According to previous research, the leadership in early childhood education (ECE) needs to be strengthened and improved by building sustainable structures. The aim of the current research was to investigate how ECE professionals evaluate its leadership. The context of the study was a development project called Sustainable leadership in ECE…

This study describes the implementation and findings from a consultation process designed to enhance the professional development (PD) offered to teachers working in Virginia's state-funded preschool program. A PD Rubric was developed to translate research on effective PD (i.e., PD practices linked to positive changes in teacher practice and/or…

A strong emphasis has been placed on social-emotional learning (SEL) during the preschool years; however, there is a dearth of research into the drivers of program success in this setting. This study examined the effectiveness of a formal, teacher-led social-emotional learning program, COPE-Resilience, on the development of 4 to 5-year-old…

Increasingly, early education, regardless of setting type, is considered to be an educational intervention that sets the stage for children's long-term school success. Accordingly, policymakers are focused on how to develop and support educators who have the skills and capacity to deliver high-quality programming to children. A pressing question…

This study examined a five-year project initiated by the Women's Global Connection (WGC) to train pre-primary teachers in schools serving HIV/AIDS orphans in Zambia. The researchers evaluated the contextual factors of the training initiative to clarify why some teachers possess high self-efficacy, while others do not. The article analyses the…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes New Jersey's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies New Jersey will implement to address those challenges. The cross agency RTT-ELC team has continued to implement the eleven projects that the federal partners have…

This case study explored the potential applications of data mining in the educational program evaluation of online professional development workshops for pre K-12 teachers. Multiple data mining analyses were implemented in combination with traditional evaluation instruments and student outcomes to determine learner engagement and more clearly…

Delaware was in the first group of states to receive a federal grant in 2012 to improve early care and education services and increase the number of infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children in high-quality programs. One component of the state's grant is a rigorous validation process for Delaware Stars for Early Success, a voluntary quality…

The Community Connections preschool program (herein referred to as Community Connections) was developed to help prepare children in home-based child care for success in school and in life. It has three goals: (1) to make state prekindergarten classroom experiences available to children in home-based care, (2) to extend classroom learning…

High teacher turnover was a problem at the preschool for students with autism where this study took place. The primary purpose of this project was to create and implement a mentor program that would effectively decrease turnover rates of newly hired teachers. The secondary purpose was to determine whether newly hired teachers changed their…

Background: Many early intervention teams are shifting their service delivery for children with disabilities from a child-focused model to one that focuses on strengthening the competence and confidence of the child's caregivers (parents, childcare providers, preschool teachers). The use of coaching strategies in a primary coach model of service…

The Preschool Teacher Survey was designed to gather information on the experience of preschool teachers in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and their perceptions of program effectiveness regarding student cognitive development, school readiness, parent involvement, and stability of classroom enrollment. The 12-item survey was distributed,…

Survey and assessment instruments used in the Child Development Associate (CDA) Training Provider Improvement System are offered in this document. Included are a self-assessment tool for CDA training providers and an update of the National Program Survey. The survey was designed to address the need for a national database on the CDA program and…

This publication reports findings from the second year of an implementation study of the Early Childhood Cluster Initiative (ECCI). ECCI is a prekindergarten program in ten elementary schools and a community child care center in Palm Beach County, based on the design of the High/Scope Perry Preschool model. The initiative is characterized by low…

An evaluation of a prekindergarten program was conducted to assess its merit and to assist in the formative revision of program activities. The program operated in a public elementary school in a rural area close to a metropolitan area. Classroom observations, telephone interviews with 25 parents, surveys of 2 elementary school teachers, and…