Book Summary: The education and care of children under the age of eight has become one of the major focuses of attention in recent education research and policy-making around the world, and it is now widely recognised that investment in provision at this stage can be both cost effective and beneficial to the social fabric of communities. Approaches to education in nurseries, kindergartens and preschools have traditionally been significantly different from those that inform the teaching of older children but, until recently, these approaches have had little impact on education beyond early years settings. This wide-ranging collection of papers provides a valuable resource for scholars who need to ground their own study in wider historical and global discourses concerning the education of children under eight. Including both important historical sources and contemporary analysis of current issues, this fascinating set represents a broad variety of countries, cultures and traditions.

This session will provide practitioners working with children 0-3 information about the importance of and strategies for “bathing” young children in language. Research shows that by age 3 children who live in poverty are likely to have heard 30 million fewer words than their wealthiest peers. For children with disabilities from less affluent homes, this is an important issue. This session will provide practitioners working with these families and/or working directly with these children with strategies demonstrated through video clips on how to envelop these very young children in rich language in order to help close this gap.

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This article explores the problem of textbook aliteracy, i.e. the failure to read assigned texts despite the ability to do so. Constructivism is its theoretical frame. Teacher education students at a medium-sized university in the Southern Appalachian Mountains were surveyed on their textbook reading practices. Ninety percent of the 116 students completing the survey reported studying instructors’ power points in preference to completing assigned readings, at least some of the time. All were readers, though a majority (68%) reported at least some difficulty reading assigned texts. Often, they appeared to be avoiding the challenges posed by demanding text. The authors undertook various strategies to compel and encourage precise reading of informational text, with mixed results.

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The Field Trip Study was conducted in direct response to the emergence of scientific thinking as it relates to children’s cognitive abilities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of nature-based, experiential activities on children’s acquisition of science knowledge. A multiple treatments and controls with pretest research design was utilized to compare science knowledge acquisition between kindergarten children in four instructional conditions: 1) nature-based field trip plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, and corresponding book reading and activities, 2) nature-based field trips plus extension activities from an environmental education curriculum, 3) nature-based field trips plus corresponding book reading and book-related activities, and 4) nature-based field trip with business as usual instruction. Study teachers implemented activities from the Growing Up WILD curriculum and National Science Teacher Association children’s books. An age-appropriate science assessment and accompanying scoring rubric were created in correspondence with Next Generation Science Standards and piloted prior to use as the pretest and posttest for kindergarten children enrolled in the study. Children were interviewed in small groups to elaborate on assessment responses. Kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of using environmental education curricula as a part of field trip extension activities were assessed during a group interview. Gender, treatment condition, and pretest scores were predictors of children’s posttest scores. Children in condition 1 scored significantly higher on posttest mean scores than children in other groups. Teachers enjoyed using the environmental education curriculum and believed it made teaching NGSS accessible.

Information collected from multiple domain child developmental assessments, known as five area assessments, are being used in early intervention for high stakes purposes such as program monitoring. As a result, it is important to examine variables that may affect test administration fidelity and its impact on obtaining valid data. The purpose of this study was to survey early intervention service providers in the state of Kentucky to determine possible independent variables that may affect their comfort level in administering five-domain tests. Surveys were made available to all early intervention service providers within the Kentucky First Steps early intervention program. Data were analyzed to determine the effect of independent variables such as: amount and format of training in administering assessments, amount and format of training in child development, years of experience, educational degree level, certification in interdisciplinary early childhood education, and discipline area on a provider’s comfort level in administering five area assessments. The results of the study indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between the amount of assessment training a provider received and their self-perceived comfort level in administering assessments.

Poverty is known to affect many areas of life for poor children, particularly young children’s language development. To address language development issues as well as other educational needs, the Head Start Program was created. The purpose of this sequential mixed-methods study was to describe the professional development experiences of Head Start teachers on language modeling. In addition, this study sought to explore teachers’ views on language modeling and the activities they find most effective to support student learning. Analysis of the data revealed that teachers wanted more training and workshops, to be paired with a mentor/coach, pay raises for achieving higher education, strategies for working with children, and encouragement from administration to effectively achieve their professional development plans and goals. Additionally, teachers demonstrated an understanding of the importance of language modeling for children to build vocabulary, to improve school readiness goals, and to communicate and express their needs. Finally, teachers felt very strongly that they use frequent conversations, wait for student responses during conversations, use back and forth conversations, encourage peer conversations, use more than one word as well as a variety of words to support children’s language development. Findings from this study may be utilized to provide the necessary support teachers need to improve their language modeling skills and to help programs in their planning and evaluation of an ongoing professional development model. This study adds to the literature on bridging the gap between learning about practices and using them in the classroom to improve children’s language development by including teacher voices into their professional development and how to effectively implement coaching practices to promote teacher knowledge and skills.

All early childhood educators who work with children between birth and six years of age are likely to encounter young children who experience behavioral and mental health challenges throughout their careers. Research demonstrates that educators can play a vital role in children's mental health and behavioral development. However, often early childhood educators do not believe they have the knowledge or tools to accurately identify and successfully handle the unique challenges that arise when working with children with behavioral and mental health issues. Using an Anti-Oppressive Framework, this research study explores, through a qualitative case study design, how students in an in-service teacher education program experience children with mental health and behavioral issues in their classrooms. The following research question was used to guide this study: how do students in an in-service early childhood teacher education program think about, emotionally react to, and engage with children who express mental health issues and challenging behaviors in their classrooms? This paper begins by discussing the prevalence and needs of children with mental health and behavioral issues in early childhood environments. It then synthesizes the relevant literature related to the phenomenon. Next, it describes and defends a study that offered opportunities for students in an in-service teacher education program to consider their beliefs, emotions, and actions concerning inclusive education. From the research findings, implications for practice are revealed, offering ideas to support teacher education programs in better preparing their students to work with all young learners. Lastly, ideas for future research are elucidated.

Exploring the interventions that promote expressive, verbal language for preschool-aged children with autism is essential. When a child is lacking the ability to communicate, parents express that they would like their child to speak. B.F. Skinner (1957) proposed that the mand repertoire (communicative requests) should be an initial focus of language training. Mand training has been shown to be effective for teaching children with autism to communicate. However, many studies exploring mand training utilize highly trained instructors for intervention implementation. Early childhood best practices recommend the use of family-centered interventions and teaching within the natural environment. This study followed these recommendations. This research utilized a single subject multiple baseline across participants design with two parents and their preschool aged children with autism. The purpose of this dissertation study was two fold: (1) to examine the effects of a verbal mand with direct trial instruction intervention on the verbal communication skills for children with autism, and (2) to investigate if a parent can reliably implement the intervention. Using written instructions, role play, video models, and performance feedback, the researcher taught parents how to implement the intervention with their child. The goal of the intervention was to increase verbal communication skills, specifically the production of independent verbal mands. The intervention under question involved verbal mand training using direct trial instruction (DTI). During DTI the parent taught the child to use mands utilizing a time delay, verbal prompting, and sign language. The researcher collected data during the baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. In addition to the intervention results, the researcher collected and analyzed social validity, treatment fidelity, and parent competence data. Results from the intervention effects did not show a functional relation between the treatment and the target behavior. However, both participants increased their ability to use verbal and sign language communication. The parents were able to implement the intervention with fidelity and gained high competence scores related to intervention delivery expertise and behavioral responsiveness. The parents also reported that the intervention was extremely useful for their family. The parents generalized the intervention procedures and their children communicated more throughout their daily routines.