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The Social Skills Improvement System-Teacher Rating Scale (SSIS-TRS) has been widely used to measure the social skills and behaviors of children and adolescents that are challenging. Studies examining the psychometric properties of the SSIS-TRS have been conducted, but the dimensional structure and item properties of the SSIS-TRS have not been extensively examined with samples of preschool-age children at risk for social-emotional and behavioral difficulties. This current study was designed to examine (a) the dimensional structure of the Social Skills scale and Problem Behaviors scale of the SSIS-TRS and (b) the item function of the SSIS-TRS using item response theory analyses with data collected from teachers of a sample of 469 preschool-age children at risk for social-emotional and behavioral difficulties. A four-dimensional structure (i.e., Cooperation, Empathy and Relationship, Engagement and Interaction, and Self-Control) and a three-dimensional structure (i.e., Aggression and Defiance, Disruptiveness and Stereotypy, and Withdrawal) were identified for the Social Skills and Problem Behaviors scales, respectively. Item parameters of the SSIS-TRS were estimated using the generalized partial credit model. Item information curves were plotted for individual items; behavior indicators providing higher information for measuring corresponding social skills and problem behaviors constructs were identified. The limitations and implications for the present study are discussed.

This descriptive study included a systematic examination of provider and caregiver reflective conversations during caregiver coaching sessions focused on embedded intervention. Transcribed videos from 31 provider-caregiver dyads in two groups (Embedded Practices and Interventions with Caregivers [EPIC] vs. business-as-usual [BAU]) were used for data collection, resulting in a total of 93 transcripts across three different time points. Using methods of directed content analysis, a coding scheme describing various components of shared reflection was developed and used to code transcripts. Coding data were used to explore the rate per minute and relative frequency of types, topics, and spontaneity of reflection. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the frequency and rate of reflective versus nonreflective conversational turns, there were group differences in the reflective topics and specific types of reflective comments and questions posed by participants. Results from this study and others can help the field further define reflection as a coaching strategy and consider the potential utility of different reflective comment and question types to increase caregiver capacity to embed interventions in home routines. Further research is recommended to explicate further definitions and processes for reflection specific to caregiver coaching, including methods used to code reflective conversations and evaluate how reflection impacts caregivers' intervention implementation. [This manuscript was presented at the 2019 annual conference for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in Orlando, FL.]

Purpose: Few caregiver-implemented naturalistic language interventions (NLIs) are available for Spanish-speaking Latinos who have young children under 3 years with language delays, and there is a scarcity of studies that provide information about intervention development or social validity of interventions for this group. This study introduces Video- and App-Based Language Instruction (VALI) as a technology-based caregiver-coaching intervention being developed to increase caregivers' use of Spanish language-promoting strategies in everyday activities with their infants and toddlers. Method: Fifteen participants including caregivers, speech-language pathologists, and researchers completed an online survey and participated in focus groups to share their perspectives on the feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness of the first iteration of VALI. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results: Participants generally provided support for VALI and thought caregivers could use the technology-based intervention within naturalistic interactions. VALI materials received positive ratings for appearance, inclusivity, and understandability. Specific suggestions were provided for semantic and syntactic adjustments. Participants shared comments to improve individual VALI strategies and help ensure the asynchronous coaching procedures and targeted outcomes were culturally acceptable. Conclusions: The first iteration of VALI appears to be a promising NLI for use by Spanish-speaking Latino caregivers with their young children. After initial adaptations are made based on findings from this study, additional feasibility and efficacy evaluations should be conducted. Recommendations for further development of VALI have implications for application in similar interventions for Spanish-speaking Latino caregivers. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED628302.]

Professional development (PD), which includes coaching, has demonstrated the capacity to affect preschool teachers' use of evidence-based practices. The present study explored how coaches facilitated conversations within practice-based coaching (PBC) partnerships. A direct behavioral observation coding system was developed to investigate (a) the proportion of time spent in different conversational foci, including who initiated the conversation; (b) coach verbal behaviors; and (c) whether the conversation foci, initiations, and coach verbal behavior changed across three occasions for seven coach-teacher dyads. Results from the present study indicate coaches spent the largest proportion of time engaging in conversations with teachers focused on reflection and feedback, followed by goal setting and action planning. The coaches used verbal behaviors (supportive and constructive feedback, clarifying questions) as required by the coaching protocol across all sampled occasions. Variation in conversation foci, initiations, and coach verbal behavior across three sampled occasions was evident. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED607824.]

