How can online modules be used to teach undergraduate students or pre-service teachers the principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for guiding young children's behavior? To examine this overarching question, this study developed online modules with video teaching components, and conducted both formative and summative evaluations…

The term "active learning" is used in a variety of educational contexts. As described in this guide, however, it refers to an instructional approach developed by Lilli Nielsen--a Danish psychologist--for promoting the learning and development of children who have significant support needs. Nielsen's Active Learning involves a range of…

Positive reinforcement is a research-based practice essential for supporting young children's use of appropriate behaviors and skills. The application of positive reinforcement also is consistent with recommendations by national organizations for early childhood and early childhood special education. In this article, we describe eight guidelines…

In this follow-up to "Guidance for Every Child," author Dan Gartrell, EdD, expands on the advice broached in that book -- that children need guidance rather than discipline. Guidance is teaching for healthy emotional and social development. On a day-to-day basis as conflicts occur, guidance is teaching children to learn from their…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant difficulties engaging in meaningful play. Although enabling their playful engagement in social interactions is an important objective, little is known about which interventions effectively promote it. The aim of this was study to conduct a scoping study to map the breadth and…

Many early childhood assessment practices involve table top testing that requires young children to behave like an adult (e.g., follow adult directives, attend to task, and answer questions). Research and professional policy standards have identified and mandated alternatives. Authentic assessment is the alternative to conventional testing…

Never give up on any child. Tying together the theory and developmentally appropriate strategies of child guidance and behavior, this book provides you with best practices for teaching children healthy social-emotional behavior and conflict management. Through current brain research, real-life stories, and a plethora of key concepts and discussion…

Self-regulation is a significant predictor of student academic performance, over those traditional measures of intelligence and socioeconomic status. The failure to develop these skills may produce students who are at a four-times greater risk of behavioral issues, school dropout, and poor academic performance. This multiple qualitative case study…

Research Findings: The present study explored the concrete manifestations of autonomy support (AS) toward toddlers. Eight child care educators were interviewed. Based on our assessment, these educators all valued AS. A qualitative content analysis revealed 18 practices that this group of child care educators considered supportive of toddlers'…

This study examined contextually inappropriate (CI) anger in relation to emotion recognition and situation knowledge, negative social experiences, and externalizing behavior among low-income 4-year-olds attending Head Start (n = 134). Approximately 23% showed anger when presented with positive/neutral slides and videos (valence-incongruent CI…

Polli Soholt points to normalization in the first plane as leading to the successful realization of the human personality, which is the basis of social development. Children who have cultivated concentration and purposeful work at an early age develop the virtues to become world citizens. Normalization can be assisted by certain practices: 1)…

The Maryland-Minnesota Child Care Research Partnership brought together two states committed to examining critical issues in early care and education and using research findings to inform policy with an interdisciplinary team of researchers experienced in conducting studies on (1) subsidy policy; (2) quality improvement strategies; and (3)…

Background: The assessment of victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) is now a recognized aspect of clinical work for both CAMH and adult services. As juvenile perpetrators of CSA are responsible for a significant minority of the sexual assaults on other children, CAMH services are increasingly approached to assess these oversexualized younger…

A significant number of children and adolescents engage in deliberate fire setting, beyond the scope of curiosity and experimentation. Interventions developed to respond to the needs of such fire setters generally involve educational and/or psychosocial approaches. Research evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions is dominated by…

Sometimes students will exhibit various aggressive behaviors in the preschool classroom. Early childhood educators need to have behavior management strategies to manage the students' negative behaviors within the classroom setting. This article will provide a rationale for embedding literacy instruction within behavior management strategies to…