In Singapore, early childhood care and education has evolved according to the nation's needs since its independence in 1965. From a welfare scheme to custodial care, early childhood care and education is now recognised as a critical part of children's learning and development. Over the years, the government has progressively implemented policies…

A pioneer in the infant/family field in the United States, Magda Gerber was the founding director of Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE), known for its unique two-generation approach to the care and education of young children. This paper offers a summary of Gerber's teachings from the late twentieth century with citations pointing to their…

Two major, inter-related issues are analysed in this paper -- mother tongue (MT) and early childhood care and education (ECCE). Evidence tells us that learning first in one's MT leads to better outcomes in the future -- for individuals, cultures, and nations. But MT is used rarely in ECCE programmes and the early grades of primary school so that…

Early learning matters and can be strengthened and supported through contexts where children spend much of their time. Strong early learning experiences provide young children with opportunities to enjoy exploring their own interests and growing capabilities. Strong early learning also positively predicts well-being across a range of indicators in…

In this chapter, we call for onto-epistemological diversity in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Specifically, we discuss the need to center the brilliance of children and communities of color, which we argue, can be facilitated by foregrounding global south perspectives, such as Black and Chicana feminisms. Mainstream…

Parenting is one of the most emotionally powerful, demanding, and consequential tasks of adulthood. Previously, the task of parenting was shared with extended family and community members. Today, with less extensive networks of experience and support, parents are frequently not as well prepared. Research has identified the elements of competent…

In this paper, we call attention to the need to expand existing efforts and to develop policies, programs, and best practices in the United States designed to support parents at risk and promote parenting competence. Despite the existence of some services offered to parents of children at risk due to developmental delay or at economic risk, the…

Early childhood educators should be prepared to intervene when children demonstrate challenging behaviors. Researchers have reported many factors that may influence teachers' behavior management strategies. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among specific program, teacher, and child factors and teachers'…

Research Findings: The toddler stage is a unique developmental period of early childhood. During this stage, children are developing autonomy, self-regulation, and language capabilities through interactions with significant adults in their lives. Increasing numbers of toddlers are being enrolled in child care. This article focuses on the need to…

Government expansion of child care services is based on the assumption that both parents are employed (the adult worker model) and make cost-benefit calculations in choosing child care (the rational economic choice model). This paper addresses this assumption, based on research examining mothers' assessments of appropriate child care. These…