Georgia has been at the forefront of the pre-kindergarten movement since implementing its pre-k program in 1992 and creating the nation's first state-funded universal pre-k program in 1995. Georgia's Pre-K, administered by "Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning" (DECAL), aims to provide high-quality…

The primary purpose of the accompanying final study was to evaluate the impact of two professional development models on teacher-child interactions in Georgia's Pre-K classrooms. Teachers were randomly selected to participate and were randomly assigned to one of the professional development conditions or to a control group. Because of this…

Children in the United States tend to experience a decline in positive self-concept during their adolescent years. This decline often begins around age 12 for girls and around age 14 for boys. For some, the decline can become severe in early adolescence before generally recovering in the mid-teen years. Having a negative self-concept during…

Increased emphasis has been placed on children's ability to enter kindergarten ready to learn, a concept referred to as "school readiness." School readiness has been defined by the Maryland State Department of Education as "the stage of human development that enables a child to engage in, and benefit from, primary learning…