The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to focus on teachers' perceptions regarding professional development training for early childhood education. The problem addressed in this study was the inadequate amount of professional development training available for early childhood teachers to address children with challenging…

Research has shown follow-up to be an important component for professional development (PD) to result in teacher behavior change. However, PD rarely includes follow-up support. This pilot study used multiple methods to determine the feasibility of Head Start (HS) directors providing teachers PD follow-up support. Two aspects of feasibility were…

Coaching is a common approach to professional development and support for quality in early care and education (ECE) settings. Coaching is an especially important part of professional development because it can be tailored to meet teachers' and family child care (FCC) providers' needs and can positively affect instructional practices, the quality…

Teachers' knowledge impacts their practices in classrooms. While considerable research has sought to understand teachers' broad emergent literacy knowledge, less is known about the specific knowledge teachers hold regarding early writing. The present study engaged 66 diverse early childhood teachers in five Head Start programs across two states to…

Background/Context: There is a convergence of evidence that the quality of children's early care and education (ECE) experiences is critical for promoting children's development (Gormley, Phillips, & Gayer, 2008). Curriculum combined with professional development is thought to be the "strongest hope" for promoting quality (Weiland…

Educators shape the quality of early education programs and are essential to children's learning and healthy development. However, the early childhood education field is often challenged in retaining educational staff. Using a descriptive research design this study explores turnover and retention through the voices of Head Start and Early Head…

Early care and education programs like Head Start provide a critical foundation for later achievement for children from vulnerable communities. Notably, recruiting and retaining bilingual teachers is an ongoing struggle for many Head Start agencies. Assistant teachers are more likely to be bilingual than their lead teacher counterparts (Jacoby, in…