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Coaching has received attention in early childhood education, early intervention, and family science. In the home visiting field, coaching is a distinct professional development tool to improve home visitor effectiveness in meeting the complex needs of families, improve child development outcomes, and meet home visiting field priorities (e.g., home visitor recruitment, retention, and training). Home visitors dually serve in roles as coachees when receiving professional development and as coaches for the families with whom they work. This article focuses on the roles of home visitors as coaches and as coachees. We explore justifications for coaching, models of coaching, the timing of coaching, being recipients of coaching, and the delivery of coaching to recipients. This paper underscores the complexity involved in coaching in the home visiting field and the need for further research to develop a framework and procedures for coaching best practices. Using our exploration of home visitors as coaches and coachees, we propose implications for higher education.

Research Findings: All teachers have demanding jobs and work with limited resources. However, working with young children with disabilities may place additional demands on early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers which may impact their well-being. Using the Job Demands and Resources model, the present study aimed to predict ECSE teachers' job burnout and psychological stress by using their job demands, job resources, and professional internal resources. An online survey was collected from 121 ECSE teachers from a large urban school district in a Western state of the United States. The results showed that job demands (work-related stressors) were positively associated with teachers' job burnout and psychological stress. Job resources (sense of school community) were negatively associated with their job burnout and psychological stress. Teachers' job commitment was negatively associated with job burnout. Though their other internal resources (beliefs about developmentally appropriate practices and teaching-efficacy) were not related to their job burnout and psychological stress, their beliefs about social emotional learning were positively related to job burnout. Practice or Policy: These findings offer implications for research and practice regarding the importance of improving ECSE teachers' well-being and working conditions.

Transition to kindergarten videos (in English and Spanish) are one proposed technology tool to promote parental engagement. Regression analyses were conducted to examine links between parents' video experience and parental self-efficacy, teacher communication, and school communication. High parental self-efficacy was associated with more positive perceptions about teacher communication but less positive perceptions about school communication. Parents' experience of the transition video was not associated with their parental self-efficacy. Viewing videos with children was only associated with lower levels of parental self-efficacy. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

This study examined whether mother-teacher, father-teacher, teacher-parent, and teacher-child relationships were linked to the socioemotional functioning of children (N = 42) aged 18-40 months. Results indicated that when mothers perceived their child's teacher more positively, fathers perceived the teacher more positively. In turn, teachers also perceived the parents more positively, which was related to their relationship with the child. Though teachers' perceptions of the parent were not directly related to their perceptions of children's socioemotional functioning, the link was mediated through the teacher-child relationship. However, mothers' perceptions of the teacher were not related to the teacher's relationship with the child nor the teacher's perception of the child's socioemotional functioning. Our findings stress the importance of building positive relationships between teachers and children's parents, and that these relationships contribute to teachers' relationships with children and children's socioemotional functioning.

Research Findings: This study used teacher questionnaires to investigate the relationships of early childhood education teachers' depressive symptoms, professional motivation, and job-related stress to their beliefs about children and teaching practices. Teachers (N = 207) were recruited from early childhood education programs in the southern United States. Path analyses showed that teachers who exhibited fewer depressive symptoms were more likely to have a career orientation to their jobs and indicated feeling less job-related stress. Teachers with a career orientation to their jobs were also more likely to have child-centered beliefs and endorse developmentally appropriate teaching practices. Teachers' job-related stress, however, was not related to beliefs about children or teaching practices. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that teachers' psychological and job-related well-being are linked to their beliefs about children and teaching practice in early childhood education. It is therefore important to provide support systems and preventive programs for teachers to enhance their well-being.

Video is one way to promote, and help families understand, the transition to kindergarten. The present study explored the experiences of parents with transition-to-kindergarten videos. Four videos, in English and Spanish with accompanying information sheets in English and Spanish, targeted parents for transitioning to kindergarten. There were a total of 141 parents in the six classrooms that could have received the videos and information sheets. Findings indicate that the quality of the videos was rated positively and that parents had positive experiences viewing the videos. Parents reported that the videos provided general information about the transition to kindergarten, provided examples of activities they could do to help their child transition to kindergarten, and promoted parents' understanding of child development. Findings are discussed in light of implications for researchers advancing technology tools and family involvement.

