Home visiting in early intervention is the primary model for delivering services and building partnerships with children and families. Using interviews with early interventionists and family members, this study investigated the extent to which families' and professionals' emotional needs were met during home visits and what factors contributed to…

This study investigated the perceptions of 20 grandmother caregivers related to their concerns and needs in caring for their grandchildren with disabilities. The research focused on grandmother caregivers who had a grandchild with a disability between the ages of 3 and 12 years. Almost all the grandmothers reported they were involved in the…

This article presents findings from two early intervention agencies examining how administrative structures affect providers' ability to serve families of young children with disabilities. Based on previous research identifying three administrative structures (i.e., vision/leadership, organizational climate, and resources), this article…

The research synthesis presented here reviewed the currently available evidence on the effectiveness of sibling-implemented interventions for their siblings with disabilities. The search for appropriate research literature spanned from 1975 to 2008 and resulted in a total of eight studies that met the inclusion criteria. All eight studies in this…

This study evaluated the effects of an experimenter-delivered choice-making procedure. Three nonambulatory and partially ambulatory preschoolers were given access to six teacher-nominated preferred toys in two conditions: child choice and interventionist choice. Using an alternating treatment design and a 10-second momentary time-sampling…

Social validation is the value judgment from society on the importance of a study. The social validity of behavior goals used in the social competence intervention literature was assessed using the Q-sort technique. The stimulus items were 80 different social competence behavior goals taken from 78 classroom-based social competence intervention…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a constant time delay procedure to teach foundational swimming skills to three children with autism. The skills included flutter kick, front-crawl arm strokes, and head turns to the side. A multiple-probe design across behaviors and replicated across participants was used.…

This study examined the effects yielded from the implementation of assessment-based behavior support plans on the engagement and problem behavior of three young children with behavioral challenges in a community early childhood program. A concurrent multiple-baseline design across children with generalization probes was used with data collected…

Assessment plays an integral role in teaching and learning in higher education and teachers have a strong interest in debates and commentaries on assessment as and for learning. In a 1-year graduate entry teacher preparation program, the temptation is to emphasize assessment in an attempt to ensure students "cover" everything as part of a robust…

Service learning is often used in teacher education as a way to challenge social bias and provide teacher candidates with skills needed to work in partnership with diverse families. Although some literature suggests that service learning could reinforce cultural bias, there is little documentation. In a study of 21 early childhood teacher…

Best practice in the early childhood special education field supports the inclusion of young children with special needs in natural learning environments, that is, in programs where children without disabilities of the same age and their families participate. Consequently, early childhood teacher education programs must prepare professionals to…

It is well documented in the literature that early pre-K reading experiences prepare children for the benefits of formal literacy instruction in the later grades. This is particularly true for young children from nonmainstream backgrounds. The objective of this article is to share the findings of a 4-year qualitative study investigating the…

This article describes challenging practicum situations that provided three early childhood education students with leadership opportunities to promote best practices in child care centers. Using excerpts from student journals and meetings, the article documents students' initial discouragement at practices observed, inspiration through…

The process for change undertaken by one early childhood teacher preparation program is described. While the changes were spurred in part by increasing emphases on standards and assessment systems, faculty noted concerns with how this framed the program and with how students negotiated learning in this system. After describing these concerns, the…

The purpose of the "Teachers, Families, and Communities Supporting English Language Learners" (TFC) project was to implement and evaluate a sustainable model of high-quality professional development focused on improving inclusive pre-kindergarten services for English Language Learners (ELL) and their families. The professional development program…