Shared book reading is a well-established intervention for promoting child language and early development. Although most shared reading interventions have included children 3 years of age and older, recent evidence demonstrates dialogic strategies can be adapted for parents of infants and toddlers. The current study examines gains in parent…

Early childhood teachers play a critical role in the kindergarten readiness of preschool age children. Yet, they often receive little and insufficient training in the use of evidence-based practices that can increase academic success and prevent undesired behaviors. As a result, preschool teachers tend to use more exclusionary practices when…

Approximately 40% of the U.S. early care and education (ECE) workforce lacks foundational training in research-based, developmentally appropriate practices for working with young children, which can impact the quality of ECE they can provide. To support young children's positive developmental trajectories, it is critical that all teachers have…

Dialogic reading is a shared reading intervention which has been shown to increase children's oral language skills. Although dialogic reading has been heavily researched and replicated with a variety of populations, this study uniquely focused on outcomes when parents of children with a developmental delay from low socioeconomic status homes were…

A unique component of early childhood involves understanding how caregivers and educators promote children's developmental outcomes, with play opportunities being a key avenue for enhancing these skills. Targeted coaching is one type of support that can tap into active family engagement during playful learning. This collective case study examined…

Reflective conversations between teachers and coaches are critical to helping teachers improve their classroom instruction. Coaches who encourage teachers to "see, think, and do" are better able to facilitate meaningful reflective conversations with teachers. The "See, Think, Do" framework consists of six steps (observe,…

Research shows that effective and high-quality instructional coaching that targets teacher-child interactions can improve the classroom quality, increase teacher job satisfaction, reduce attrition, and even improve young children's development, such as social emotional development, and literacy skills. Coaches likely develop and sharpen their…

Research shows that conversations and daily interaction among teachers and children is crucial for their development. Observing children and interpreting their thinking processes is a significant factor in intentionally planning curriculum that emerges from children's thinking, assists them in making connections, and extends their learning. This…

The purpose of this single case study was to investigate if a functional relation existed between online training and coaching, and early interventionists' use of an approach to practice meant to facilitate family-centered practices. Four professional/family dyads participated in the study. Three of the four professionals demonstrated an immediate…

Interventions are strongly recommended for preschoolers experiencing participation difficulties in their daily life, regardless of whether or not they have a diagnosis. Best practices recommend that interventions should include the child's significant adults and be delivered in the child's environments. Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC) has…

The Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) have mandated that Early Head Start (EHS) programs implement coaching experiences for education staff (§ 1302.93, ACF 2016). Therefore, coaching in EHS with the home visitor-as-coachee warrants further attention. Despite multiple calls for coaching home visitors, there remains a lack of research…

A rich literature describes the efficacy of coaching programs for early care and education (ECE) teachers. ECE teachers can provide unique insights into the coaching process and several studies have described the coaching experience from the perspective of ECE teachers serving preschool-age children. However, limited data are available to describe…

As an initial step of a larger grant-funded project, this pilot study examined how providing preschool teachers in low socio-economic urban areas with a traditional professional development workshop and subsequent coaching on dialogic reading (DR) strategies affected their storybook reading. Effects on children's receptive and expressive language…

Literacy coaching, an effective professional development strategy for early childhood teachers, is a respected component in educational reform initiatives. This qualitative case study explored and described interactive processes between literacy coaches (n = 5) and Kindergarten teachers (n = 6). This study focused on how established kindergarten…

Forty-nine coaches, 947 teachers, and 189 administrators in a state-wide prekindergarten program responded to survey questions about coaching dosage and activities. The survey responses were aligned with the Coaching Quality Framework, an organization of characteristics of quality coaching proposed by the authors, and analyzed to identify…