With an average annual salary of just over $16,000, the work of early childhood education professionals is grossly undervalued and leads to high turnover rates. And yet, the quality and consistency of the care they provide to infants and young children has a lasting impact on their brain development and social-emotional well-being. This article…

Chinese kindergartens' over 110 years of adaptation of foreign models is a vivid example of how globalization comes into direct contact with Chinese culture and creates cultural hybridities. Learning Stories as a narrative assessment tool to children's development from New Zealand, has swept China with the endorsement from the professional…

Over seven million children from birth through age 5 receive child care in home-based child care (HBCC) settings, the most common form of nonparental child care in the United States. Research shows that professional development can help child care providers improve the quality of care that they offer, potentially improving children's outcomes.…

The Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 is an international survey of staff and centre leaders working in early childhood education and care (ECEC), administered in ECEC centres belonging to ISCED Level 0.2, and, as an option, centres providing services for children under the age of 3. The Conceptual Framework provides…

Coaching is a promising method for providing professional development, which takes many forms. One such form is real-time coaching through bug-in-ear technology. This study explored the social validity of bug-in-ear coaching when provided as a form of professional development with preservice and in-service early childhood educators. Data from two…

A substantial literature documents the benefits of early childhood education and formal preschool experiences on children's school readiness, with low-income and otherwise disadvantaged children benefitting the most from these programs. However, these academic benefits often fade out as children age, and most disappear by the end of kindergarten…

Young children's development occurs along a continuum, with milestones reached at ages that vary within an accepted timeframe. Milestones not met within the expected timeframe can raise concerns about developmental delays, health conditions, or other factors contributing negatively to the child's growth and learning. Monitoring children's…

Although Early Head Start (EHS) is a federal-to-local program, there are opportunities for collaboration at the state level that have expanded in recent years. State leaders can seize opportunities to break down silos and create collaborative state systems and programs to better meet the needs of vulnerable young children in their states. This…

More high quality child care is needed in the United States. This article evaluates the Better Kid Care (BKC) program produced by Pennsylvania State University Extension. Child care staff in Wisconsin were interviewed about changes they had made in their early childhood programs following participation in the BKC program. Findings show that 2…

This article explores critical issues linked to early child development (ECD) professionalism in African childhood contexts in the light of rights-based consideration. Against the backdrop of acculturation being a reality in Africa, it accepts professionalism as a "good thing" for ECD programmes in Africa. The article sketches a portrait…

The Quality Child Care Initiative, the federal apprenticeship program applied to the field of early care and education, has been implemented in over 40 states. This federal initiative was designed to reduce turnover, increase wages, provide a more stable environment for children, and lower the concern of parents. Rhode Island received funding in…

Libby Zimmerman, an early childhood consultant, explores the negative stereotypes of only children and reflects on her experiences being an only child and raising an only child. Despite decades of research pointing to the contrary, there is still a lingering suspicion that only children are spoiled, asocial, and maladjusted. The author traces the…

High-quality care is essential to the optimal development of young children. While many children attend childcare away from the home for an average of six hours per day, the environment is not necessarily of the highest quality. An assessment of the indoor and outdoor space, curriculum and activities, teacher and child interactions, materials,…

Theorizing on diversity in child development has shown three distinguishable phases, and there are signs that a fourth phase may be emerging, resting on the principle of fundamental heterogeneity in human development. Issues related to classroom applications of such an approach, dealing with culture and content, are discussed. (SLD)

The articles of this special issue are summarized. A new model for schooling is calling for a change in which adults in schools can inquire into and reflect on their own and their students' skills and on dispositions that need to be developed as well as on adult development. (SLD)