This quasi-experimental study attempts to estimate the effect that participation in Courage to Teach (CTT), a transformative professional development (TPD) program, has on subsequent engagement with teaching. The primary focus of a TPD program is on the "person" who teaches, as opposed to content or technique. The subjects of the study…

High stress and burnout are common for early childhood special educators, contributing to high rates of attrition, diminished educational effectiveness, and high turnover. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of problems. Using a randomized wait-list control design, this…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between preschool teachers' awareness of disabilities, their exposure to disabilities, and their self-efficacy in a classroom, and how they affect teachers' attitudes toward inclusion. Another purpose was to investigate the extent to which class composition (all boys, all girls, co-ed…

This study examined how teacher (teaching experience, perceptions of teacher collaboration and teacher influence) and classroom (children's engagement) characteristics predicted teacher self-efficacy for 48 preschool teachers in the U.S. Results showed a significant interaction effect between teachers' perceptions of collaboration and children's…

Parents' rules regarding child television, DVD, video game, and computer use (screen time) have been associated with lower screen use in children. This study aimed to identify modifiable correlates of this behavior by examining social-cognitive predictors of parents' restriction of child screen time. Low-income parents ("N" = 147) of…

This study examined the relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy (n = 67), classroom quality (instructional and emotional support), and children's (n = 328) gains in print awareness and vocabulary knowledge over an academic year in the US. Results indicated that teachers' self-efficacy and classroom quality served as significant and…

This study assesses the relationships between children's shy and antisocial/aggressive behaviors and maternal beliefs, and concomitant parenting behaviors. Structural equation models examined 199 mothers' perceptions of aggression and shyness in their preschool-age children (average age = 59.63 months); maternal beliefs (i.e., locus of control,…

Meta-analyses of the findings from 29 studies including 4,194 early childhood practitioners showed that different practitioner belief appraisals (endorsement, importance, self-efficacy) were related to the intent to use and the adoption and use of different kinds of early childhood practices (developmentally appropriate practices, curricular…

This research project sought to examine the ways in which early childhood preservice teachers develop an understanding of diversity and the teacher's role in supporting learning in diverse classrooms. Preservice teachers in their initial foundations course and in their initial placements in early childhood settings were participants in the…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is an educational approach that integrates ongoing assessment of individual student progress with targeted instruction. Administrators and teachers in P-12 schools expressed a need for colleagues in higher education to provide training to general education pre-service and in-service teachers in selecting appropriate…

As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

The authors compared the involvement in children's development and education of 38 fathers of preschoolers with hearing loss to the involvement of a matched group of 36 fathers of preschoolers with normal hearing, examining correlations between child, father, and family characteristics. Fathers completed self-reports regarding their parental…

At the earliest grade levels, young Black males, who have been identified by their teachers as "challenging" (in psychological terminology, exhibiting externalizing behavior), have the same disproportionate rate of school suspension and expulsion as their older counterparts (Gilliam, 2005; Lewis, Butler, Bonner, & Joubert, 2010;…

Halgunseth (2009) noted the two most influential environments in which young children develop are their homes and their early childhood programs (p. 56). The unique responsibility of an early childhood educator lies in bringing these two contexts together to create a foundation for a respectful and trusting partnership with a child's family. Thus,…

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship of preschool teachers' self-reported depressive symptomatology, perception of classroom control, and perception of school climate to classroom quality as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K. The sample consisted of 59 urban preschool classrooms serving low-income and…