In light of the current policy context, early childhood educators are being asked to have a complex understanding of child development and early education issues and provide rich, meaningful educational experiences for all children and families in their care. Accountability for outcomes is high, and resources for professional support are limited.…

Research Findings: This qualitative case study describes early childhood practitioners' (ECPs) perspectives on their professional development as part of a large federally funded school readiness intervention project as they experienced the processes of professional growth and change in learning skills related to promoting parental engagement in…

Research Findings: Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschool children, and relationships between families and professionals are an important contributor to school readiness. Furthermore, social-emotional competence is a key component of young children's school readiness. This study…

Interactions and experiences within home and school systems, uniquely and together, form the foundation for developmental trajectories throughout students' educational careers. As a lifelong resource, families represent the first essential system and source of support for the learning and development of children and adolescents. When parents are…

Research examining the role families play in children's education has investigated a variety of activities or methods through which parents participate in learning. These programs are typically characterized as "parent involvement models," which are defined as the participation of significant caregivers (including parents, grandparents,…

Children in poverty are at greater risk of academic failure due to impoverished living conditions and a lack of parental nurturance. Mothers' engagement in children's learning can be undermined by maternal depression, placing children at risk for cognitive and motor delays. With intervention, parents experiencing poverty and depression can…

Consultation researchers have long recognized the importance of assessing fidelity of intervention implementation, including the fidelity with which both consultation procedures and behavioral intervention plans are delivered. However, despite decades of discussion about the importance of assessing for fidelity of implementation in intervention…

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is a structured, indirect form of service-delivery in which parents, teachers, and other support staff work together to address the academic, social, or behavioral needs of an individual for whom all parties bear some responsibility. As such, CBC exemplifies a model of partnerships for children wherein school…

Describes conjoint behavioral consultation, a model of service delivery that addresses shared responsibility among school personnel, families, and other important systems in educational problem solving. Reviews the conceptual background and important features of the model, along with findings from a number of empirical studies. Directions for…

Behavioral consultation and its variants (including conjoint behavioral consultation; CBC) represent common school psychological service delivery options. In this article, a working definition of multicultural CBC is offered. Furthermore, structural and relational issues that may develop when working with culturally diverse students and their…

Examined limited practice of consultation in schools. Trained five doctoral students in school psychology in behavioral consultation procedures using written manuals, videotape models, behavioral rehearsal, performance feedback, self-monitoring, and generalization training. Consultants worked with elementary school teachers who presented actual…

Responds to previous article (Noell and Gresham, this issue) on Functional Outcome Analysis (FOA) as important construct for evaluation of consultation and prereferral interventions. Notes that, practically speaking, one must wonder if information gleaned from FOA is worth costs. Addresses perceived scientific and practical merits of FOA. (NB)

Refocuses Hughes arguments, in target article, away from empirically supported treatments (ESTs) and back to science-practice links to services. Discusses the importance of theory in school psychology practice and research. Argues that theory alone is insufficient when considering services for children and families. Suggests the EST movement helps…

We investigated the relationship between depression and parental sense of competence to child cognitive outcomes for a sample of 49 adolescent mothers and their young children ("Mean age" = 9 1/2 months) enrolled in a student parenting program. Cognitive development of the infants and toddlers was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant…

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at significant risk for a variety of comorbid conditions, including social skills deficits. Although interventions addressing various aspects of social difficulties with these children have been developed, few researchers have integrated new technology with existing social skills…