Over the last decade, there has been increased attention on early education, but real progress for children and families has remained out of reach. We want America's children to become lifelong learners who are able to think critically and inventively, manage their emotions and impulses, and make smart decisions by drawing upon a rich knowledge…

Though family engagement has become a priority in early childhood education and care, there are problems in our understanding of the phenomenon. First, there is uncertainty about the target of outcomes--namely, should it be children or families? Second, the early childhood field lacks ethical guidance to address the complexity of this…

The field of early childhood education supports the notions that early childhood programs need the active support of families and that the school and the home are the most critical environments impacting children's development (Mart, Dusenbury, & Weissberg, 2011). The vast majority of state standards do not align with family involvement…

In this paper, we examine the enactment of culturally relevant education in an urban early childhood setting in the US. This descriptive case study used a sociocultural framework that emphasizes the relationship between structure and agency. The research question that guided the study was: How does an urban, non-profit early childhood educational…

Objective: Classroom teachers can play an important role in supporting the implementation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programme (CSPAP) by integrating physical activity (PA) into academic lessons, providing PA opportunities at recess and becoming role models for school-aged children. Grounded in the expectancy-value model, the goal…

Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) is a relationship-based, collaborative support designed to improve the capacity of early childhood professionals to promote children's mental health. Social and emotional development is the foundation for success in learning and in life. It begins in children's early relationships with…

Children of incarcerated parents may face an increased risk for developmental and behavioral problems. Early care and education can play a positive role in addressing these risks and providing positive support. However, these children are largely hidden when it comes to formal early care and education policy and program initiatives. This article…

Grounded in the work of researchers such as Dunst, Trivette, and Deal (1988), the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children's (DEC) Recommended Practices in the area of working with families provide guidance to EI/early childhood special education (ECSE) practitioners on how best to support families of young children who…

National Household Education Surveys Program of 2016: Supplementary Restricted-Use Geocode Data for the Parent and Family Involvement in Education, Early Childhood Program Participation, and Adult Training and Education Surveys are available through an NCES restricted-use data license. Variables are drawn from administrative and survey data from…

When the Model Work Standards were first crafted more than two decades ago, they were built on the premise that quality child care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for children and families. The intent of these standards is to make it possible for those who choose family child care as a career to reasonably and responsibly support…

In this article, I share how SQUAD Art Studio functions as an alternative, community-based, multisite Saturday art lab school for negotiating theory and practice with preservice art educators. SQUAD Art Studio educators' work confronts developmentalist images of children and preconceptions about young children and digital media. We revalue images…

As public preschool is not widely available in the United States, the Biden-Harris administration proposed a comprehensive early childhood agenda to create a world-class voluntary universal preschool program for children and families that addresses racial and other inequities. This report outlines six key components for a preschool program that…

Communication is an innate behavior people engage in to convey one's thoughts, needs, and interests to others (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan, 2014). Recommended Practices from the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC, 2014) encourage teachers to partner with families to implement strategies that support…

We analysed effective and promising interventions, within the classroom and school microsystems, aiming to promote equality and belongingness for immigrant, Roma, and low-income children attending early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary education in eight European countries. Over 500 interventions were identified, and 78…

Family engagement is a reciprocal relationship between educators and families that supports whole child development. In response to the unique contexts and situations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, a faculty member in the School of Education at Hunter College, City University of New York (SOE), and families that had opted in to 100 percent…