Early indicators of academic risk were used to predict the academic skills, socioemotional functioning, and receipt of special education services at age 10 among children from low-income families who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Pairwise comparison of academic skills and socioemotional functioning among early academic risk indicator groups was used, and logistic regression modeling was used to predict receipt of special education services. Children who received early intervention or early childhood special education services or were suspected of having developmental delays before age 3 or at age 5 scored lower on academic skills and poorer on socioemotional functioning at age 10 than those without academic risk indicators. Children who had only biological risks before age 3 or at age 5 did not differ in academic skills or socioemotional functioning at age 10 compared to children without any academic risk indicators. Generally, children's academic risk indicators identified later (at age 5) were stronger predictors of poor academic skills and socioemotional functioning at age 10 than were earlier academic risk indicators (before age 3). Only children who received early intervention services before age 3 or early childhood special education services at age 5 were more likely to receive special education services at age 10 than other groups. Early universal screening, monitoring, and continuous provision of appropriate services for children from low-income families and with academic risks are discussed.

Although home visiting is growing as a service for families with young children, the field does not adequately prepare the home visiting workforce, and higher education courses on home visiting are rare. Many home visitors are prepared through higher education as teachers, social workers, or nurses, which provides knowledge but few of the skills needed to collaborate with families to support their children's development, revealing a need for focused pre-service preparation for home visiting. We conducted a qualitative study to (1) describe the present state of preparation in higher education and (2) propose recommendations for strengthening home visitor preparation via higher education. Focus groups (N = 43) were conducted at conferences that included some focus on early childhood home visiting. Individual interviews (N = 11) were conducted parallel to focus groups. Participants were faculty and administrators in higher education or home visiting related professionals. Using thematic analysis, three major themes surfaced: (1) learning, training, and awareness in higher education; (2) blending of a myriad of skills in home visiting; and (3) unification and support needs. Our findings emphasize the need for higher education to provide professional preparation for careers in home visiting. We offer recommendations to meet this need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined associations among parenting style, home literacy practices, and children's language skills. A total of 181 ethnically diverse parents, primarily African American, and their preschool-aged child participated. Results suggest that an authoritative parenting style was positively associated with informal home literacy (book reading) practices and formal literacy (parental teaching) practices whereas an authoritarian parenting style was negatively associated with informal home literacy practices. Informal home literacy experience was positively and parents' teaching literacy was negatively related to children's oral language scores. In a mediational model, parents who were more likely to have authoritative parenting style provided their children with informal (reading) home literacy experiences, which in turn, was associated with children's oral language skill. Parent education was positively related to home literacy experiences and directly related to children's oral language skill. Findings suggest that researchers should acknowledge multiple aspects of parenting when considering relations among home literacy practices and children's language and literacy development.

The current study examined (1) associations among teachers' experiences regarding children with disabilities (i.e., education, specialized training, years of work experience), their attitudes toward disabilities, and their classroom practices in relation to inclusion and (2) associations among children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities and child and teacher factors. Ninety-one 4- and 5-year-old children participated in an interview, and their teachers completed a survey. Teachers' specialized training and bachelor's degree in early childhood education (ECE) were positively associated with their inclusive practices in the classroom; teachers' bachelor's degree in ECE and experiences working with children with disabilities were positively associated with their attitudes toward disabilities and inclusion; and children's perceived contact with people who have disabilities was positively associated their attitudes toward peers with disabilities. However, none of the teacher factors predicted children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Early childhood teachers need more training opportunities to learn about disabilities to develop positive attitudes toward disabilities and inclusion. Providing frequent contact with people with disabilities may enhance children's acceptance of peers with disabilities.