We used two judgment-based scales to evaluate quality features of 623 individualized family service plans (IFSP) contributed by 73 service coordinators in one state. We also explored the alignment between the skills specified in child-focused IFSP outcomes, the three Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) early childhood outcome categories, and the knowledge and skill statements included in state early learning guidelines. Findings showed IFSP content generally was family-centered and of good quality. Outcomes were more frequently aligned with the IDEA outcome categories addressing the use of appropriate behaviors to meet needs and the acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Outcomes were aligned more frequently with early learning guidelines in the areas of physical development, speech/language development, and approaches to learning. We discuss how instruments and procedures could be used to evaluate IFSP quality and determine connections to expected knowledge and skills for all children identified by state and federal programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the comparability of counts of embedded instruction learning trials when different methods of viewing and recording direct behavioral observations were used. In 13 classrooms, while videotaping embedded instruction implementation for a larger randomized controlled efficacy trial was occurring, teachers' implementation of trials was coded in situ using pencil-and-paper methods. Videos were later coded using computer-assisted methods. Dependent-samples "t" tests, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, and additional score agreement calculations were conducted. Statistically significant differences were found in the estimates of trial frequency. Correlational analyses showed positive and strong relationships between the coding methods. Coding agreement was higher across the entire observation versus during 10-min continuous event blocks. In situ coding took significantly less time than video coding. Results provide empirical evidence for the advantages and disadvantages of common viewing and recording methods for quantifying behavior as part of systematic observation systems.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of coaching caregivers to embed both communication and motor outcomes concurrently within daily routines of their infants or toddlers with significant disabilities using Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) strategies. The coaching and embedding practices were part of a multicomponent intervention known as Embedded Practices and Intervention with Caregivers (EPIC). Three children, aged 15 to 23 months with significant disabilities, their caregivers, and an early intervention provider participated in this single case multiple probe design study. Primary dependent variables were caregivers' number of naturalistic teaching strategies used and rates of correctly embedded instruction for each learning target in each routine. Child motor and communication outcomes were also examined. Results provide initial support for the positive effects of the EPIC approach using EMT strategies to embed intervention on two developmental domains concurrently in caregiver's daily routines.

Data sets from large-scale longitudinal surveys involving young children and families have become available for secondary analysis by researchers in a variety of fields. Researchers in early intervention have conducted secondary analyses of such data sets to explore relationships between nonmalleable and malleable factors and child outcomes, and to address issues of measurement. Survey data have been used to a lesser extent to examine plausible causal relationships between variables, perhaps due to the increased likelihood of selection bias that results with nonexperimental data. In this article, we use National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study data to demonstrate the use of inverse probability of treatment weighting, a quasi-experimental methodology based on propensity scores that can be used to reduce selection bias and examine plausible causal relationships. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and implications for its use in early intervention research.

All children benefit from intentional interactions and instruction to become socially and emotionally competent. Over the past 30 years, evidence-based intervention tactics and strategies have been integrated to establish comprehensive, multitiered, or hierarchical systems of support frameworks to guide social-emotional interventions for young children. In this study, the authors reviewed systematically the efficacy of classroom-wide social-emotional interventions for improving the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of preschool children and used meta-analytic techniques to identify critical study characteristics associated with obtained effect sizes. Four electronic databases (i.e., Academic Search Premier, Educational Resource Information Center, PsycINFO, and Education Full Text) were systematically searched in December 2015 and updated in January 2018. "Snowball methods" were used to locate additional relevant studies. Effect size estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses for three child outcomes, and moderator analyses were conducted. Thirty-nine studies involving 10,646 child participants met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review, with 33 studies included in the meta-analyses. Random-effects meta-analyses showed (a) improvements in social competence and emotional competence, and (b) decreases in challenging behavior. For social competence and challenging behavior, moderator analyses suggested interventions with a family component had statistically significant and larger effect sizes than those without a family component. Studies in which classroom teachers served as the intervention agent produced statistically significant but smaller effect sizes than when researchers or others implemented the intervention for challenging behavior. This systematic review and meta-analysis support using comprehensive social-emotional interventions for all children in a preschool classroom to improve their social-emotional competence and reduce challenging behavior.

