Research Findings: A total of 4102 childcare center teachers were recruited to examine a moderated mediation model of the relationship between teachers' adaptive caregiving beliefs and professional competence, using caregiving sensitivity as a mediator and organizational support as a moderator. Results indicated that (1) childcare center teachers'…

Burnout is an increasing concern among working professionals; however, relatively little research has examined burnout among those in the childcare field. This is a major gap, given high demand for childcare services in the United States coupled with high rates of turnover in the field. Between February 2019 and January 2020, 320 home- and…

Over the past thirty years, there have been notable changes in child care ratios and group sizes. Child care ratios refer to the number of children one caregiver is responsible for, while group size refers to the total number of children in a classroom at an early care and education setting. The current analysis examines the current licensing…

In out-of-school care centres in Flanders, building warm and trusting relationships with parents is both an important aim and a huge frustration. Practitioners often struggle with their role towards parents and feel insufficiently trained to deal with increasing expectations about cooperation with parents. In this article we describe the results…

Purpose: Whilst an urgent need for collaboration is increasingly seen in education to better respond to socio-educational challenges, in practice, collaboration between primary school teachers and their partners is hampered by barriers. The aim of this study is to shed light on these barriers from a human resource management (HRM) angle, using the…

Job crafting offers an exciting way to understand how people engineer their jobs to create more meaningful work. Work is meaningful if workers perceive their work as significant and serving an important purpose. To examine how four early childhood educators individually and collaboratively craft their work, the study reported here examines data…

In South Africa, many children with extensive support needs--including children who require AAC--are accommodated in care centers rather than the public schooling system. Caregivers employed at these centers need training in order to support children's communication using augmentative and alternative methods. A total of 29 center-based caregivers…

Infants, toddlers, and two-year-olds with disabilities or developmental delays often participate in center-based childcare. Just like other care and education settings, childcare for very young children should provide high-quality inclusion. To date, minimal research has been conducted on practitioner perspectives about inclusion in childcare for…

Family engagement in childcare is important to ensure the optimal growth, development, and safety of children. Previous research has explored family engagement practices, but limited research is available on the application of theory to explain the uptake of family engagement principles. The purpose of this study was to explore the use and…

This study applied a positive-psychological approach to examining childcare directors' role in maintaining the stability of their staff from the caregivers' and directors' points of view. Most of the childcare centers in Israel are characterized by high burnout and turnover of staff members. Nevertheless, some teams stay stable, and turnover is…

Background: Safety practices play a vital role in childcare business, as childcare entails managing children's daily life routines and preventing them from any harm. Aim: This study aims to explore the perspectives and awareness of childcare centres regarding the importance of childcare safety practices, babysitters' traits and safety performance…

This First Look report introduces new National Household Education Survey data that provides estimates for children in the United States from birth through the age of 5 who were not yet enrolled in kindergarten by 2023 on early childhood care and education arrangements. The report also presents data on parents' ratings of factors that affected…

Despite the crucial role early educators play in young children's development, the field has always struggled with poor compensation and inadequate support (McLean et al., 2021). The persistent undervaluation of the ECE sector and the labor provided by the nearly all-female workforce can be traced back to its racist roots, when enslaved Black…

Research Findings: Measuring toddlers' cortisol levels both in childcare and at home and their relation to child- and childcare-related factors may help to identify stress-inducing childcare practices and children who are more vulnerable to stress in childcare. Accordingly, toddlers' (n = 320, 51.2% female, mean age = 26.8 months) cortisol levels…

This longitudinal multiple case study explores children's transitions within early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Finland. In ECEC children typically transition from one group or center to another. This study explores how physical, social and philosophical discontinuities and continuities constitute these transitions. Five focus children's…