Noting the lack of research on how early childhood education (ECE) programmes within family literacy programmes influence Latino children's early language and literacy development, this study examined key features of ECE programmes, specifically teacher-child interactions and child engagement in language and literacy activities and how these features relate to Latino children's early language and literacy development. Participants were 181 Latino children (3-5 years old) from low-income families enrolled in 22 ECE programmes within family literacy programmes. Teacher-child interactions were of medium quality on socioemotional support and low quality on instructional quality. Latino children spent about 20% of their day engaged in language and literacy activities. Multilevel regression analysis results showed that the length of Latino children's engagement in language and literacy activities in ECE programmes was more strongly related to their English oral language skills and alphabet knowledge than the quality of teacher-child interactions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the following: (i) associations among children's prior contact with people with disabilities and the three dimensions of children's attitudes towards people with disabilities: children's understanding of and their feelings about people with disabilities and their behavioural intentions to make inclusion decisions; (ii) the relation between children's behavioural intentions to make inclusion decisions and the demands of activity contexts and the types of disabilities; and (iii) the association between parents' attitudes and children's attitudes. Participants included 94 typically developing four-and five-year-old preschoolers. Children's understanding of disabilities and their prior contact with people with disabilities were found to be positively related to their feelings about people with disabilities; children's understanding of disabilities was a significant moderator of the relation between their behavioural intentions and activity contexts or types of disabilities. The hypothesized association between parents' attitudes and children's attitudes was not significant. Preschoolers may benefit from having more regular contact with people with disabilities to develop positive feelings towards their peers with disabilities, which is also related to their understanding of disabilities. Children's behavioural intentions to make inclusion decisions need to be understood in relation to their understanding of disabilities, the demand of activity contexts, and types of disabilities.

Background: Teacher qualifications have been emphasized as a basis of professional development to improve classroom practices for at-risk children's school readiness. However, teacher qualifications have often not been compared to another form of professional development, in-service training. Objective: The current study attempts to investigate contributions of multiple types of professional development to school readiness skills of low-income preschoolers. Specifically, we examined the significance of teachers' education level, degree, teaching certificate, teaching experiences as well as specialized in-service training and coaching support as these teacher trainings are linked to preschoolers' school readiness through proximal classroom practices. Method: We used a multi-level path analysis to examine multiple pathways from teachers' professional development to classroom environments and school readiness with Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2003 (N = 2,159). Results: Teachers with an early childhood education major provided higher-quality provision for learning and social-emotional practices in the classroom; teachers who received coaching provided higher-quality social-emotional and parent involvement practices. Further, children in higher-quality social-emotional classrooms had better math skills, social skills and learning behaviors; children in the classrooms with higher-quality parent involvement practices had higher receptive vocabulary and parent-reported social skills and positive approaches to learning. Conclusions: Along with early childhood education degree, ongoing coaching support would work effectively, improving classroom environments and a broad array of school readiness skills of at-risk children.

This study examined the prevalence of indicators of disability or potential disability among preschool-aged children enrolled in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Longitudinal Follow-Up. Three categories of indicators were established: received Part B services, developmental risk, and biological risk. The majority of participating children (62%) were classified into at least one category. Children living in poverty from birth through preschool and of minority status were among those most likely to be classified; these children were likely to have received a variety of services. The majority of children who received Part C services (79.8%) received Part B services as preschoolers, but 33% of the children with a developmental risk identified before age 3 continued to have a developmental risk during preschool yet did not receive specialized services. Results highlight the importance of understanding the relations among child and family characteristics and service receipt to inform policy and practice. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examined mothers' and fathers' parenting challenges and strategies/resources used when parenting toddlers. Through a qualitative interview protocol, implemented with mothers and fathers separately at a university laboratory, this study found that both fathers and mothers appeared to be transitioning from traditional gender roles towards co-parenting practices. Thirty-eight, mostly Caucasian and middle-class, mothers and fathers of toddlers reported many similarities in parenting challenges, coping strategies, and resource use. Common sources of parenting stress for both mothers and fathers were developmental and behavioural concerns about their toddler and time management concerns in balancing between various responsibilities. Some fathers reported difficulty and less perceived competence in taking care of children during daily routines than did mothers. Mothers used a greater variety of emotion regulation strategies than fathers did. These strategies, which included support-seeking from more diverse sources (e.g. families, friends, books), were used to reduce their stress. Implications for the content and delivery methods of co-parenting and parenting education programmes are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

This study investigated mothers' and fathers' language use in dyadic and triadic contexts. Specific attention was paid to factors associated with the quantity and quality of mother and father language use in triadic settings. Sixty-three predominantly middle-class, two-parent families with toddlers (age 16 to 37 months) participated. Mother-child and father-child dyads and mother-father-child triads were observed in a laboratory setting during structured and free-play sessions. Results reveal differences in father and mother language usage across contexts and differential patterns of associations between fathers' and mothers' language use and children's language use in triadic settings. Mothers' language use in triadic settings was predicted by child age, maternal education, and maternal employment status. In contrast, father language use was related to child age, paternal sensitivity, and balanced co-parenting. Results are discussed in relation to Family Systems Theory and existing research on co-parenting and father involvement literatures. (Contains 5 tables and 4 figures.)

