President Obama announced his Early Learning Agenda during his Second Inaugural Address. This announcement has galvanized a special focus on early childhood policy and practices, for the prenatal to 5-year-old period, to improve educational outcomes for America's youth. The emergent science of early childhood development places an emphasis on…

The national Quality Improvement Center on early Childhood (QIC-eC) funded four research and demonstration projects that tested child maltreatment prevention approaches. The projects were guided by several key perspectives: the importance of increasing protective factors in addition to decreasing risk factors in child maltreatment prevention…

"Cradling Literacy" provides field-tested instructional materials for instructors to help early childhood teachers develop knowledge and skills in nurturing early language and literacy in young children from birth to 5 years. The research and strategies presented in the instructional manual center on how child, parent, and teacher can work…

The upcoming Congressional reauthorization of the Early Head Start program provides an opportunity to focus on what can be done to achieve even greater impacts for infants, toddlers, and families in Early Head Start. In this policy brief, the Zero to Three Policy Center presents its recommendations for Congressional action and discusses scientific…

The key to improving the early education of all young children, including those with special needs, is the effective preparation and development of the professionals who work with them. "Practical Approaches to Early Childhood Professional Development" is a comprehensive planning resource for college faculty and consultants engaged in preservice …

From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life. Relationships and experiences with parents, caregivers, and preschool teachers during these early years "form the foundation and scaffold on which cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that close to 1 million children a year are identified as victims of maltreatment. The National Clearinghouse of Child Abuse and Neglect estimates that between 3 and 10 million children a year witness the abuse of a parent or caregiver. In recent years, therapists, educators, and…

This book presents a review and synthesis of the early care and education system in the United States -- a system that now faces increasing enrollment, an underpaid workforce, and limited budgets. A substantial number of trained early care and education professionals are projected to leave the field over the next 10 years due to noncompetitive…

Evidence-based practice is a decision-making process that integrates the best available scientific research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values. The editors argue that it has the potential to transform the services provided to children and families because it incorporates the "different ways of knowing" that characterize early…

As babies, toddlers, and preschoolers spend more and more time in child care programs, those programs have an increasingly significant effect on their healthy social and emotional development. The impact and quality of caregivers' relationships with children contribute to the quality of young children's mental health. A mental health consultant…

Extensive empirical research has documented the value of play for both cognitive and social development. In this collection, leading experts in play research, child development, and early childhood education examine recent policy decisions and demonstrate the importance of play in helping children learn basic literacy skills, social awareness,…

The goal of ensuring that all children are "ready for school" has become a national priority. As a result, programs that support children's school readiness are becoming more and more important to policy-makers, funders, and parents. It is becoming very clear that efforts to improve school success cannot begin at kindergarten, nor focus…

The first five years of life are a period of profound growth and change as children begin to speak, think, reason, and feel. Brain research has found that both children's experiences and their relationships with others influence this early development in important and lasting ways. For local governments, the first five years represent a critical…

This book is written for teachers, caregivers, and family child care providers who are working with children from birth to five. It presents research on child development and on effective teaching practices to foster very young children's ability to become literate. The book also provides practical suggestions for implementing research-informed…

Between 1995 and 2004, Early Head Start (EHS) grew from 68 to more than 700 programs nationwide, serving more than 62,000 children and securing the program's reputation as a beacon of hope for the nation's low-income families with infants and toddlers. According to a comprehensive 5-year national evaluation of EHS, children who participated in…