The present study explored the association between the structural quality of child care, caregivers' sensitive responsiveness, children's involvement in play and activity in the setting, and children's expression of aggression. Eighty-four early childhood care settings were classified into either high (29) or low structural quality (55) based on…

We examined the pathway from grandparental childcare support at age 3 to child social and emotional outcomes at age 7 through maternal mental health and mother-child relationship at age 3 in a sample of n = 1495 biological mothers and their children from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study. Structural equation modelling showed that time spent in the…

Research Findings: Multiple factors likely influence the language development of young children growing up in low-income homes, potentially including stressors experienced by parents. Here, we ask: (1) What is the association between stress (i.e., economic hardship and parenting stress) and toddlers' language development? and (2) Does number of…

Historically, in the USA context child development content knowledge has been one of the main emphases of early childhood teacher education programs, as it is theorized that teachers need strong content knowledge if they are to teach well. Teachers gain knowledge as they move through the degree ladder, from Child Development Associate to…

Background: Child care centers are important for children's behaviors. Aims: To examine the cross-sectional associations between child care environmental characteristics and physical activity and sedentary time in children. Methods: Participants were 124 toddlers and 118 preschoolers from 19 centers in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, in the…

This study considered the quality and stability of infant and toddler nonparental child care from 6 to 36 months in relation to language, social, and academic skills measured proximally at 36 months and distally at kindergarten. "Quality" was measured separately as caregiver-child verbal interactions and caregiver sensitivity, and…

The present study used a subsample of 450 children from the ECLS-B data set to examine longitudinal associations between multiple features of nonparental care at age 2 and socioemotional development at kindergarten entry, taking into account parents' attitudes and behaviors, family composition, poverty status, and child characteristics.…

Research evidence suggests children experiencing adversity are at risk of language disparities in early childhood. This puts these children at risk of poor language outcomes, perpetuating disadvantage in later development and academic life. This study aimed to investigate associations between Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) attendance,…

Research Findings: The quality of group care infants and toddlers experience relates to their concurrent and later development. Recent quality improvement initiatives point to the need for ecologically valid measures that assess the multifaceted nature of child care quality. In this article, we present the psychometric properties of an infant and…

How to measure quality of early childhood education and care is an evergreen topic of research and discussion in various disciplines. Here, we propose a contribution from developmental neuroscience and neuroendocrinology. In this secondary data analysis study, we tested the hypothesis that salivary cortisol can serve as a reliable objective…

This study leverages nationally representative data (N ˜ 6,000) to examine the magnitude of quality differences between (a) formal and informal early childhood education and care providers; (b) Head Start, prekindergarten, and other center-based care; and (c) programs serving toddlers and those serving preschoolers. It then documents differences…

Research Findings: There is a growing need for accurate and efficient measures of classroom quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Observational measures are costly, as their administration generally takes 3-5 hr per classroom. This article outlines the process of development and preliminary concurrent validity testing of…

This study explores the associations among parental education, weekly work hours, child behaviours, and parental daily hassles and parents desires for continuity between home and childcare. Data were collected using questionnaires from 82 parents with a child attending centre-based childcare in the Midwestern US. Results indicate that parent…

Research Findings: Continuity of care is a recommended practice in child care intended to promote secure and supportive relationships between infants and toddlers and their caregivers. Toddlers (N = 115) between 12 and 24 months were observed in 30 continuity and 29 noncontinuity classrooms. The average duration of care for toddlers with…

This study explored whether the relationships between specific features of child care quality and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in 24-month-old children are moderated by gender and temperament. Questionnaires were used to record children's gender and measure their temperament. Child care quality was observed with the "Échelles…