Developmental Delay (DD) is an IDEA classification for young children who fail to meet developmental milestones at typical times. Young children with delays in social or emotional development may show deficits in social skills. Noting the importance of early intervention, identifying effective social skills interventions for children aged 3-5 is…

Engaging, focusing, and persisting in the completion of tasks are among the skills needed for school success. Tracking whether a child is learning cognitive problem-solving skills is essential in knowing if they are acquiring skills important for development and school readiness; and if not, how they are responding to early intervention. Use of…

Drawing from a social network perspective, we examined the extent to which children with and without disabilities play with each other in preschool inclusive classrooms and identified malleable child characteristics that would support children forming these cross-status play interactions. A total of 200 children with disabilities and 301 children…

There is a prevailing myth that young children do not notice race (Doucet & Adair, 2013; Hirschfeld, 2012). While, in fact, infants as early as three months old notice race (Bar-Haim et al., 2006; Kelly et al., 2005). If numerous early childhood educators find discussing race and ethnicity inappropriate for young children, children could be…

There is a need for empirically based educational practices shown to support learning, yet validation tends to require a high degree of experimental control that can limit ecological validity and translation to classrooms. We describe our iterative intervention design to support preschoolers' vocabulary through book reading coupled with playful…

An increase in the Dual Language Learner (DLL) population has led to a critical need for early childhood educators to understand how to best serve DLL children and their families. This article describes a qualitative multiple-case study that investigated specific teaching practices for DLLs in six community-nominated exemplary preschool classrooms…

This paper examines the child development outcomes of two cohorts of children who were exposed to the same intervention at different points in time. One cohort was eligible to access playgroups during the first year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age four. The other cohort became eligible to access these services during the third year…

Early childhood advocates agree that positive teacher-child relationships are critical to classroom quality. Much research has emphasized quantifiable teacher characteristics and child outcomes without fully capturing the complexity of these relationships. Drawing on extensive classroom observations, two video-recorded free play sessions and…

Low income male preschoolers with externalizing behaviors have continued behavior issues throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, and into adulthood and create stress for their teachers. Because of this, it is important to detect externalizing behaviors early and implement an appropriate intervention. A single subject reversal…

Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who receive early intervention reap developmental benefits, but little is known about characteristics of early intervention placements in the community that optimize individual growth. The extent to which children hear and use language, in particular, may contribute significantly to…

This classic in the field of early childhood education provides practical tips and research-based methods for developing teachers, plus ready-to-use checklists for observing children and the classroom environment. In addition to its success as a college text, the book is widely used by student interns, volunteers, assistants, CDA candidates, and…

While conducting a needs assessment for a large Midwestern social service organization, the authors asked 252 preschool children from six Head Start programs what they like best about school. They wanted to reveal how children perceived their school and what they liked best about school--more specifically, what were their favorite areas and…

This evidence-based practice overview on Differential Reinforcement (DR) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "DR Evidence-base" details…

This evidence-based practice overview on Parent Implemented Intervention (PII) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "PII Evidence-base"…

This evidence-based practice overview on Video Modeling (VM) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "VM Evidence-base" details the NPDC…