Family child care (FCC) providers are key suppliers of care and education to young children, yet they often experience stressors that can influence their ability to provide developmentally appropriate care. This research sought to understand the direct and indirect associations among FCC providers' relationships with families they serve,…

Background: There is a concern regarding the decreasing number of family childcare (FCC) providers, due to the population that primarily relies on it. Compared to studies of center- and school-based preschool practitioners, the FCC literature is lacking robust workforce studies, including examinations of whether and how FCC providers' workplace…

Many families seek quality, inclusive care for their young children with disabilities. A key to successful inclusion is understanding the needs of families and professionals who serve them. This review examined literature about the inclusion of young children with disabilities in childcare programs and collaboration among early childhood…

This study examined whether mother-teacher, father-teacher, teacher-parent, and teacher-child relationships were linked to the socioemotional functioning of children (N = 42) aged 18-40 months. Results indicated that when mothers perceived their child's teacher more positively, fathers perceived the teacher more positively. In turn, teachers also…

Shared reading is a developmentally appropriate practice that supports children's emergent literacy and language development. Participation in shared reading, however, may be compromised for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to social-communication difficulties inherent to the disorder. The primary aim of this study was to explore…

Framed as an extension of Noddings' notion of the 'ethic of care,' the paper sets out an argument about 'Professional Love' as both a term to comprehend the reciprocal pedagogic relationship which develops in positive interactions between primary caregiver, child and parent and as a core normative component of early years educational discourse;…

The advantage of pedagogical documentation has been widely documented in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). However, little research points out how and why professionals are using pedagogical documentation from the staff's perspective itself. Therefore, this research aimed to examine how pedagogical documentation is employed…

We discuss oral history interviews with academics who laid the foundation of research and pedagogies in daycare for under three-year-olds in Europe and North and South America since the 1970s. Their work is clearly embedded in the social-political context of their country: the left-wing programmes for disadvantaged families in the U.S.A.;…

This paper offers a discussion of the literature of an under-developed area of early years research--the exploration of childminding or home-based childcare and the contribution which this form of provision makes for children and families. Despite growing interest in childminding at the policy level and some international research on understanding…

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and no intellectual disabilities were taught to increase the social play skills of children with ASD as part of a vocational training program. Participants included 3 adults, aged 21 to 27 years, and 6 children with ASD. Probes conducted throughout the study evaluated whether play skills training affected…

A child's positive sense of well-being is central to their overall growth and development. With an increasing number of mothers in the workforce, many infants and toddlers spend much time in child care services. Hence it is crucial that caregivers provide a secure base for the child to develop secure attachment with educarers. Given multiple…

Parental mentalizing, which is the capacity to understand behavior in terms of mental states and to reflect this back to a child through speech, is a key construct in child development. Adults with high mentalization promote children's secure attachment, mentalization and self-regulation. This study describes this competency in a sample of…

This Q methodological study explores emotional experiences and coping of daycare staff when working with children of divorce and their families. Two main coping strategies among daycare staff were identified: 1) Confident copers, and 2) Non-confident copers. Interviews exemplify the two main experiences. Both groups may struggle with coping in…

Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8-35 months,…

The authors discuss three steps to helping babies with transitions: observe, ask, and respond (OAR). They advise teachers about how to ask a family questions about their baby and how to give the family suggestions to alleviate the baby's stress, without offending family members. This column includes a list of recommended resources. (Contains 7…