Adults have a vertical attention bias (VAB) that directs their focus toward object tops and scene bottoms. This is consistent with focusing attention on the informative aspects and affordances of the environment, and generally favoring a downward gaze. The smaller size of children, combined with their relatively limited interactions with objects…

Home visiting connects expectant parents, new caregivers, and their young children with a support person, called a home visitor. The home visitor meets regularly with the family, develops a relationship with them, and supports them to achieve their goals and meet their needs. To reach the thousands of additional families who could benefit from…

This report presents results of a 50-state policy survey conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families, and Johnson Policy Consulting. The survey asked state Medicaid agency leaders about Medicaid policies related to screenings and services designed…

This report examines features of states' expulsion and suspension prevention policies, based on survey responses and interviews with selected states. The results point to the widespread efforts states are making to develop and implement expulsion prevention policies. Features of policies are varied, and include supports for programs (e.g.,…

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating "We Have Skills," a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817…

Two consequentially related education policy topics in the United States are kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) and the growing number of students who are "English learners" (ELs). In this study, I compared the content of, and home language use policies for six state KEAs, all of which were comprised of items from the GOLD®…

This is a case study of political struggles over early care and education in the USA using a combination of archival, interview, and observational data from a study conducted in the US state of Arizona. This case analysis illustrates how a combination of the episodic nature of public attention paid to early care and education in the USA, internal…

Despite longstanding attempts to intervene in their early social and academic development, Latino students' traditionally low achievement levels have not improved over time. Many believe success has been impacted by limited preschool participation as fewer than half of eligible Latino preschoolers are enrolled and actively benefitting from…

In this study, one Southwestern public school district strives to implement a Dual Language (DL) for All Pre-K program that includes students with disabilities. The Arizona Revised Statute § 15-751-755 currently restricts K-12 students who speak a language other than English from entering DL programs until they are deemed English proficient. There…

University-based teacher education programs are criticized for being too theoretical, disconnected from the everyday realities of schools. To bridge this gap, teacher education programs give students year-long field experiences under the joint tutelage of mentor teachers and university faculty. However, this assumes that mentor teachers will not…

This study examines the psychometric properties of two assessments of children's approaches to learning: the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) and a 13-item approaches to learning rating scale (AtL) derived from the Arizona Early Learning Standards (AELS). First, we administered questionnaires to 1,145 randomly selected parents/guardians…

Early childhood educators have a unique opportunity to foster the development of cognitive, behavioral, and social skills. But the work is not easy. Effective educators need both a deep understanding of child development and mastery of a complex set of skills to meet the learning needs of young children. Accordingly, there is a growing demand…

Young children of immigrants are increasingly part of early childhood programs in the United States but teachers have mixed approaches and attitudes about the immigrant families that they work with. This article details an analysis of 50 preschool teachers in five US cities using data from the Children Crossing Borders video-cued ethnographic…

Utilizing surveillance data from five sites participating in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, we investigated contributions of surveillance subject and census tract population sociodemographic characteristics on variation in autism spectrum disorder ascertainment and prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2008 using ordinal…

This article reports on a longitudinal study spanning over 5 years, involving the design and implementation of an early childhood teacher education program model that engages a critical-ecological theoretical approach, a funds of knowledge perspective, and design-based methodology. This project aimed to promote equitable education for all…