The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted a landscape evaluation of early childhood programs in Indiana (IN) between the spring of 2021 and the summer of 2022. The evaluation included assessments of infant, toddler, and preschooler children's developmental status in multiple domains at two time points to measure growth.…

Research exploring the benefits of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) with youth is emerging and promising for the improvement of resiliencies. We developed an arts-based mindfulness intervention to make learning mindfulness accessible for children who had experienced trauma. Arts-based methods are engaging, enjoyable, and developmentally…

This study explores whether a school-based group counseling program for adolescent girls, implemented at scale, can mitigate trauma-related mental health harms. In a randomized trial involving 3749 Chicago public high school girls, we find that participating in the program for 4 months induces a 22% reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder…

It is well established that children lie in different social contexts for various purposes from the age of 2 years. Surprisingly, little is known about whether very young children will spontaneously lie for personal gain, how self-benefiting lies emerge, and what cognitive factors affect the emergence of self-benefiting lies. To bridge this gap in…

Structural equation models were used to examine pathways from maternal depression and early parenting to children's executive function (EF) and externalizing behaviours in the first nationally representative study to obtain direct assessments of children's kindergarten EF skills (i.e., the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of…

Background: Task performance is a critical factor for learning in individuals with intellectual disabilities. This study aimed to examine mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) to improve task performance for children with intellectual disability (ID). Methods: Three elementary school children with ID participated in the study. A multiple baseline…

This article describes the development, initial implementation, and formative evaluation of Arkansas's plan to reduce suspensions and expulsion from early care and education (ECE) settings. We describe how Arkansas used multifaceted implementation strategies to facilitate change in six areas: policy, workforce development, specialized supports,…

Background: Although there has been interest in the influence of cognitions on the relationship between challenging behaviour and maternal wellbeing, there is an absence of measures to specifically examine parents' perceptions of challenging behaviour. The psychometric properties of the Challenging Behaviour Perception Questionnaire (CBPQ;…

Background: Temperament has been associated with child anxiety in a number of studies; however, research examining possible mechanisms of effect using longitudinal designs is scarce. Objective: This study tested a theoretically-derived model of anxiety development spanning infancy (6 months) to early childhood (approximately 72 months) that…

Preschool expulsion is a trending social problem. To date, this is the first study that examines the teacher decision factors behind preschool expulsions. This article presents results of the development and validation of the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure (PERM). In a 2-phase analysis of the study, we provide evidence for the PERM's reliability…

The goal of this study is to inform teachers' practice by identifying specific language strategies that young children use in their play and suggesting ways that teachers can build on our findings to support students' language and literacy. Deductive analyses of video-recordings of 5-year old children playing at the sand center revealed that…

It is well documented that mothers of children with challenging behavior (CB) experience elevated levels of stress and that this persists over time, but less is known about the experience of mothers of children with rare genetic syndromes. This article describes 2 studies, 1 cross-sectional and 1 longitudinal, comparing well-being in mothers of…

Children excluded from school often have a range of unidentified needs that may directly contribute to their behaviour. Research and policy highlight the absence of screening for difficulties in children at risk of exclusion. This study aimed to assess and explore the feasibility and acceptability of neurodevelopmental and mental health screening…

Children with a significant cognitive and motor developmental delay (SDD) are vulnerable for the development of (future) behavioral and mental health problems. This paper aims to assess the social-emotional functioning of these children, both globally and in various domains. Semi-structured interviews with one or more primary caregiver(s) of 45…

This systematic review investigates the effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC), which are increasingly popular. Foreign language ECEC centres familiarise very young children with a foreign language, and in general also expose them to the majority language. This review synthesises research on the effects…