Though treatment integrity measurement is important for research intended to promote social and behavioral outcomes of children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) in early childhood settings, measurement gaps exist in the field. This paper reports on the development and preliminary psychometric assessment of the treatment integrity measure for early childhood settings (TIMECS), an observational measure designed to address existing measurement gaps related to treatment integrity with tier 2 interventions in the early childhood field. To assess the preliminary score reliability (interrater) and validity (construct, discriminant) of the TIMECS, live observations (N = 650) in early childhood classrooms from 54 teachers (92.6% female, 7.4% male; 61.1% White) and 91 children (M age = 4.53 years, SD = 0.44; 45.1% female, 54.9% male; 45.1% Black) at risk for EBDs were scored by 12 coders using the TIMECS and an observational measure designed to assess teacher-child interactions. Teachers also self-reported on the quality of the teacher-child relationship. Interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients, ICC [2,2]) for the quantity (i.e., adherence) item scores had a mean of 0.81 (SD = 0.07; range from 0.68 to 0.95), and the quality (i.e., competence) item scores had a mean of 0.69 (SD = 0.08; range from 0.52 to 0.80). Scores on the TIMECS Quantity and Quality items and scales showed evidence of construct validity, with the magnitude of the correlations suggesting that the quantity and quality items assess distinct components of treatment integrity. A TIMECS quantity scale also showed promise for intervention evaluation research by discriminating between teachers who had and had not been trained in a specific evidence-based intervention targeting social and behavioral skills in early childhood. The findings support the potential of the TIMECS to assess treatment integrity of teacher-delivered practices designed to address child social and behavioral outcomes of children at risk for EBDs in early childhood settings. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED618135.]

Teacher-reported measures of treatment integrity (the extent to which prescribed practices are delivered as intended by teachers) have the potential to support efforts to evaluate and implement evidence-based interventions in early childhood settings. However, self-report treatment integrity measures have shown poor correspondence with observer-report treatment integrity measures, raising questions about score validity. This paper reports on the development and initial evaluation of the score reliability and validity of the Treatment Integrity Measure for Early Childhood Settings Teacher Report (TIMECS-TR), which is designed to address limitations of previous self-report treatment integrity measures that may have contributed to low correspondence with observer-rated measures. The TIMECS-TR includes 24 items designed to represent practices found in evidence-based interventions delivered in early childhood settings that target child social, emotional, and behavioral skills, rather than adherence to practices found in a specific evidence-based intervention. Fifty-four teachers (92.6% female, 7.4% male; 61.1% White) completed the TIMECS-TR weekly for a total of 618 times (M = 6.79 per child; SD = 2.16; range 2 to 11) about the practices they delivered with 91 children (45.1% female, 54.9% male; M = 4.53 years old; SD = 45.1% Black) who were at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Analyses indicated that the TIMECS-TR items evidenced mild to moderate test-retest score reliability over one week. However, analyses did not support the convergent score validity of the TIMECS-TR items or scale with observational ratings of the same practices. Teachers reported higher levels of practice delivery on the TIMECS-TR items relative to observer report. Overall, our findings raise concerns about the accuracy of teacher-report adherence measures. Lessons from this research can be used to identify possible reasons for the low correspondence between teacher- and observer-report treatment integrity measures so that future research can strive to dependably capture teacher delivery of the practices found in evidence-based interventions.

Despite an emphasis in the field on triadic approaches to the delivery of early intervention (EI), remarkably little is known about the shared experiences of caregivers (CGs) and providers during home visits. Within the context of developing, refining, and evaluating the "Embedded Practices and Intervention With Caregivers" (EPIC) approach, two studies were undertaken with 11 EI providers and 19 CGs of infants/toddlers with moderate-severe delays/disabilities to gather their perspectives about and experiences with the EPIC approach. The EPIC intervention has two components: CG coaching and a five-question (5Q) process for supporting embedded practices. Interview, focus group, and rating scale data were collected in both studies and aggregated for reporting purposes in the present article. Findings are described with regard to the coaching and 5Q components and the extent to which participants found the intervention to be feasible, acceptable, and useful. Implications for future research and professional development on coaching and embedded intervention practices are discussed. [For the corresponding Grantee submission, see ED581281.]

