In Germany, there is still a great need for research on the quality of teacher-child interactions in ECEC institutions. Especially, because social interactions and relationships are crucial for (early) learning and development (Ulferts et al., 2019). However, there are hardly any results on factors influencing the interaction quality. This paper…

Children's ability to monitor subjective feelings of uncertainty (i.e., engage in uncertainty monitoring) is a central metacognitive skill. In the current study, we examined the development of uncertainty monitoring as well as its relations with vocabulary and executive function development in children (N = 137, 52% female) from predominately…

Purpose: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Preschool Language Scales---Fifth Edition (PLS-5 English) among preschool children from low--socioeconomic status (SES) families. Method: The PLS-5 was administered individually to 169 3- to 4-year-old children enrolled in Head Start programs. We carried out a Mokken scale analysis…

Background: Despite the public health implications of language difficulties associated with social disadvantage, there is a dearth of effectiveness studies investigating the effects of targeted speech and language programmes in this area. Aims: To determine the effects of a targeted selective community-based child language intervention programme…

A substantial body of research highlights the value of nature experience in supporting children's well-being and development. Given the growing interest in connectedness to nature (C2N), a better understanding of C2N measurement provides multiple opportunities, including consideration of the use of tools for research purposes and practitioner…

This study utilized data from the Family Life Project (FLP) to examine Head Start children's school readiness skills at the end of preschool in comparison to two other care groups: home-based care and other center-based care. The FLP study enrolled a birth-cohort of 1,292 children born in two historically low-wealth, rural regions of the U.S.,…

Educators recognize children's social competence as an indicator of school readiness. Children's social competence may be promoted prior to kindergarten through parents' discipline. We assessed parent discipline as a predictor of 37 low-income pre-schoolers' social skills over four months. Parents answered open-ended questions about how they would…

Many children start school developmentally vulnerable and struggle to keep up with their peers. Children experiencing socioeconomic-disadvantage are at higher risk of poor developmental outcomes. A high-quality education and wrap-around community-service model, such as the Doveton Model, at Doveton College, Australia, may improve outcomes for…

This research study was conducted in order to determine the problems that preschool teachers experience in the inclusive education processes and to define the educational practices of teachers for students who benefit from inclusive education. The study was designed as qualitative research and purposeful sampling was used. In the study,…

Children's ability to monitor subjective feelings of uncertainty (i.e., engage in uncertainty monitoring) is a central metacognitive skill. The study examines the development of uncertainty monitoring as well as its relations with vocabulary and executive function development in children (N = 137, 52% female) from predominately White and…

Research related to family empowerment and capacity-building suggests that families facing multiple risk factors (e.g., presence of a disability, poverty, single parents, low levels of maternal education, etc.) may experience feelings of powerlessness when asked by professionals to make decisions on behalf of their families. The purpose of this…

This study uses experimental and nationally representative Head Start Impact Study data to document the high incidence of multidomain household instability experienced by children eligible for the federal two-generation Head Start early childhood education program for low-income households. The study finds that household instability experienced…

Preschool children are expelled from early childhood education programs up to three times the expulsion rate of elementary and secondary students, and researchers have expressed concerns about this trend. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore educators' perspectives on behavioral supports to address preschool students' challenging…

Research Findings: Evidence suggests that teachers are effective at improving the social and emotional readiness of low-income children. However, few measures are available to assess teachers' use of specific social-emotional practices within their classrooms. This paper compares an observational measure of teachers' social-emotional practices,…

Early educational interventions, such as Head Start, have been widely recognized as an effective way to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on early learning and development (Camilli, Vargas, Ryan, & Barnett, 2010). In the past decade, there has been a strong expansion of early childhood programming, including Head Start and state-funded…