Background: The quality of child care is of social and economic significance worldwide. The beliefs that child care workers hold about knowing and knowledge (epistemological beliefs) influence the quality of their professional work. However, attention to epistemological beliefs is rarely a focus in vocational education programmes. Aim: The aim of…

Research during the past 15 years has repeatedly demonstrated the beneficial effects of dialogic reading (DR), a form of shared storybook reading, on the development of language in preschool children. Although much is known about the effects of DR on children, little attention has been paid to the role that adult caregivers play in the DR…

The Developing Families Project-South Africa (DFP-SA) is a community-based model of education and training for the care, support and education of vulnerable children birth-to-three and their caregivers, guardians and families in rural and peri-urban townships. The approach fosters interactive learning among community members about early care and…

The purpose of this cross-sectional descriptive study was to describe currently enrolled students in Child Development/Early Childhood Educator programs in community colleges across the state of Texas. This included students at every stage of their community college education whether they were beginning or completing degrees, certificates or…

Family members provide the majority of care for individuals with disabilities in the United States. There is growing recognition that family caregiving deserves and may require societal support, and evidence-based practices have been established for reducing stress associated with caregiving. A substantial research literature on family support has…

Aim: There is a growing evidence of the physical and mental health inequalities in people with intellectual disability (ID) although less has been written concerning the mental health of women with ID (International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities). This is compared with the substantive literature published within…

To learn about and become acclimated to the environment in which they someday plan to work, preservice teachers and pre-professional daycare providers are typically required to conduct onsite observations. Traditionally, these observations require that the pre-professional spend a required number of hours studying the dynamics of the real-world…

The early childhood education and care sector in Australia is undergoing a shift in philosophy. Changes in policy are driving the industry towards a combined early childhood education and care focus, away from one only on child care. This move has implications for the skilling of the child care workforce. This report examines workforce development…

Results are reported for 3 years of in-service training provided to managers and direct care personnel employed in community, residential, and vocational programs for developmentally disabled adults. The data demonstrate the efficacy of the training model in that 1015 (97%) of 1080 training objectives attempted were completed by the trainees at…

Increasingly, infants and toddlers in the United States are being cared for outside of the home and/or by extended family (Capizzano & Adams, 2000). This social and demographic change has placed an unprecedented level of responsibility on people other than family--caregivers--to provide a nurturing, stimulating, and safe environment that will…

The Learning Together longitudinal study focuses on four counties' efforts to expand bachelor's degree opportunities in early care and education (ECE) for adults currently working in the field. The "student cohort" model--in which small groups of ECE students with similar interests and characteristics pursue a bachelor's degree together,…

This study explores the perceptions of support workers working with adults with learning/intellectual disabilities, training and support needs. Data was collected by focus group (n = 3) and semi-structured interviews (n = 5). Participants saw their key role as maximising quality of life, identified "Trial and error" as the main mode of skill…

Childcare workers play a significant role in the learning and development of children in their care. This has major implications for the training of workers. Under new reforms of the childcare industry, the Australian government now requires all workers to obtain qualifications from a vocational education and training provider (e.g. Technical and…

Lack of appropriate child care is frequently reported by parents of children with disabilities as a major obstacle to finding and maintaining their employment. Care for children with emotional or behavioral disorders is particularly difficult to locate because child care providers often lack adequate training. Findings are presented from…

Background: Services employing staff to support people with disability usually provide training in a range of areas including communication and managing challenging behaviour. Given that such training can be costly and time-consuming, it is important to evaluate the evidence presented in support of such programs. Efficacy in clinical practice is…