questionnaires. However, it remains unclear whether such reports can serve as reliable indicators for childcare quality. The present study used the ITERS and FCCERS to examine…

Research Findings: The amount of time and type of program that children experience in early childhood settings may be associated with children's kindergarten-entry skills, or kindergarten readiness. Taking a person-centered perspective, in the present study, we examined the extent to which reliable and unique profiles of early childhood…

Homelessness is a reality for many families with young children in the United States. Homeless children and youths lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. In 2017, about a third of all people who stayed in a shelter were families with children, and nearly half of children served by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

In January 2016, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the first 50-state profile on Early Childhood Homelessness as part of an interagency collaboration with multiple departments and agencies participating on the early childhood workgroup of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). This report updates ED's…

We examined whether the moderating role of cortisol in the relation between physical peer victimization and physical aggression was better accounted for by a diathesis-stress model or a differential susceptibility model using a multi-informant approach (direct observations, teacher reports, and parent reports) of 198 preschool-aged children…

This American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by all American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of…

Despite the widely-recognized benefits of early childhood experiences in formal settings that enrich the social and cognitive environments of children, many children--particularly infants and toddlers--spend their days in unregulated (or very lightly regulated) "informal" childcare settings. Over half of all one- and two-year-olds are…

Rapid development of sustained attention occurs during infancy and toddlerhood, as neurological maturation allows children to increasingly attend to objects and events in the environment (Ruff & Rothbart, 1996). Play experiences during this period can serve as a context during which children's ability to attend can provide an opportunity for…