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Giving preservice teachers experience in working with students with autism is essential for successful teacher preparation. Structural equation modelling was employed to identify the factors affect...

In South Korea, there has been a rapid increase in challenging behaviors and other social-emotional difficulties at the early childhood level. Korean early childhood educators’ perspectives and strategies to address young children’s social-emotional competencies and challenging behaviors were investigated. Overall, results suggest that many Korean early childhood educators recognize the importance of social-emotional teaching strategies but report low levels of implementation of specific social-emotional strategies. The study also examined the effect of the categorical predictors such as special education teaching experience, children’s classroom age level, and duration of early childhood teaching experience on participants’ implementation levels. Korean early childhood teachers’ importance perceptions, regardless of their categorical variables, were the most influential predictor of implementation. Results are discussed and implications are delineated.

This study examined the implementation of critical features associated with positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in early childhood classrooms in the United States and South Korea. Each country has a distinct approach to providing early education for young children. There is some evidence that preschool teachers' approaches to managing young children's challenging behavior are influenced by cultural and contextual factors unique to each country. Differences in implementation status were measured using the Preschool-wide Evaluation Tool (PreSET) in early childhood classrooms in both countries. Preschool teachers in the United States used significantly more features of universal tier and program-wide PBIS related to defining and teaching behavioral expectations, responding to appropriate and challenging behavior, providing an organized and predictable environment, and having a leadership team and program support. South Korean teachers collaborated with families significantly more than teachers in the United States. Factors related to cultural variance in PBIS implementation are discussed.

The authors explored frequently cited articles across four peer-reviewed journals in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE). The Social Sciences Citation Index was used to examine journal articles from 1994 to 2005 in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Infants and Young Children, the Journal of Early Intervention, and Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. Results for the most frequently cited EI and ECSE journal articles are reported.