The current randomized control trial evaluated the effectiveness of a new social-emotional learning (SEL) program, I Can Succeed for Preschools (ICS-PS). ICS-PS aims to improve preschoolers' social/interpersonal, emotional, and academic skills in an integrative way, focusing on children's core executive functions (EFs). The various components of…

Research Findings: In the past 20 years, obesity rates among U.S. children have skyrocketed. In fact, 15.4% of 2- to 4-year-olds in North Carolina, where this study takes place, are obese, making it the 5th worst obesity rate in the nation. Research indicates that young children in preschool settings largely engage in sedentary activities,…

Research Findings: We evaluated the fidelity of implementation and the sustainability of effects of a research-based model for scaling up educational interventions. The model was implemented by 64 teachers in 26 schools in 2 distal city districts serving low-resource communities, with schools randomly assigned to condition. Practice or Policy:…

Research Findings: The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of an educational intervention program to improve emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and social competence in 2-year-old Spanish children. This study makes two original contributions because there are no validated education programs for such young children and because it…

Research Findings: Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) is a mathematics curriculum developed for use with 4- and 5-year-old children. To investigate the BMLK curriculum's effect on children's mathematics knowledge, this cluster-randomized controlled trial randomly assigned child care centers to provide mathematics instruction to children, using either…

Research Findings: Shared book reading provides a meaningful context for rich conversations to occur between a child and an adult and offers opportunities for children to be exposed to a range of vocabulary and concepts that often extend beyond their everyday experiences. Few studies have examined parent-child shared book reading as a context for…

Describes a comparative longitudinal study of the development of medically fragile infants who entered intervention programs at 3 and 18 months. Reports similar outcomes on functioning measures for the first two annual assessments but higher scores in the third year for infants who received intervention earlier. (BCY)

Draws on child-care-quality research to inform our understanding of quality in early-intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Presents conceptual issues in defining quality and methodological challenges for assessing quality of early-intervention services. Discusses efforts to design a measure of quality…

Describes a series of 16 longitudinal studies conducted by Utah State University on alternative early intervention programs for disabled children, focusing on the intensity of intervention, the age intervention begins, and parent involvement. Reviews factors that gave rise to the studies, research designs and procedures, and data interpretation.…

Compared a classroom-based early intervention program for disabled children and the same program with a parent training-support component. Found a small, immediate effect on child and family functioning and a long-term positive effect on child educational placement and teacher perceptions of child functioning, in favor of the parent involvement…

Compared a center-based early intervention program for disabled children and the same program with a parent training-support component. Found no immediate or long-term benefits in child or family functioning for parent component participants in the first four years of follow-up. Concludes however, that parents should still be involved in…

Examined the effects of number of hours of early intervention services received by 72 disabled children on benefits received by children and their families. Found that hours of services received were not related to gains in child development levels. Suggests that increased services are not cost effective despite some benefits for mothers. (BCY)

Compared outcomes for visually impaired children and their families in two early intervention programs: a weekly, home-based program treating children and a program of monthly meetings for parents. Found that the more expensive, weekly program had negligible effects on child and family functioning. (BCY)

Compared cost effectiveness of an in-hospital intervention approach for medically fragile infants and a traditional approach of postdischarge referrals. Found that the in-hospital approach resulted in five times as many hours of intervention services for infants and cost three times as much as the referral approach, with few differences in effects…

Examines the degree to which states' political climates, resources, policies, and interagency services predict progress in the implementation of Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (Author/BB)