Warm and responsive parenting is optimal for child development, but this style of parenting may be difficult for some parents to achieve. This study examines how parents' observed warmth and their reported frequency of parent-child activities were related to children's classifications as having biological risks or a range of disability indicators. Children were low-income prekindergarteners who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project Longitudinal Follow-up. Data from parent, early care and education staff reports, and direct child assessments were used to classify children into the following groups: disabilities, suspected delays, biological risks, disabilities and biological risk, suspected delays and biological risk, and no disability indicator. Socioeconomic status (ethnicity, maternal education and poverty level) and maternal depression were controlled in the analyses. The parents of children with disabilities and suspected delays evidenced significantly lower levels of warmth and less frequent parent-child activities compared with other parents. The parents of children with biological risk factors who did not also have disabilities or suspected delays did not exhibit decreased warmth and less frequent parent-child activities. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

This study examined school readiness at kindergarten entry for low-income children whose disability indicators were identified before age 3. Data were collected as part of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Longitudinal Follow-Up study. Children who had suspected developmental delays and did not receive Part C services had lower preacademic skill scores at kindergarten entry than those who had no disability indicators. In contrast, the preacademic skills at age 5 of children who received Part C services did not differ from those who had no disability indicators. A large proportion of children who had suspected developmental delays and did not receive Part C services by age 3 received Part B services later. Results highlight the importance of early intervention for low-income children who have suspected developmental delays to enhance their school readiness skills. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study examined relations among children's individual experiences, global classroom quality, and school readiness. Preschool children from low-income backgrounds (N = 138; M = 62.16 months; SD = 3.93; range = 55-70) were observed in their early care and education settings, and their language and cognitive skills were assessed. Research Findings: Individual children in classrooms with small group sizes had higher quality individual experiences even though global classroom quality was not necessarily better. Higher levels of global classroom quality did not ensure that every child in the classroom was engaged fully in available interactions and activities. Children with disabilities were generally enrolled in classrooms with higher global quality and had higher quality individual experiences than those without disabilities; however, children without disabilities enrolled in these inclusive classrooms did not necessarily have a higher level of individual experiences than those in non-inclusive classrooms. Children's individual experiences and the global quality of their classrooms were associated with their social skills. Only the quality of children's individual experiences was found to be related to the quality of their relationships with teachers. Practice or Policy: Ratings of children's individual experiences provide information beyond that provided by global ratings of classroom quality and have potential for informing efforts to individualize educational programs. (Contains 1 footnote and 8 tables.)

Research Findings: This study is intended to widen the debate around the bachelor's degree (BA) as preparation for early childhood teaching when head teachers possess various levels of credentials and education. We examined classroom quality and teacher involvement in 231 classrooms sponsored by 122 different agencies, staffed and supervised by teachers and program directors who had varying levels of credentials within the California Child Development Permit. We found that not only teachers' education and credential level but also the credential level of the program director as well as auspice predicted classroom quality. In private, nonprofit programs as well as Head Start/general child care programs, teacher BAs did predict classroom quality, but when classrooms were sponsored by school districts and the state, preschool program teacher BAs were not as predictive of classroom quality. Practice or Policy: These findings point to the importance of considering not only teachers' education but also the effects of supervision and auspice when examining the influences of variations in professional development on classroom quality. (Contains 6 tables and 1 footnote.)

This three-phase study, part of a larger study conducted by the Midwest Child Care Research Consortium (MCCRC), investigated the characteristics of child care providers in inclusive and non-inclusive center-based classrooms and family child care homes, the observed quality of care in a subset of these programs, and families' perceptions of quality and satisfaction with child care services. A telephone survey of 2022 randomly selected Midwestern providers, 36% of whom provided inclusive services, revealed that inclusive providers rated themselves higher on most quality-related indicators. Inclusion status was related to observed quality in family childcare homes (n=132), with non-inclusive homes higher, while trends in the opposite direction were observed in preschool center-based classrooms (n=112) but not in infant/toddler center-based classrooms (n=105). Six percent of the 1325 parents surveyed reported parenting a child with a disability. These parents indicated less income, and more frequent changes in child care settings than other families, and reported the quality of their children's child care as good, particularly if center-based. Improved access to inclusive child care services and enhanced training opportunities related to serving children with disabilities and inclusion, especially for family child care providers, is recommended.