It is beneficial to keep the information concerning quality of care offered to infants and toddlers current to maximize children's outcomes. This study analyzed the data collected from 2016 to 2018 in order to examine the current status of quality of care for infants/toddlers in licensed child-care centers in North Carolina and compared findings…

The purpose of this study is to describe the use of recorded music in child care centers during naptime. Using a cross-sectional survey design, administrators and teachers from 62 child care centers in Louisiana responded to an online questionnaire designed to gather information about children's sleep habits and teacher perceptions of music…

As countries make continued investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE) systems, data and measurement play a critical role in outlining strengths and areas for improvement. To promote data-driven decision-making across all levels of early childhood systems, measurement must be valid, reliable, and feasible, especially when used at…

Quality of educator-child interaction is a well-established predictor of children's well-being and development. Situational and personal characteristics seem to play an important role in the quality of interactions. More challenging situations, such as a large number of children or activities like meals or transitions, show lower quality. One…

Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a vital role in encouraging healthy physical activity (PA) in childcare. As such, measuring ECEs' self-efficacy to facilitate such programming is important. The "ECE Confidence in Outdoor Movement, PA, and Sedentary and Screen Behaviors" (ECE-COMPASS) questionnaire (30 items) was developed via expert…

Home-based child care is a widely used form of child care. However, little is known about the heterogeneous group of caregivers that make up the home-based provider workforce and how they view themselves and their work. This study used role theory as a framework for understanding how providers view and navigate their roles. Qualitative interviews…

ECEC-based physical activity (PA) interventions have reported modest changes; however, those that are underpinned by theory seem to report more favorable outcomes. To date, no ECEC-based PA interventions have been underpinned by professional development-focused theories, despite professional development being a consistent component in such…

This multiple case study investigates the involvement of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong early childcare. Three middle-class families were chosen; one parent, one FDH, one teacher, and one preschool child within each family were interviewed. A grounded theory analysis approach was adopted to examine the interviews. Analyses revealed…

Infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) learn what it means to be members of, and to belong to and be accepted by, their societies by adopting behaviors, attitudes, manners, and ways of thinking that are deeply rooted in what is valued in their culture. Infant and toddler teachers play a pivotal role as transmitters and maintainers of culture when…

Preparing educators to understand teaching as a cultural activity is a crucial element of teacher education programs. International field experiences have shown to accomplish this goal when combined with cross-cultural mentoring and critical reflection. This qualitative eight-month study used ethnographic methods to examine significant experiences…

Since 2002, university students from the United States have had the opportunity to enroll in practicum experiences in Denmark while studying abroad. The dilemmas raised by the American students in practicum in Denmark provide a unique window through which to view pedagogical practices from different cultural perspectives. The students are able to…

Collaboration and continuity between school types are important factors that favor long-term learning and that need to be given attention in the transition between early childhood school institutions. This study highlights teachers' experiences of information sharing during the transition from Swedish preschool to preschool class (i.e., from the…

Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) frequently include the Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ITERS-R) as part of rating and improving child care quality. However, studies utilizing the ITERS-R consistently report low quality, especially for basic caregiving items. This research examined whether the low scores reflected the…

The objective of this study was to examine how quantity, type, and quality of care interact in predicting externalizing and internalizing behaviors of 36-month-old children attending Quebec's educational child care from their first years of life. To do so, the authors examined two hypothesized models: (1) a mediation model where quantity, type,…

This study used data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) and examined the relations between children's Head Start exposure and their early academic skills (i.e., language, literacy, and math skills) in the United States. Two groups of children who shared similar socio-economic status and disability status but received…