What does being a professional early childhood educator entail? This paper aims to address this question. Starting from the early 2000s, there has been increased attention to workforce professionalization in the early childhood education and care sector across OECD nations. Against the backdrop of recent early childhood workforce…

This study investigated the relationships among caregiving strain, coping, and mental health among caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the mediational moderation of caregiver needs. One hundred and ninety-three caregivers of individuals with ASD completed an online survey. Results showed that maladaptive coping…

The purpose of the present study was to understand how caregiver stress and coping behaviors impact African American and Euro-American families differently when caring for a child with autism. This study used discriminate function analysis to contrast the stress and coping profiles of Euro-American caregivers who are more acculturated with the…

Personal decision-making is a core element of self-determination and quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), however, they have traditionally been appointed a guardian to make decisions for them. Guardians are encouraged to involve their wards in decisions, but this comes with challenges as many are…

This dissertation examines the transition planning experiences of Black and Latinx families with students who have extensive support needs (ESN) in an urban school district. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the research involved collecting data through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis to explore how participant families…

Cowen Institute polls provide insights into how parents and guardians view New Orleans' uniquely decentralized K-12 public education system. This is the second of two briefs on the 2024-2025 poll, which is based on polling conducted in the fall of 2024. The survey polled 1,000 public and private school parents and guardians in Orleans Parish, as…

Early care and education (ECE) programs provide nurturing environments for young children--and the learning environments of children simultaneously serve as the working environments of early educators. In Sonoma County, approximately 140 child care centers serve children from birth through age five, along with more than 330 family child care…

This study aims to investigate the language-learning environment and educational language practices in four toddler groups measured as high quality on the 'Listening and Talking' subscale in the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale -- Revised. The empirical data are taken from a larger fieldwork conducted in four child groups, and comprise 98…

In the Canadian province of Ontario, the early childhood education and care workforce continues to be undervalued, underpaid and burdened with challenging working conditions. Drawing on Fairclough and Lazar, this study employed a feminist critical discourse analysis to explore the discourses of care work present in the 2018 childcare platforms of…

Background: Early care and education settings (ECE) are potential venues for young children to develop healthy lifestyle habits. The study assesses training needs and associations with relevant practices of licensed ECE providers across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Methods: A random sample of 823 providers completed a 97-item survey assessing…

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary impact of the Create Healthy Futures program, a self-paced, 6-lesson, web-based intervention on promoting healthy eating for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers, using a group-randomized controlled trial design with 3 repeated measurements. Methods: Nine ECE…

This study considered the quality and stability of infant and toddler nonparental child care from 6 to 36 months in relation to language, social, and academic skills measured proximally at 36 months and distally at kindergarten. "Quality" was measured separately as caregiver-child verbal interactions and caregiver sensitivity, and…

Disability-related services such as Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECIS) become a part of life for families when there is a child with disability. Many parents give up their everyday occupations such as self-care and paid work to be able to provide long-term caregiving. This Australian study explored parent perspectives of their family…

This ethnographic study relies on a combination of participant observation and 43 in-depth interviews to explore how first-year college women construct identities in cocurricular settings. Findings indicate that students relied primarily on two gendered identity strategies to engage with peers in cocurricular groups. Some women presented as…

When combined with high quality early care and education, comprehensive services are intended to support families in their role as caregivers and foster the health and well-being of children. Connecting children and families to these services is a foundational feature of the Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) models. Partnerships between EHS…