Using narrative interviews underpinned by an ecocultural framework, this Australian study investigated the experiences of 39 mothers of children with disabilities and 27 staff members from the early childhood services which these children attended. The data highlight serious limitations of current government policy and provisions in Australia to…

Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that develop during the preschool period. Significant amounts of research support the causal and predictive relation between phonological awareness and children's ease of learning to decode and spell. However, many preschool curricula and early childhood…

This article describes the design and implementation of a program that incorporates a response-to-intervention (RTI) framework for promoting the development of early literacy and language skills among low-income minority children. The early literacy program, called the Exemplary Model of Early Reading Growth and Excellence, or EMERGE, combines…

Young children with developmental disabilities may be at heightened risk for experiencing problem behavior. Evidence suggests that inappropriate behavior in young children may be related to negative parent-child interactions. Parent education and support programs have a long history of utility and effectiveness in reducing negative parent-child…

The importance of parent-teacher communication has been widely recognized; however, there is only limited research on teaching effective listening skills to education professionals. In this study, a pretest-posttest control group design was used to examine the effect of instruction on the active listening skills of preservice education…

Response to intervention (RTI) is characterized as a logical science of decision making that has applicability for early childhood, particularly in the context of multitiered intervention models. This study examined the utility of using curriculum-based early literacy measures as screening tools and for evaluating whether growth in early literacy…

The authors explored frequently cited articles across four peer-reviewed journals in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE). The Social Sciences Citation Index was used to examine journal articles from 1994 to 2005 in "Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Infants and Young Children," the "Journal of Early…

Although it is documented that parent interaction influences children's development, few studies have focused on methods for reliably assessing molar-level caregiver-child interactions that are used regularly in treatment evaluations in community-based settings, and none have targeted children with autism spectrum disorders. Thirty-five children…

Little research has been carried out on the inclusion of children with special needs in child care. The purpose of this study was to determine what variables predict the inclusion of children with disabilities in centers and home care. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of several indicators of quality child care and…

The impact of language delays and behavior problems in young children on family function was assessed using data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. Over 50% of parents who reported concerns regarding their children's language skills also reported concerns regarding their children's behavior. Although parents reported increased…

This study examined the global quality of early care and education settings and individual children's experiences in those settings. Sixty 4- to 5-year-old children (30 with disabilities and 30 without disabilities) were observed using the "Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised" (ECERS-R) and items from the ECERS-R adapted to focus on…

Performance-based assessments require teacher candidates to demonstrate proficiency on specific teaching tasks and apply knowledge in authentic settings. This article describes the development and use of performance-based assessments (PBAs) for advancing the learning and evaluation of teacher candidates in an early childhood special education…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of action research by ten preservice teachers earning their associate's degree in early childhood education from a small university in the West. Their goal was to assess the impact of their teaching on student learning with children birth to 8 years of age. This study represents the use of…

A developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children is vital for successful learning. However, implementing developmentally appropriate practices can be a challenge for 1st-year teachers because of the pressures of standardized testing. The purpose of this study was to examine the struggles teachers encounter in implementing…

In this essay, the author describes his curricular journey in creating a course on narrative inquiry and memoir for experienced early childhood educators. The author recounts the steps he took in selecting reading texts and activities for the course, and emphasizes the value of using poetry as a form of narrative for helping early childhood…