The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how early childhood teachers describe their self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach social and emotional skills to young children. It is important that young children develop social-emotional skills to help them navigate through the early learning years. Since young children…

Child Trends and Start Early have partnered to better understand what early childhood systems builders need to build and support more equitable systems. The briefs in this series, called Conversation Starters, define a new framework for early childhood systems that center families' experiences and raise key considerations and next steps for…

Young children, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds, benefit from high-quality early care and education (ECE) to thrive later in life. This brief explores how Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) can help early childhood programs and professionals advance racial equity in ECE and therefore address…

Neoliberalism along with other sites of cultural, social and political life has created deep impacts on childhood. With the rise of neoliberalisation of policies, childhood has come to be defined in terms of economic utility and wellbeing of society. In this paper, we examine the process of neoliberalisation through the changing role and meaning…

The article provides an overview of the conclusions reached by the British Academy Childhood Policy Programme in its final report. The programme explored the role of the state in childhood and how children and childhood are conceptualised in policy-making. The aim was to apply an inter-disciplinary social sciences and humanities lens in order to…

Childhood trauma represents a major problem for Mexican Americans in the United States and is associated with the development of both depressive and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. Neuroticism is suggested to be a contributing factor in this relationship. Using a cross sectional design, we hypothesized that neuroticism would mediate the…

One challenging aspect of working in early childhood education settings is engagement in emotional labor. Research suggests that emotional labor is associated with emotional exhaustion and burnout in early childhood teachers, but there is limited research available on this issue. Research focusing on early childhood contexts in the United States…

Early childhood educators play a critical role in the lives of young children, especially through their sensitive interactions. Educators' capacities to engage in high-quality interactions are shaped by their mental health. Studies examining early childhood educators' mental health often focus on psychopathology or negative aspects of mental…

By nurturing early literacy skills, we invest in young minds, building a strong foundation for lifelong learning, communication, and success. This Spotlight will help you evaluate research on early literacy gains from tutoring; analyze what experts say makes a strong early reading law; learn how reading on screens can worsen comprehension for…

While evolving societal needs have created a demand for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes in early childhood, research indicates a deficit view on early childhood teachers' ability to teach STEM. Existing teaching models are primarily developed from school-based research, conflicting with the early childhood…

Rapid technology advancements and global responses to sustainability have had a transformational impact on education in the 21st century. As early childhood teachers in Aotearoa/New Zealand respond these challenges, many have recognised the potential inquiry-based project learning (IBPL) has to transform learning for children through empowering…

We estimated the effects of Norway's universal ECEC program - expanding access to 1- and 2-year-olds starting in the early 2000s - on standardized math and achievement tests in 5th grade (age 10) using a population-based survey sample (Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study, MoBa, n = 102,352), linked with national administrative records…

Researchers of early childhood educators' practice have noted the usefulness of applying various conceptual and methodological resources to create accounts of complexity. This article contributes to an under-researched area, providing evidence of multi-tasking and task rotation as aspects of the complexity of early childhood educators' practice.…

The current study examined three research questions: (a) Are unmarried at birth fathers' prenatal and birth-related behavioral, attitudinal, and identity adjustments directly related to father engagement in child-related activities during early childhood and father-child closeness in middle childhood and adolescence? (b) Do father engagement in…

This study investigates how teacher burnout symptoms can be explained by childhood trauma and perceived resilience. Self-assessment surveys, designed to measure adverse childhood experiences, ability to bounce back after hardship, and burnout symptoms, were completed by 146 kindergarten through 12th-grade U. S. public school teachers. Structural…