In an exploratory, intensive case study, we investigated the well-being of young children (0-4 years) with a time-sampling design. The total sample included 940 individual observations for 30 children during four consecutive weeks. Data collection involved external coding of videotaped episodes and caregiver- and parent-reported measures.…

The early childhood education care (ECEC) practitioner landscape is complex and encompasses many roles including center-based and school-based administrative, teaching, and support staff as well as home-based unregulated child care family child care (FCC) providers and home-based regulated (e.g., registered or licensed) FCC providers who…

This paper aims to determine possible gender differences in children's observed emotional expressions and their relationship with teacher-rated self-regulation (SR) skills in the setting of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Supporting SR and emotional wellbeing in early childhood can be considered a favourable pathway towards holistic…

This National Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by Head Start, Early Head Start, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start.…

This article explores variations in development of everyday motor-life-skills in 661 children (329 girls and 332 boys) in Norwegian kindergartens of ages 2:9 (T1) and 4:9 (T2) years:months. The particular focus is on children at risk for problems in motor development (the 10% weakest children in the sample). The methodological approach chosen is…

This qualitative study explores how a group of preservice teachers, all of whom had been well prepared to become primary-grade teachers, made a transition into infant/toddler group care settings. The authors used the teachers' daily journal entries, individual interview, document analysis (course syllabus, weekly planning sheets), and weekly team…

This paper uses meta-analytic techniques to estimate the separate effects of the starting age, program duration, and persistence of impacts of early childhood education programs on children's cognitive and achievement outcomes. It concentrates on studies published before the wide scale penetration of state-pre-K programs. Specifically, data are…

Research Findings: The current study examined how children's parent-reported compliance at age 3 (36 months) moderated the effects of 2 dimensions of directly observed early care and education (ECE) process quality (positivity/responsivity and cognitive stimulation) during the prekindergarten year (54 months) on teacher reports of children's…

During the past three decades, extensive literature has accumulated on the early years of life for children. Research findings unequivocally agree that these years are a critical period of intense learning for children which provides the foundation for later academic and social success. This review explores the literature on the complex…

This study utilized data from the Michigan component of the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study to examine toddlers' joint attention at 14 months (parent report measure of toddlers' initiating behaviors, e.g., extends arm to show you something he or she is holding, reaches out and gives you a toy he or she has been holding, and…

In Finland, the policies and practices in early childhood education and care (ECEC) have been characterized by a division into practices and forms of care for children under and over 3 years old. This study analyses the construction of space in the national and local level curricula for the very youngest children. These documents both present…

High and stable levels of aggression and the presence of aggressive behaviour in multiple settings according to different informants are risk factors for later problems. However, these two factors have not been investigated in early childhood. The present study investigates trajectories of parent-reported child aggression from 1.5 up to 6 years of…

Social interactions regarding moral and conventional transgressions were observed among two toddler groups. Each of 16 day care center classrooms, eight serving 13- to 27-month-olds and eight serving 18- to 40-month-olds, was observed for three 45-minute sessions. Implications of results concerned the developmental origins of distinctions between…

Examined effect of toddler temperament on caregiver-toddler interaction in child care. Found that children classified as difficult attracted significantly more attention, not necessarily positive, from caregivers. Children rated as easy were overlooked more often than others. Children's sociability/withdrawal made little difference to caregiver…

Aimed to establish extent to which toddlers' social behaviors in recurrent play groups may become characterized by an increased consistency and predictability during second year of life, particularly first versus third trimester. Concurrent observations in contrasting settings provided data for examining differences in extent of cross-situational…