In recent years, several states have expanded a new publicly funded learning option: Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK bridges prekindergarten and kindergarten in its eligibility, requirements, and design. Using Michigan as a case study, we examine TK's fit in the early learning landscape. Broadly, we find TK in Michigan reduces some…

The use of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) has grown dramatically over the past decade to support the skills and reflective capacity of adults who care for infants and young children birth to kindergarten entry. Research to date has shown promise for IECMHC to support children's social and emotional development.…

This study aims to explore in greater depth the role of implementing child-friendly schools, parental involvement in enhancing the effectiveness of child-friendly school policies and practices, and evaluating the challenges that arise in the implementation of child-friendly schools. This qualitative descriptive exploratory research utilizes the…

Early care and education (ECE) apprenticeship programs provide structured on-the-job learning combined with job-related education or coursework. ECE apprenticeships are viewed as a promising strategy to prepare people for careers in ECE and provide career pathways for people currently working in ECE. ECE Registered Apprenticeship Programs--meaning…

In recent years, several states have expanded a new publicly funded learning option: Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK bridges prekindergarten and kindergarten in its eligibility, requirements, and design. Using Michigan as a case study, we examine TK's fit in the early learning landscape. Broadly, we find TK in Michigan reduces some…

This report presents the findings of the process evaluation of the Stronger Practice Hubs (SPH) programme. The SPH programme was launched in November 2022 to run as a two year programme, though was subsequently extended to the end of March 2025. The aim of the programme was to support settings to address the impact of the pandemic on young…

Background: Mastery motivational climate (MMC) interventions are an evidence-based approach utilized to deliver motor skill interventions (MSI) for young children. There are 6 environmental characteristics and instructional cues an instructor must appropriately manipulate to implement a MMC. These are known as the TARGET and stand for Task,…

Early care and education (ECE) apprenticeship programs provide structured on-the-job learning combined with job-related education or coursework. ECE apprenticeships are viewed as a promising strategy to prepare people for careers in ECE or provide career pathways for the those currently working in ECE. This report presents a framework to guide…

Early Childhood Environmental Education (EECE) and Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) are becoming increasingly integrated into preschool curricula, highlighting their key role in shaping environmentally conscious and sustainably oriented generations from an early age. The mentioned concepts represent the theoretical starting…

California made a historic commitment to early childhood education in 2021 by providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26 and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds. California's UPK initiative includes multiple early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool…

Implementation fidelity is often thought of as a necessary condition to achieve internal validity and as having a relation to student outcomes. This relation is increasingly modeled; we reviewed reading intervention studies for students in pre-K-12 in which measures of implementation fidelity were included in final data analysis. A systematic…

Federal guidance allows Head Start grant recipients to apply to the Office of Head Start to shift funding (i.e., convert enrollment slots) from Head Start services for preschool-age children to Early Head Start services for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. Yet scant information is available about how grant recipients navigate the conversion…

Early childhood education [ECE] can foster the social-emotional adjustment and development of young refugee children. Still, the large numbers of newly arriving refugee families challenge the ECE capacities of host countries. In Germany, state authorities have subsidized flexible ECE programs for refugee children in response to this situation. The…

Early childhood educators play a crucial role in language and literacy development and in promoting academic readiness. Shared book reading presented in early childhood classrooms can positively impact a child's language and literacy growth. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of a shared book reading program…

This is the methodology appendix for the report, "The Conversion of Enrollment Slots from Head Start to Early Head Start (HS2EHS) Case Studies." It includes the following sections: (1) Sample; (2) Recruitment; (3) Data Collection; and (4) Analysis.