This article is a commentary developed by three early childhood teacher educators who are concerned about the negative consequences of contemporary policy trends in the United States. The commentary critically examines the influence of quality improvement in early childhood as it relates to environmental rating systems and the use of teacher…

In 2006, several dedicated early childhood professionals began work on the creation of the "Nebraska Core Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals." Representatives from across Nebraska worked together. After the input from various focus groups, the document became public in July of 2007. The current revision process began in late…

The Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 is an international survey of staff and centre leaders working in early childhood education and care (ECEC), administered in ECEC centres belonging to ISCED Level 0.2, and, as an option, centres providing services for children under the age of 3. The Conceptual Framework provides…

California's schools are facing increasing complexity when it comes to educating their student populations: the next generation of children is more diverse, more likely to live in low-income families, and are majority dual language learners. Research shows that providing supportive, enriching environments for children to connect with caring adults…

This program evaluation assessed the implementation of Project PEAS toward improving health care and related outcomes for students and their families at Fonwood, Laurenzo, and Mistral early childhood centers. Among the 1,170 students enrolled at targeted schools during the 2018-2019 academic year, 356 were provided health-related services, such as…

This program evaluation assessed the implementation of Project PEAS toward improving health care and related outcomes for students and their families at Fonwood, Laurenzo, and Mistral early childhood centers. Among the 1,170 students enrolled at targeted schools during the 2018-2019 academic year, 356 were provided health-related services, such as…

This study took a life course approach to examine associations among family income from birth to age 15, and adolescent health and well-being. Utilizing latent growth mixture modeling, we identified four distinct family income trajectories based on changes in low-income status (family income [less than or equal to] 200% of the federal poverty…

The present research investigated the role of familiarity and proximity in infants' comprehension of displaced speech. When 13-and 16-month-old infants heard a researcher talk about a familiar person immediately after she left the room, they showed comprehension of the name by looking, pointing, or searching for the person in question. The…

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency, timing, and associated features of developmental regression in "MECP2" duplication syndrome. We also examined whether duplication size was associated with regression. Comprehensive psychological evaluations were used to assess 17 boys with "MECP2" duplication syndrome.…

As we speak about time in the context of everyday life, we have no problem with what we mean by time. We take time as given. Different kinds of theories of development rely on the ordinary concept of time. Time is a sequence of instants, and we are moving along from the past to the future, from birth to death. Moving in time also means…

Infants are able to map linguistic labels to referents in the world by tracking co-occurrence probabilities across learning events, a behavior often termed "cross-situational statistical learning." This study builds upon existing research by examining infants' developing ability to aggregate and retrieve word-referent pairings over time. 16- and…

Purpose: In this study, the authors assessed the hypothesis of a limitation in attentional allocation capacity as underlying poor sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Fifteen children with SLI, 15 age-matched controls, and 15 grammar-matched controls participated in the study. Sixty sentences were…

Mental representations of numerical magnitude are commonly thought to undergo discontinuous change over development in the form of a "representational shift." This idea stems from an apparent categorical shift from logarithmic to linear patterns of numerical estimation on tasks that involve translating between numerical magnitudes and…

To study children's spirituality at the beginning of the twenty-first century provides a prime opportunity for exploring the personal, social and global interconnections in the understanding and practice of spirituality. Countless definitions of spirituality have been suggested, yet it has also been said that spirituality escapes definition…

Measuring and understanding fetal neurodevelopment provides insight regarding the developing brain. Maternal nutrient intake and psychological stress during pregnancy each impact fetal neurodevelopment and influence childhood outcomes and are thus important factors to consider when studying fetal neurobehavioral development. The authors provide an…