This summary provides highlights from a report that describes potential risks to the healthy development of young children and the extent of coverage of publicly-funded services to meet their early learning, health, and basic needs. The report is the first attempt in Minnesota to describe indicators of early childhood development county by county.…

Educators must develop effective ways of interacting and working with students of diverse backgrounds. In this 2-year study, home visits were utilized to build a stronger, more impactful learning community for all stakeholders. Participants included 2 school leaders, 1 school social worker, 9 teachers, 2 parents, and 4 elementary children. The…

Low-income and ethnic minority women have been described as at risk for experiencing depression during and around the time of pregnancy, a finding complicated by low levels of mental health service use within this population. This study retrospectively examined data from a community-based perinatal depression project targeting low-income women in…

Theories of socialization propose that children's ability to handle conflicts is learned at home through mechanisms of participation and observation--participating in parent-child conflict and observing the conflicts between parents. We assessed modes of conflict resolution in the parent-child, marriage, and peer-group contexts among 141 Israeli…

Parental investment (involving time or money invested in 3-year-olds) and child health were assessed as an outcome of (a) children's risk status (preterm vs. full-term birth) and (b) maternal resources (defined here in terms of their problem-solving skills in resolving caregiving challenges). Resources were varied systematically as a function of…

This study documents and accounts for maintenance and change in dialectal features of Salvadoran Spanish in the United States, especially "voseo", as opposed to "tuteo", terms signifying the use of the second person singular familiar pronouns vos and tu , with their corresponding verb forms. It compares two distinct Salvadoran…

Background: Studies have suggested genetic and environmental influences on overall level of early reading whereas the larger reading literature has shown environmental influences on the rate of growth of early reading skills. This study is the first to examine the genetic and environmental influences on both initial level of performance and rate…

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…

Background: This study was conducted to examine the impact of a 1-year intervention for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Vietnam. Method: Subjects were 30 preschool-aged children with ID (ages 3 to 6 years). Sixteen were assigned to an intervention group and 14 to a control group. Based on the Portage Curriculum (CESA 5 2003), the…

The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

According to Simplico (2005), critics who were led by parents have argued, "Children are spending too much time doing homework, which has no impact on their learning" (p. 138). This research study is significant for students, parents, teachers, educators, and administrators who wish to compare beliefs of families, students, and teachers regarding…

Objectives: This paper examines the effectiveness of the Healthy Families New York (HFNY) home visiting program in promoting parenting competencies and preventing maladaptive parenting behaviors in mothers at risk for child abuse and neglect. Methods: The study used microlevel observational assessments of mother-child interactions in the third…

The complexities that practitioners face in evaluating interventions are illustrated in this article. An early intervention programme (known as Keyhole), based mainly around Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communications handicapped CHildren (TEACCH), Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Hanen approaches, was delivered…

Teachers rarely live in the same neighborhoods as their students and the natural connections that once came from living nearby have eroded. This change makes it hard for educators to get to know students' families beyond formal connections like Back to School Night. The gap between teachers' and students' worlds is especially worrisome when there…

Teachers and preservice teachers offered initial assumptions about children and families from backgrounds different from their own, "Letting them speak Spanish in school will hinder their ability to learn English and also hold back the other children" and "His house will be messy and dirty." Through experiences in the children's homes and…