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Neighborhoods constitute a microsystem theorized to be of great importance for immigrant families, with the potential to support and facilitate families' transitions to life in the United States. Yet, few studies examine immigrants' perceptions of their neighborhoods and the extent to which different aspects of these neighborhoods, such as safety or social cohesion, may shape the ways in which immigrant families interact with other microsystems in which they are embedded. This chapter uses longitudinal, ethnographic data to explore the ways in which neighborhoods matter for the child care choices of low-income immigrant mothers. In considering the mesosystem linkages between neighborhoods and child care, several themes emerge: Mothers discussed concerns about crime and safety, availability of neighborhood resources, and the meaning of living in co-ethnic compared with predominantly European American or more diverse communities. The bioecological model is used throughout the chapter to guide our understanding of the experiences of immigrant families with young children in the United States. [To appear in H. Chu & B. Thelamour (Eds.), "Navigating Systems." New York: Springer.]

While many efforts to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) have focused on increasing teachers' and caregivers' competencies and knowledge specific to the teaching of young children, a small body of research suggests that an ECE workforce that is mentally healthy can provide the best-quality care for children. The primary research questions of this report include the following: (1) How psychologically distressed is the ECE workforce?; and (2) What "formal" and "informal" workforce supports are associated with less distress in the ECE workforce? Quality improvement efforts for ECE often focus on increasing teachers' and caregivers' competencies and knowledge specific to the teaching of young children. Now, a growing body of research suggests that supporting caregivers' psychological well-being may also be a worthy goal. This report addresses an important next step in this work: understanding the linkages between various workforce supports and teachers' psychological well-being. The findings from this report can be used to guide practices and policies in ECE programs to support teachers' psychological well-being. This report will also be helpful for researchers because it describes future studies that could be undertaken to answer remaining questions about the psychological wellbeing of the ECE workforce.

Curriculum plays an important role in ensuring continuity and progression from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to primary education. The alignment of curricula and standards across these settings shapes children's early experiences with education systems, with implications for children's relationships and engagement in both ECEC and primary school, as well as longer-term learning and well-being outcomes. Governments can achieve curricular continuity in various ways, ranging from high-level alignment of goals across multiple curriculum documents to full integration of the curriculum into a single document that covers both ECEC and primary school. The broader contexts of education systems, such as organisation and governance, the training of staff and teachers who work in these settings, matter for curricular continuity -- and an integrated curriculum alone does not guarantee a continuous experience for children. International data and in-depth case studies from seven jurisdictions (Japan, Luxembourg, New Jersey [United States], New Zealand, Norway, Scotland [United Kingdom] and Victoria [Australia]) provide insights to these different approaches to curricular alignment.

Early learning matters and can be strengthened and supported through contexts where children spend much of their time. Strong early learning experiences provide young children with opportunities to enjoy exploring their own interests and growing capabilities. Strong early learning also positively predicts well-being across a range of indicators in adulthood, including general well-being, physical and mental health, educational attainment and employment. Areas of early learning that are of particular importance include: language and literacy; numeracy and other non-verbal cognitive skills; self-regulation; emotional health, social well-being and social and emotional skills. These domains are interrelated, meaning that holistic assessment of a range of skills is necessary to understand well-being in early childhood and its implications for the future. Assessment of early learning provides an essential opportunity to reflect on whether governments, communities, schools and families are supporting the power and promise of early learning as intended.