As the number of publicly funded early childhood education (ECE) programs increases, policymakers will need empirical evidence to justify the taxpayer investment. Such justification will require a stronger understanding of the essential components of an ECE program's design, as well as solid evidence on which components, or constellations of…

Telehealth training may benefit parents' use of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study is one of the few randomized trials to compare telehealth parent training in the Early Start Denver Model (P-ESDM) with a community treatment-as-usual, early intervention program. Parents were randomized to 12 weekly…

Little research has been conducted on unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) despite their growing prevalence in Africa, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, and Uganda. In this study, researchers implemented a randomized control trial with over 2,500 households to investigate the impact of Africa's child grant program on…

We conducted a randomized controlled potential efficacy trial to examine effects of two variants of the Tools for Teachers (TfT) professional development (PD) intervention on preschool teachers' implementation of embedded instruction practices and children's developmental and learning outcomes. Thirty-six preschool teachers recruited from three…

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) aim to increase college completion rates among disadvantaged youth by helping youth see themselves as "college bound." This article summarizes findings about the implementation and impacts of universal, progressive CDAs, with emphasis on outcomes for disadvantaged children. Data come from a large…

Research has consistently linked early problem behavior with later adjustment problems, including antisocial behavior, learning problems and risk for the development of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBDs). Researchers have focused upon developing effective intervention programs for young children who arrive in preschool exhibiting chronic…

There are a growing number of school-based interventions designed to promote children's social and emotional learning. One such intervention, PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies), was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial involving 5074 pupils aged 4-6 years at baseline in 56 primary schools across a large city in the UK. The…

Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs) have shown mixed effects on child development outcomes in the context of poverty. Direct parenting support integrated with CCTs may improve the effectiveness of CCTs for children's development, and benefits could occur via improvements in parenting practices or the home environment. Here, we use data from…

Purpose: To review and assess theory and research supporting DIR/Floortime™, a method proposed for treatment of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: Published materials describing the principles of DIR/Floortime™were evaluated. Published outcome research articles were assessed for the adequacy of their design and…

Recent studies show that texting-based interventions can produce educational benefits in children across a range of ages. We study the effects of a text-based program for kindergarten parents, distinguishing a general program from one that adds differentiation and personalization based on the child's developmental level. Children in the…

Globally, at least 200 million children younger than five years old are falling short of their potential for development and growth. There is some evidence that improvements to children's health, nutrition, and development outcomes can be made through programs that provide direct learning experiences to children and families; are targeted toward…

Research Findings: The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of Incredible Years Basic Parent Training (IYPT Basic) in a community clinic setting in Hong Kong. IYPT Basic is a Western program developed to promote children's academic, social, and emotional regulation skills and to reduce conduct problems among typically…

The evidence that investments in early child development can pay high, long-term dividends, is mounting, both in developed and developing countries. However, recent meta-analysis identified very few studies in developing countries. The authors report on the evaluation impact of a low-cost, community-based parent training program for early child…

A randomized control intervention study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the highly structured Heidelberg Parent-Based Language Intervention (HPLI). The outcomes of 43 children (n = 23 intervention, n = 20 control) who had been identified as late talkers during routine developmental check-ups carried out in pediatric practices at the age…

Pediatric health care represents an innovative platform for implementation of low-cost, population-wide, preventive interventions to improve school readiness. This article describes the Video Interaction Project, a targeted intervention in the pediatric primary care setting designed to enhance parenting skills and boost school readiness. The…