Rashida Banerjee

Training Needs of Early Childhood Professionals Who Work with Children and Families Who Are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse.

The increase in numbers of children and families who are culturally and linguistically diverse served in early intervention and early childhood special education requires greater awareness and use of family-centered and culturally responsive practices. The purpose of this study was to identify the training needs, challenges, and level of preparation received by early childhood special education professionals working with children and families who are culturally and linguistically diverse. Five hundred seventy-four early childhood professionals responded to a comprehensive electronic survey. Identifying appropriate assessment instruments for assessing children who are culturally and linguistically diverse and working collaboratively with families who are culturally and linguistically diverse were reported as the most important training needs. The recommendations for preservice and inservice training programs are reported.

Assessment Practices and Training Needs of Early Childhood Professionals

Assessment plays a critical role in the planning and delivery of quality services for young children and their families. The purpose of this study was to identify the current assessment practices and training needs of early childhood professionals. A large sample of early childhood professionals responded to a comprehensive survey. The most frequently used standardized tools and nonstandardized procedures, the functions of assessment, the training needs of professionals, challenges related to assessment, and recommendations for professional preparation programs are reported.

Building Evidence in Early Childhood Special Education: A Systematic Review of Replication Intervention Studies:

Valid and evidence-informed practices are critical to help young children with disabilities and their families with highly effective interventions and instruction to reach their potentials. Replication research is critical for appraising research and identifying evidence-based practices. The purpose of this study was to replicate the methods used by Cook and colleagues and conduct a systematic review of the quantity, type, and findings of replication research in early childhood special education (ECSE). An intervention study was considered a replication if (a) the stated purpose of the study was to replicate, expand, further investigate, or use a previously conducted study as its basis and (b) the findings of the study were compared with the results of previous studies. Two hundred ninety-seven published articles in three journals relevant to ECSE from 2012 to 2016 were reviewed to identify intervention studies. From the 78 identified intervention studies, we found 44 studies (56%) that met the criteria for replication. Author overlap occurred for 20 studies out of the 44 replication studies (46%). Our investigation revealed that ECSE journals published a significantly larger number of replication studies (56%) than those reported by Cook and colleagues (31%); however, the scarce number of direct replication was concerning. We recommend intentional and proactive steps be taken to promote and value replication research in ECSE.

Leadership in implementation of quality family-centred services in early childhood: an exploration of administrators’ perceptions, needs and realities

ABSTRACT The term family-centred practices refer to a particular set of beliefs, principles, values, and practices for supporting and strengthening family capacity to enhance and promote child development and learning. Family-centred services in early childhood and early childhood special education programmes (EC/ECSE) can affect a wide range of outcomes. However, despite research documenting the potential benefits of family-centred services, full implementation in practice is difficult to achieve. In the United States, EC/ECSE administrators struggle with implementing quality family-centred services within an environment of limited resources and competing priorities. This paper provides results from an exploratory qualitative study that investigated the administrators’ perceptions, current practices and training needs, in family-centred services, and recommendations for administrators regarding implementation of quality family-centred service delivery in EC/ECSE settings.