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This study examined kindergarten teachers' views about the importance and uses of school, family, and community partnerships (SFCPs) in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. We used Epstein's model of SFCPs and explored the roles of teacher, family, and community support for parenting skills, two-way communication, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community. The study sample of 266 kindergarten teachers completed a 39 question modified survey concerning their views and use of the six general practices in an Arabic version of the Measure of School, Family, and Community Partnerships as reported by Epstein et al. (School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2009). Two-way Multiple Analysis of Variance and Chi-square tests were used to analyze teachers' responses to the survey. There were no significant associations for teacher's years of experience or socioeconomic factors in terms of their views or uses of SFCPs. Teachers believed that all of the six practices were important, but to different degrees. The findings indicate that teacher-initiated practices that include parent education, helping to support learning at home, and promoting ongoing communication were more common. Practices that could be considered more family empowerment-oriented included community collaboration, volunteering, and decision-making and were less frequently implemented. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participate in less physical activity (PA) and more sedentary behavior than their peers without ASD. Methods: The study employed Chi-square analyses of the NSCH 2016–2017 data to compare PA, TV/video watching/gaming, and usage of portable electronic devices by children with and without ASD by age and ASD severity. Results: Results suggest more than two and a half times as many children 6–11 and 12–17 years old with ASD failed to engage in 60 min of PA during the past week compared to peers without ASD. As children aged, their PA time decreased, with a larger percentage drop for children with ASD. For children ages 6–11 years, an inverse relationship was found between PA and ASD severity that was not found for older children. As the children got older, children with ASD spent more time watching TV/video watching/gaming than peers without ASD, with differing results by ASD severity. More children Birth to 5 years ASD used portable electronic devices than their peers without ASD and more young children with ASD used devices for 3 or more hours a day. Roughly the same proportions of children 12–17 years old used devices for more than 3 h a day but differential results were found between children with and without ASD for less than 1 h of device use. Conclusions for Practice: These data can be used to advocate for individualized PA interventions and services to increase PA and decrease sedentary behaviors of children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the first release of NAEYC's guidelines, DAP has received a lot of attention from childhood professionals in the United States. Internationally, many countries have also shown a growing interest regarding DAP, yet interest in DAP is new to the Saudi educators. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' subjective beliefs toward NAEYC's guidelines of DAP in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative Middle Eastern countries. Q Methodology, as a mixed methods approach, was used to study 37 preschool teachers randomly selected from five preschools in Mecca city. The participants sorted 50 cards with examples of DAP and developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) or "In Contrast" statements which represented perceived importance of the practice to the sorter. To analyze the data, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation indicated four main components regarding the beliefs of Saudi preschool teachers as they relate to DAP's guidelines. Each component represents a unique perspective (viewpoint) on how Saudi preschool teachers view DAP and contrasting items based on their subjective points of view. The four main perspectives that emerged from the analysis show a dominance consensus among perspectives that fit equitably within the DAP framework regarding the best practice of early childhood education. Findings from this study provide evidence that many aspects of developmentally appropriate practice can be appropriate in different cultures and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of the relationship between early receptive vocabulary development and social-emotional competencies examines differences among typically developing children and peers with disabilities within a state-wide program that meets all 10 of National Institute for Early Education Research (Barnett et al. 2017) programmatic benchmarks for quality early learning. Findings show that children in the sample with higher total protective factors have fewer externalized behavioral concerns and higher language development, and that children with disabilities in the sample differ in their ability to self-regulate or take initiative, and are rated higher for behavioral concerns. All children, however, increased their language above expected developmental trends after 1 year in the quality pre-K classroom. Recommendations are provided for how to deliver quality early learning that includes supporting all children's social-emotional and language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]