Evidence shows that children's early years are a crucial time for their development. Well-designed early childhood education (ECE) experiences can foster meaningful gains in school readiness, as well as long-term benefits such as lower rates of special education placement and higher graduation rates. The quality of early education is highly…

Teachers' noticing of students' mathematical thinking plays an important role in supporting student learning. Yet little is known about how online professional development (PD)--a growing setting for PD in the USA--can cultivate this noticing. Here, we explore the potential of using two online tools for engaging video to support K-2 teachers'…

The purpose of this study was to explore the social validity of the STEAM Trunk Math study- a virtual professional development intervention approach for early learning educators. The aim of the intervention was to increase the knowledge, skills, and comfort level regarding the use of math in early learning settings. A quasi-experimental…

Effective instructional coaching has long demonstrated positive impacts on teacher practices and early learning outcomes. Providing effective instructional coaching at scale is a challenge that many state and local systems tackle. This case study report highlights four systems (Alabama, AppleTree, Maine, and Washington) that are uniquely…

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) administers and operates a state-funded preschool program called the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). To inform systemwide improvements in the program, the department contracted with Education Northwest to conduct a qualitative study of nine sites…

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating "We Have Skills," a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

Project-based learning is popular with many parents, students, and teachers because of its focus on problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and real-world application (Gallup, 2019). It encourages teachers to act as facilitators while students actively engage in teacherand student-posed learning challenges, working alone and in groups on…

The implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) requires a shift from a reliance on reactionary discipline to prevention-oriented supports, and it requires that staff adopt and regularly apply the practices throughout the building. This level of systemic change in staff thinking and practice is challenging to…

The need to improve the quality of early childhood education is urgent. Researchers are diligently studying which forms of professional development will yield positive changes in teacher practices. Communities of practice (COPs) and coaching have both been shown to be potentially effective and efficient means of professional development in early…

In the 2017-2019 operating budget, the Legislature appropriated $5,000 to create a child care workforce development technical workgroup (Workgroup) and directed the Department of Early Learning (now the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, or DCYF) to convene a group consisting of 13 stakeholders to develop recommendations for the…

This brief reviews state plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as of October 1, 2017. It focuses on three key topics for early learning in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): setting clear goals and policy priorities for early learning, integrating early learning into school improvement, and supporting early childhood educator…

Children's academic and social development before third grade is highly predictive of later success in school and beyond. Research shows that during those early years, the gains children make in language and literacy, mathematics and social skills, and their growth as learners and thinkers are associated with a range of benefits, from academic…

Black and Latinx educators make up a critical portion of the early child education (ECE) field; 31% of the center-based workforce and about half of those employed in Head Start. These diverse educators are from communities where the impacts of the pandemic have been the most detrimental -- according to the Centers for Disease Control and…

The state of Washington is home to more than 566,000 children under the age of six (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). About 306,000 of these children have all available parents in the workforce and, thus, potentially need child care (Child Care Aware of America, 2017). Like many states in recent years, Washington has committed public and private…