Early child care and education providers provide instruction to diverse learners, including children with developmental delays but often lack training in use of evidence-based instructional strategies to support children's meaningful learning engagement. This preliminary study examined effects of the Early Achievements for Child Care Providers…

This study examined the effects of a newly developed on-site consultancy programme to improve global quality of the child care environment in non-parental child care centres for 0- to 4-year-old children as measured with the ITERS-R/ECERS-R. Using a randomised controlled trial with a pretest, posttest, and follow-up test, we compared 35…

Background: The childcare environment offers a wide array of developmental opportunities for children. Providing children with a feeling of security to explore this environment is one of the most fundamental goals of childcare. Objective: In the current study the effectiveness of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting-Child Care…

Background: Nutrition education in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) is designed to promote healthy eating behaviors in a low-income target population. Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of six SNAP-Ed interventions delivered in child care centers or elementary school settings in increasing participating…

Much of child care research has focused on the effects of the quality of care in early childhood settings on children's school readiness skills. Although researchers increased the statistical rigor of their approaches over the past 15 years, researchers' ability to draw causal inferences has been limited because the studies are based on…

Using data ("n" = 3,790 with 2,119 in the 3-year-old cohort and 1,671 in the 4-year-old cohort) from 353 Head Start centers in the Head Start Impact Study, the only large-scale randomized experiment in Head Start history, this article examined the impact of Head Start on children's cognitive and parent-reported social-behavioral outcomes…

The 1998 reauthorization of Head Start called for a national evaluation of the Head Start program. The goal of Head Start is to improve the school readiness skills of low-income children. Yet characteristics of Head Start programs, such as their quality and the amount of time children spend in them may influence their effectiveness at achieving…

The aim of the Kangaroo research project was to enhance the well-being of children under three years of age in Finnish day-care centres. In this experimental intervention study adults were encouraged to take a more sensitive and active role especially during "free play." In six Kangaroo groups and five control groups adults (N = 28) and…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

The aims of the studies were to assess the impact of the Little Champs programme for motor development on (1) the gross motor skills, and (2) cognitive function of children in the programme. In study 1, 118 children from one Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) were tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2, and in study 2, 83…

The Saint Paul Public Schools' Project Early Kindergarten program aims to improve the school readiness of Saint Paul children. The program offers a rigorous academic approach and targets children who are English Language Learners, come from low-income families, or need Special Education services. Ultimately, the program intends to help close Saint…

Children from low-income families benefit remarkably from exposure to compensatory education that began with Head Start in 1965 and aimed to improve school readiness skills by design. While empirical evidence has supported more instructional time in elementary and secondary schools for low-income students, little is known that whether increasing…

Objective: To describe promising recruitment and retention strategies for transient Latino populations, assisting investigators who work with this population in their research design and implementation. Methods: Strategies in recruitment and retention from a year-long intervention in children and their families are described. Results: Of the 159…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Jumpstart, a supplemental early literacy intervention, on preschool-age children from low-income backgrounds. Participants consisted of 74 low-income children from three preschools and child-care programs. Thirty-three children were randomly assigned by Jumpstart to the treatment group and 33…