Research has shown that in Germany, language skills differ greatly already at the preschool age. There is, therefore, a strong need for high-quality language education in institutional early childhood education and care. The fact that Early childhood education and care quality has been shown to be rather low calls for implementing evidence-based…

This study examined effects of professional development for child-care staff on language acquisition of children ages 14-36 months. Child-care staff from 44 child-care centres agreed to participate in the study. Child-care staff from one-half of the child-care centres were randomly assigned to a one-time, four-hour workshop followed by three…

This study carries forward the exploration of joint attention engagement in children from 18 to 24 months of age enrolled in "low-quality" childcare centers. Childcare providers and children were videotaped to capture social interactions in the classroom including duration and bids for joint attention. One-half of 48 childcare providers…