We conducted a randomized controlled potential efficacy trial to examine effects of two variants of the Tools for Teachers (TfT) professional development (PD) intervention on preschool teachers' implementation of embedded instruction practices and children's developmental and learning outcomes. Thirty-six preschool teachers recruited from three school districts were randomly assigned within each district to one of three PD conditions. Preschool children with disabilities (N = 106) from enrolled teachers' classrooms participated in the study. Results showed that, compared with business-as-usual PD teachers, teachers who received either PD intervention wrote higher-quality learning targets for study children. Teachers who received the PD intervention that included on-site coaching implemented more embedded instruction learning trials compared to teachers in the other two conditions. Compared with children whose teachers participated in BAU PD, children whose teachers received either PD intervention had greater developmental and learning gains as measured by standardized assessments.

The emphasis on social-emotional competence and its importance to positive academic and nonacademic outcomes has led to a focus on identifying and implementing effective practices for supporting young children's social-emotional competence. Our work to identify, validate, and support the fidelity of implementation of evidence-based practices to promote young children's social-emotional competence and to address challenging behavior has focused on the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children framework (Fox et al. in Infants Young Child 23:3-14, 2010; Hemmeter et al. in Sch Psychol Rev 35:583-601, 2006; Hemmeter et al., in: Buysse, Peisner-Feinberg (eds) Handbook of response-to-intervention in early childhood, Brookes, Baltimore, 2013). The implementation of the Pyramid Model practices to provide effective intervention that leads to meaningful child outcomes will require that practitioners are able to implement the practices with fidelity. Implementation science provides guidance on the "drivers" or key components that must be in place within a system to ensure the use of evidence-practices or interventions (Blase et al. in stages of implementation analysis: where are we? FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2013; Metz et al. in an integrated stage-based framework for implementation of early childhood programs and systems. OPRE Research Brief OPRE 201548, 2015). In this paper, we address competency drivers by describing an instrument that has been developed, validated, and used to measure the fidelity with which practitioners implement Pyramid Model practices. In addition, we describe the professional development intervention we have used to support teachers to implement the practices with fidelity. We focus on how a fidelity tool can be used to measure practice implementation as well as to guide professional development focused on the practices. [This article is published in "School Mental Health" (EJ1229476).]

The Learning Target Rating Scale (LTRS) is a measure designed to evaluate the quality of teacher-developed learning targets for embedded instruction for early learning. In the present study, we examined the measurement dependability of LTRS scores by conducting a generalizability study (G-study). We used a partially nested, three-facet model to estimate the variance of LTRS scores due to teachers, children, learning targets, and raters. We used these variance components to conduct a decision study (D-study) to investigate how data collection and scoring design affected the dependability of scores and to help inform future use. Findings supported the dependability of LTRS scores when used with one rater and when at least six learning targets are obtained from teachers. We discuss potential refinements for the LTRS based on the G- and D-studies and implications for using it in practice.

Despite an emphasis in the field on triadic approaches to the delivery of early intervention (EI), remarkably little is known about the shared experiences of caregivers (CGs) and providers during home visits. Within the context of developing, refining, and evaluating the "Embedded Practices and Intervention With Caregivers" (EPIC) approach, two studies were undertaken with 11 EI providers and 19 CGs of infants/toddlers with moderate-severe delays/disabilities to gather their perspectives about and experiences with the EPIC approach. The EPIC intervention has two components: CG coaching and a five- question (5Q) process for supporting embedded practices. Interview, focus group, and rating scale data were collected in both studies and aggregated for reporting purposes in the present article. Findings are described with regard to the coaching and 5Q components and the extent to which participants found the intervention to be feasible, acceptable, and useful. Implications for future research and professional development on coaching and embedded intervention practices are discussed. [At the time of submission to ERIC this article was in press with "Topics in Early Childhood Special Education."]

