In response to (a) an increasing need to support children with emotional and behavioral challenges in childcare settings and (b) the high rates of expulsion among preschool children, mental health consultation in early childhood settings is becoming an increasingly popular intervention strategy. At the same time, there is little agreement or…

Using survey data from former Head Start children in the third grade from 15 sites across the nation (n = 576), this study examines the relationship between maternal subjective neighborhood attributions and their children's behavioral problems. Maternal perceptions of neighborhood characteristics were measured across five domains, including…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Resilient Peer Treatment (RPT). This is a peer-mediated, classroom-based intervention for socially withdrawn, maltreated preschool children. It examined whether the RPT impact generalized from the treatment setting to larger classroom context. Eighty-two maltreated and nonmaltreated, socially withdrawn…

Early Head Start (EHS) is a comprehensive, two-generation program that provides services to low income families with children under the age of 3 years. As part of their mandate, staff members of EHS programs collaborate with other service providers in their local communities, including Part C and childcare providers. The incidence of disabilities…

Early Head Start (EHS) programs have become increasingly interested in using a reflective practice approach to help staff members attend to themselves as well as to the families they serve. Paying attention to the relationships between program staff members, between staff and families, and between parents and children is key to a successful…

Jennifer Boss, Senior Program Associate at ZERO TO THREE, spoke with three infant mental health consultants who worked with three different Early Head Start programs as part of the Pathways to Prevention (PTP) initiative. The interviews particularly focused on how to infuse technology into consultation arrangements that center around building and…

This article gives an overview of the problem of street children in Greece, within the context of global research on street children. The article draws on preliminary findings from recent research on street children in the urban centre of Athens. This is an under-researched area, with weak policy responses to a problem associated with recent…

The educational ideology of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in childhood education is influential, despite remarkably little empirical study. This article relates DAP to changes in achievement and receptive language among former Head Start children and classmates in Grades 1-3 (including between 1,564 and 4,764 children in 869 to 1,537…

Participation in various structured out-of-school time (OST) activities benefits youth socially, emotionally, and academically and may have the most positive effects for youth who are most at risk. Little research, however, has explored the questions of who participates in OST activities and why. The Harvard Family Research Project examined the…

We analyze two experiments that provided direct information on school test scores to lower-income families in a public school choice plan. We find that receiving information significantly increases the fraction of parents choosing higher-performing schools. Parents with high-scoring alternatives nearby were more likely to choose non-guaranteed…

Investing in afterschool programs helps children of rural communities break out of the cycle of poverty and creates opportunities for at-risk youth. In areas where prospects and resources are limited, afterschool programs are often the only source of supplemental enrichment in literacy, nutrition education, technology, and preparation for college…

We tested the structure of the Pictorial Scale of Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA) across groups of first and second grade children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We used confirmatory factor analysis, including latent mean structures analysis, to test the fit of competing PSPCSA factor models and examined invariance across…

The purpose of the present study was to compare the understanding of conventional time concepts by urban preschool children reared in poverty with that of their peers not raised in poverty. The questionnaire used in this study was based on the original work of Ames. Thirty-six children ranging in age from three to five years of age participated in…

According to the Head Start Act (1998), children are income-eligible for the program if their "families' incomes are below the poverty line." There are a number of statutory exceptions to this general rule and, according to the Head Start Bureau, the result is that about 6 percent of the children in the program are not poor. But the major national…

This paper examines the significance of social network and social capital in youth transition from school to work, with a focus on both instrumental and expressive aspects. In recent years the transition of Japanese young people has changed drastically, similar to young people in other industrialised countries. The individualisation of transition…