As teacher shortages or teacher turnover rate continue to proliferate in the field of early childhood education (ECE) across the United States in the past few decades, there seem to be a pressing need for teacher preparation programmes to accommodate prospective ECE pre-service teachers (who do not have the chance to enroll in traditional teacher…

The papers making up this Special Section reveal important findings and begin to fill gaps in existing literature about children's and young people's understanding and developing beliefs about socio-economic inequality and poverty. We draw on our research experience with children growing up in poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam (Young…

Denver Public Schools' Professional Learning Center was still relatively new when it decided to tackle a problem of practice that has vexed systems and departments across the country: How to measure the impact of professional learning. To do so, the Professional Learning Center created a new comprehensive measurement approach--one that would…

Recruitment and retention challenges are once again leading to teacher shortages across the nation. Especially in urban and rural school districts, low salaries and poor working conditions often contribute to the difficulties of recruiting and keeping teachers, as can the challenges of the work itself. As a consequence, in many schools--especially…

University housing has the capacity to offer more than comfortable living spaces, and campuses across the U.S., including our own, are exploring models of residential learning communities that provide both academic and social support students while cultivating a strong sense of community. In this article, we describe our campus foray into offering…

Research and writing are critical components of an undergraduate education. Partnerships between economics faculty and campus resources can improve student research and writing skills. Here, the authors describe programs at three different campuses that bridge department and campus resources: the Empirical Reasoning Lab at Barnard College, the…

In 2016 the University of Padova and its Language Centre ("Centro Linguistico di Ateneo" -- CLA) became involved in the two-year "Cultura e accoglienza" Project (see Dalziel and Piazzoli in this volume), the aim of which was to encourage around 30 refugees and asylum seekers to pursue university studies by means of a…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) and the University of Texas's Project MALES began a partnership to design a mentoring system for young men of color in hopes of improving the the matriculation and sustainability of this group in college by addressing the social, economic, and cultural obstacles impacting these young men. This strong…

Limited research exists to address Native American college student experiences and culturally appropriate ways of integrating student affairs practices (Shotton, Lowe, & Waterman, 2013). In fact, the dominant society's culture in institutions of higher education is often contradictory to, and even discriminatory toward, American Indian student…

This introduction presents a general overview of the regulations, policies, programmes and actions which currently exist in Spain within the field of positive parenting. The articles featured in this special issue showcase initiatives aimed at fostering child development through the promotion of parenting competences and family support. They are…

The importance of early care and education (ECE) to children's lifelong learning and to the nation's economic well-being is recognized up to the highest levels of government and in businesses, schools, and living rooms across the country. Stakeholders and advocates in Arkansas remain committed to advancing strategies that improve ECE services,…

This report describes the early childhood degree programs offered in Washington, focusing on variations in program content, age-group focus, student field-based learning, and faculty characteristics, as well as the extent to which Washington ECE [early care and education] higher education programs are incorporating early math, family engagement,…

Tennessee is home to more than 463,000 children under the age of six. Sixty-three percent of these young children have all available parents in the workforce and, thus, potentially need child care. Stakeholders and advocates in Tennessee remain committed to advancing strategies that improve early care and education (ECE) services, including…

Tennessee is home to more than 463,000 children under the age of six. Sixty-three percent of these young children have all available parents in the workforce and, thus, potentially need child care. Stakeholders and advocates in Tennessee remain committed to advancing strategies that improve early care and education (ECE) services, including…

In this article, the authors propose a problem-based approach to education that enables learners to build critical consciousness to drive "active citizenship"; develops their abilities to frame their identities; and empowers them to critically question any systemic, cultural, and physical manifestations of exclusion and marginalization.…