The Play Cycle Observation Method (PCOM) is an observational tool developed to focus on the process of play and has shown good reliability when watching videos of children playing. This study piloted use of the PCOM in 'real time' in a pre-school setting where 3-year-old children play. The results from two independent observers not familiar with…

Engaging, focusing, and persisting in the completion of tasks are among the skills needed for school success. Tracking whether a child is learning cognitive problem-solving skills is essential in knowing if they are acquiring skills important for development and school readiness; and if not, how they are responding to early intervention. Use of…

This research was aimed to develop the Teacher Report Form of Anxiety in Pre-School children. A descriptive research was conducted with two study groups. The scale is based on teachers' assessment for preschoolers aged 3-6. During the development process of the form, the theoretical structure was examined and expert opinion was take for the…

Purpose: A myriad features can impact the nature, frequency, and length of adult-child interactions important for language learning. Empirical investigations of language learning opportunities for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) provide limited generalizable insight, with inferences more constrained to the sample than is often…

In 2017, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded Mathematica to conduct the Infant and Toddler Teacher and Caregiver Competencies (ITTCC) project. The project aims to examine existing efforts across states, institutions of higher education, professional organizations, and…

The long-term goal of the State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) and other federal and state early intervention and early childhood education initiatives is improved child and family outcomes. States play a critical role in supporting practitioners in the use of evidence-based practices to improve child and family outcomes. When practitioners…

The present study investigated teachers' and teacher aides' (TAs) agreement in their ratings of preschoolers' externalizing behavior and their associations with observed classroom behavior for a sample of children at risk of developing a disruptive behavior disorder. One hundred twenty-two teachers rated 360 students' externalizing behavior in the…

Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) frequently include the Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R) as part of rating and improving child care quality. However, studies utilizing the ITERS-R consistently report low quality, especially for basic caregiving items. This research examined whether the low scores reflected the…

The Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (PreBERS) is a standardized, norm-referenced instrument that assesses the emotional and behavioral strengths of preschool children. Two studies that investigated the test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the PreBERS are reported. In the first study, teachers rated preschool children (N = 96)…

Early identification of social-emotional behavioral problems in infants and preschoolers is critical. Nine parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments measuring preschool social-emotional behavioral problems and strengths are reviewed. Advantages to the use of parent-report and caregiver/teacher-report instruments are that they are easy…