Educators are increasingly being encouraged to implement evidence-based interventions and practices to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of young children who exhibit problem behavior in early childhood settings. Given the nature of social-emotional learning during the early childhood years and the lack of a common set of core evidence-based practices within the early childhood literature, selection of instructional practices that foster positive social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for children in early childhood settings can be difficult. The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a study designed to identify common practice elements found in comprehensive intervention models (i.e., manualized interventions that include a number of components) or discrete practices (i.e., a specific behavior or action) designed to target social, emotional, and behavioral learning of young children who exhibit problem behavior. We conducted a systematic review of early childhood classroom interventions that had been evaluated in randomized group designs, quasi-experimental designs, and single-case experimental designs. A total of 49 published articles were identified,and an iterative process was used to identify common practice elements. The practice elements were subsequently reviewed by experts in social-emotional and behavioral interventions for young children. Twenty-four practice elements were identified and classified into content (the goal or general principle that guides a practice element) and delivery (the way in which a teacher provides instruction to the child) categories. We discuss implications that the identification of these practice elements found in the early childhood literature has for efforts to implement models and practices.

We examined individual differences and predictions of children's patterns in behavioral, emotional and attentional efforts toward challenging puzzle tasks at 24 and 35 months using data from a large longitudinal rural representative sample. Using latent transition analysis, we found four distinct task-oriented patterns in problem-solving tasks within parent-toddler/preschooler dyads representing different levels of regulatory strengths and weaknesses. We also found the relatively more positive and adaptive task-oriented patterns (i.e., the positive-motivated pattern and the content-compliant pattern) were more stable, but the relatively negative patterns (i.e., the negative-disengaged pattern and the emotional-mixed pattern) had much more variability and change from 24 to 35 months. Finally, infant attention, positive parenting, and family economic strains also significantly predicted children's task-oriented patterns at 24 months after controlling for child gender, race and maternal education. These findings contribute to prevention/intervention strategies for young children's optimal performance during challenging problem solving and their later school success.

Research Findings: Preschool social-emotional education has become an increasingly important area of research and practice in mainland China. The social development domain has been recognized as an independent preschool curricular domain since 2001. Little is known, however, about the specific practices that preschool teachers in China are using to promote children's social-emotional competence. An investigator-developed and validated measure, the "Social-Emotional Teaching Practices Questionnaire-Chinese" (SETP-C), was used to gather data about social-emotional practices from a sample of 1,599 Chinese teachers in 120 preschools. Chinese preschool teachers reported they were implementing many social-emotional practices included on the SETP-C, but were less likely to use and less confident in implementing practices that address the needs of children with persistent challenging behaviors. Teacher's role in the classroom, having teaching certification, years of teaching experience, use of a social-emotional curriculum, child-to-teacher ratio, inclusion of children with disabilities, and age group of children had statistically significant and noteworthy associations with teachers' reported frequency of use and confidence in implementing social-emotional practices. Practice or Policy: Findings from this study support the multidimensionality of preschool social-emotional practices and suggest the need for further attention to teacher, classroom, and program-wide variables related to teachers' practice implementation in support of young children's social-emotional competence.

Children who are dual language learners (DLLs) often have more difficulty acquiring English early literacy skills than their English monolingual peers. Much remains to be learned about efficacious early literacy instructional interventions and their effects on English early literacy skills of DLLs. The purposes of this systematic review were to describe key features of English early literacy interventions provided to children who were DLLs and their effects on English early literacy skills. We conducted an electronic database search and used additional methods to identify 25 studies. Studies varied in defining and characterizing children who were DLLs, including whether they were simultaneous versus sequential DLLs and how information was gathered about primary and secondary language exposure. Use of bilingual and monolingual instruction showed promise for enhancing English early literacy skills, although mixed findings were common when both language and code-related outcomes were measured. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

We used a multi-component single-subject experimental design across three preschool teachers to examine the effects of video self-monitoring with graduated training and feedback on the accuracy with which teachers monitored their implementation of embedded instructional learning trials. We also examined changes in teachers' implementation of learning trials. In each self-monitoring condition, teachers observed and recorded their implemented learning trials using video and a coding form. Conditions differed in the specificity of prompts on the coding form and the type of training and feedback provided. The combination of training, coding forms with specific prompts for learning trial components, and external feedback generally resulted in more accurate self-monitoring for two of three participants and increases in the fidelity of implementation of learning trials. Findings suggest self-monitoring can be effective for increasing the fidelity with which teachers implement embedded instructional learning trials, but systematic training and feedback are important for ensuring self-monitoring accuracy. [This paper was published in "Topics in Early Childhood Special Education" (EJ1076769).]

This research examined alternative mechanisms in the etiology of attachment disorganization. The authors hypothesized that negative intrusive parenting would significantly predict children's attachment disorganization at age 12 months within a diverse community sample. Of more substantial interest, the authors tested moderational mechanisms in the association between negative intrusive parenting, parental strong belief in discipline and control, child difficult temperament, and children's attachment disorganization. Using a multiple regression analytic approach, this research found that negative intrusive parenting significantly predicted children's attachment disorganization. This prediction was more significantly related to children's levels of attachment disorganization when it was paired with stronger rather than weaker parental beliefs in discipline and control. In contrast, when children had difficult temperament at 6 months, it was only when parents held very weak beliefs in discipline and control that children were at higher risk for attachment disorganization. Implications of the findings were discussed accordingly.

In active implementation science frameworks, coaching has been described as an important competency "driver" to ensure evidence-based practices are implemented as intended. Empirical evidence also has identified coaching as a promising job-embedded professional development strategy to support implementation of quality teaching practices. The purpose of the present article is to describe a coaching framework designed to support early childhood practitioners to implement evidence-based teaching practices with fidelity. We explicate the key components of the coaching framework, provide theoretical and empirical rationales for each component, and describe how it was operationalized for use as a coaching protocol in several studies. The studies focused on supporting preschool teachers of young children with or at risk for disabilities to implement social-emotional, behavioral, and instructional teaching practices with fidelity. For this special issue, we offer recommendations for future research and considerations for wider scale application and situate each article in the context of coaching and the coaching framework described in this article. [This article was published in "Topics in Early Childhood Special Education" (EJ1076861).]

Implementation science defines training and coaching as two important competency components to support fidelity of implementation of evidence-based practices. The present study explores the perspectives of 21 preschool teachers, located in the United States, about the professional development (PD) they received, which included training and coaching. The PD was designed to support their planning, implementation and evaluation of embedded instruction practices for young children with disabilities. The PD involved: 16.5 hours of workshops distributed across four to six weeks; the provision of job-aids; and 16 weeks of on-site coaching or 16 weeks of prompts to engage in self-coaching using a project-developed website. An interpretivist theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism using grounded theory methods was adopted to guide the analysis of focus group data obtained from teachers following their participation in the PD. We describe the components of the PD that teachers characterized as effectively transcending the web-based and on-site coaching, the challenges they experienced with embedded instruction implementation and their recommendations for enhancing coaching. Implications are offered for considering individual and environmental factors that influence knowledge acquisition and practice implementation in the classroom and sustaining teacher learning through follow-up implementation support. [This paper was published in "Professional Development in Education" (EJ1054505).]

Fidelity assessment has received renewed attention in recent years, particularly as distinctions have been made in implementation science between intervention fidelity and implementation fidelity. Considering both types of fidelity has been recommended when developing fidelity instruments. In the present article, we describe development of the pilot version of the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT-P) as a case example of designing a fidelity instrument for use in research and practice. The TPOT is a multimethod judgment-based rating scale designed to measure practitioners' fidelity of implementation of practices associated with the "Pyramid Model." We describe the structure of the TPOT-P in relation to "Pyramid Model" components and fidelity indicators. We summarize the measurement approaches grounded in generalizability theory and classical test theory that were used to investigate the psychometric properties of TPOT-P scores based on data collected by trained raters on three occasions in 50 preschool classrooms. Findings suggest the TPOT-P shows promise for dependably measuring teachers' implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices. [This article was published in "Journal of Early Intervention" (EJ1019934).]

To systematically review and evaluate existing psychometric evidence for the Family Empowerment Scale (FES), which has been widely used to measure empowerment across the world. Three databases were searched up until December 2021. Eligible studies were identified by an interdisciplinary team using the PRISMA procedure. The methodological quality of psychometrics (Risk of Bias standards) and sufficiency of each psychometric property (e.g., reliability, content validity, construct validity, responsiveness) were independently evaluated by three members, following COnsesus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). Twelve studies involving 3278 caregivers were included in the review. Studies reported limited information about content validity and study sample characteristics. There is sufficient evidence with moderate methodological quality to support structural validity for a four and three-bifactor structure. Sufficient evidence with good methodological quality was found for internal consistency. No studies examined responsiveness. Future psychometric studies of the FES should include diverse families and establish content validity following current COSMIN standards. Structural validity evidence does not support the original three-factor structure, which suggests the need to refine the theoretical measurement constructs. Responsiveness is needed prior to using FES as an instrument of change in applied research studies. The evidence for the use of the Family Empowerment Scale (FES) is primarily with families of children with disabilities who identify as white, non-Hispanic, and live in the US. Across studies, evidence suggests the FES items work well together to measure family empowerment. Caution should be used when using the FES to measure changes in empowerment over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined children's task engagement during a challenging puzzle task in the presence of their primary caregivers by using a representative sample of rural children from six high-poverty counties across two states. Weighted longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to identify a task engagement factor indicated by child positive mood, persistence, enthusiasm, and compliance at both 24 and 35 months. Child attention and maternal responsiveness were significantly related to child task engagement at 24 and 35 months controlling for demographic factors. Additionally, a challenging behavior factor in children's task-oriented behaviors was found as indicated by child negative mood, aggression and noncompliance. This factor was predicted by low maternal acceptance of child behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [This paper was written with Family Life Project Key Investigators.]

The social domain is 1 of 5 preschool curricular domains in mainland China. Chinese preschool teachers are expected to use teaching practices that foster young children's social competence. The purpose of this study was to explore a small sample of Chinese preschool teachers' use of teaching and behavior support practices associated with the "Pyramid Model." Twenty preschool classrooms in mainland China were observed using the prepublication version of the "Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool for Preschool Classrooms" (L. Fox, M. L. Hemmeter, & P. Snyder, 2008). In addition, each teacher completed a social-emotional teaching practices survey. Results indicated that Chinese teachers were observed to use, on average, about 31% of key teaching practices associated with the "Pyramid Model." They were implementing more universal promotion practices than targeted social-emotional teaching practices. Chinese teachers generally were not observed to be teaching behavior expectations and social problem solving, nor were they developing individualized interventions for children with the most persistent challenging behavior. Correlational analyses suggested that observed implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices generally was not related to self-reported use of these practices. Limitations and implications of the present study along with considerations for future research are discussed.

We conducted a potential efficacy trial examining the effects of classroom-wide implementation of the "Pyramid Model for Promoting Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence" on teachers' implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices and children's social-emotional skills and challenging behavior. Participants were 40 preschool teachers and 494 children. Using a randomized controlled design, 20 teachers received a professional development (PD) intervention to support their implementation of the practices. The 20 teachers in the control condition received workshops after all study-related data were collected. Teachers who received PD significantly improved their implementation of "Pyramid Model" practices relative to control teachers. Children in intervention teachers' classrooms were rated as having better social skills and fewer challenging behaviors relative to children in control teachers' classrooms. Exploratory analyses showed that children at elevated risk for behavior disorders in intervention teachers' classrooms had improvements in their observed social interaction skills relative to similar children in control teachers' classrooms.

The present study combined a functional abilities approach to characterizing childhood disability with person-oriented analytic techniques to identify and describe functional profiles of young children with disabilities. Nationally representative data from the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study was used, which included nearly 3,000 preschool children with disabilities. Exploratory analyses using latent class analysis were conducted to determine if distinct and interpretable subgroups of children based on shared profiles of functional ability would emerge. Five distinct latent subgroups were identified, and functional profiles for these subgroups are described. The authors examined classification accuracy and describe demographic characteristics, activity participation levels, and environmental conditions for each subgroup. The utility of a functional approach to examining childhood disability in special education and related fields is discussed.