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Evidence-based practice in the field of early childhood is the process that pulls together the best available research, knowledge from professional experts, and data and input from children and their caregivers, to identify and provide services, evaluated and proven to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.

Where do you find early childhood evidence-based practices?

The resources below provide information on evidence-based practices in areas specific to early childhood care and education, professional development, early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE).

Multiple EI/ECSE Topics

Autism
See: Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence-Based Services
Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Early Child Identification

Tracking, Referral and Assessment Center for Excellence (TRACE) (Funded by OSEP, 2002-2007): The Puckett Institute's TRACE initiative was to identify and promote the use of evidence-based practices and models for improving child find, referral, early identification, and eligibility determination for infants, toddlers, and young children with developmental delays or disabilities who are eligible for early intervention or preschool special education.

Early Childhood Transition

National Early Childhood Transition Center (NECTC) (Funded by OSEP, 2002-2007): NECTC orchestrated research focus groups to investigate and validate practices and strategies that enhance the early childhood transition process and support positive school outcomes for children with disabilities.

Early Literacy

Home Visiting

Inclusion
See also: Research and Studies on Inclusion
Professional Development

Characteristics and Consequences of Adult Learning Strategies. Trivette, C., Dunst, C., Hamby, D., and O'Herin, C. (2009). Research Brief 3(1), Tots 'n Tech Research Institute.

CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge (Funded by OSEP (2008-2014)

An Evidence-Based Approach to Professional In-service Training. Trivette, C., and Dunst, C. (2009). Presentation made at the OSEP Project Directors' Conference, July 23, 2009, Washington, DC

IRIS Center: See their collection of Evidence-Based Practice Summaries

School Readiness
See also: Multiple Early Childhood Topics
Screening, Assessment, Evaluation Instruments

Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children

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Evidence-based practice in the field of early childhood is the process that pulls together the best available research, knowledge from professional experts, and data and input from children and their caregivers, to identify and provide services, evaluated and proven to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.

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Administrative Support: Effective Professional Development for High-Quality Preschool Inclusion

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Administrative Support: Effective Professional Development for High-Quality Preschool Inclusion

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Using Evidence-Based Practices through Effective Professional Learning. 

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About the Author
Preface
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction to the Inclusive Classroom Profile

Purpose and Uses of the ICP
Development of the ICP
Exploratory Research

Conceptualization

Item Generation

Expert Review

Research on Reliability and Validity of the ICP
Using the ICP to Support Quality Improvement

2. Structure of the ICP

ICP Items
ITEM 1: Adaptations of Space, Materials, and Equipment
ITEM 2: Adult Involvement in Peer Interactions
ITEM 3: Adults' Guidance on Children's Free: Choice Activities and play
ITEM 4: Conflict Resolution
ITEM 5: Membership
ITEM 6: Relationships between Adults and Children
ITEM 7: Support for Communication
ITEM 8: Adaptation of Group Activities
ITEM 9: Transitions between Activities
ITEM 10: Feedback
ITEM 11: Family-Professional Partnerships
ITEM 12: Monitoring Children's Learning

3. Administration of the ICP

Observation Focus
Place and Duration of Assessment
Preparing for an ICP Assessment
The Classroom Observation
The Interview and Documentation Review
Training

4. Scoring the ICP

General Scoring Guidelines
The ICP Score Sheet
Specific Scoring Considerations
Interpreting and Sharing Ratings from an ICP Assessment

Frequently Asked Questions
References
Index

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inclusive classroom settings; observation tool; classroom observation; toddlers; preschool inclusion; children with diabilities; early childhood special education; building blocks for teaching preschoolers with special needs;

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The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP™) Set, Research Edition

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About the Author Preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction to the Inclusive Classroom Profile Purpose and Uses of the ICP Development of the ICP Exploratory Research Conceptualization Item Generation Expert Review Research on Reliability and Validity of the ICP Using the ICP to Support Quality Improvement 2.

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Including Children with Special Needs-Preschool and Kindergarten Inclusion Readiness Checklist

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Including Children with Special Needs-Preschool and Kindergarten Inclusion Readiness Checklist

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Including Children with Special Needs_Are You and Your Program Ready

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Choosing Quality Childcare for a Child with Disabilities

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Choosing Quality Childcare for a Child with Disabilities

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Choosing Quality Childcare for a Child with Special Needs

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Preschool Assessment of Classroom Environment Scale

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Preschool Assessment of Classroom Environment Scale

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Preschool Assessment of Classroom Environment Scale

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Quality Indicators of Inclusive Early Childhood Programs/Practices

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Quality Indicators of Inclusive Early Childhood Programs/Practices

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Example e-mail for Performance Feedback 

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Example e-mail for Performance Feedback 

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ECTA Center: Improving Systems, Practices and Outcomes

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The ECTA Center is a program of the FPG Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, funded through cooperative agreement numbers H326P170001 and H326P220002 from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the Department of Education's position or policy.

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ECE Professional Development: Training and Technical Assistance Glossary

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ECE Professional Development: Training and Technical Assistance Glossary

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Evidence: What We Know About Practice-Based Coaching

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Evidence: What We Know About Practice-Based Coaching

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001906-practice-based coaching module: role and impact of coaching - video

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001906-Practice-Based Coaching Module: Role and Impact of Coaching

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How can you support both colleagues and families as they enhance their knowledge, develop new skills, and promote healthy development of young children ? Coaching is the key-and the new edition of this bestselling guide is packed with even more practical tools to help early childhood professionals conduct skillful coaching at homes, schools, and communities.

Like the popular first edition, this book walks you step‐by‐step through the five characteristics of successful coaching practices: observation, action, reflection, feedback, and joint planning. You'll learn about the essential qualities of effective coaches and discover how to adjust your coaching techniques to meet the specific needs of early childhood educators, parents, and caregivers. And you'll get cutting‐edge new content inspired by user feedback, including updated research, the latest evidence‐based practices, and almost 80 pages of sample scripts and scenarios that help you support families of children with a wider variety of diagnoses. With this practical guide to proven coaching techniques, you'll be ready to help both professionals and families support the learning and development of all young children.

What's New

More scripts and scenarios that show what coaching looks and sounds like in the real world

A Coaching Scenario Matrix to help you find relevant examples in seconds

New chapter on coaching for early intervention service coordinators

More guidance on coaching throughout the IFSP process

New examples that address common coaching challenges

Expanded guidance on the process of coaching coaches

Answers to key questions from the authors' popular training sessions

Practical forms now available as fillable PDFs for download

Updated research on the effectiveness of coaching

Practical Materials: Downloadable tools include the Coaching Plan, Framework for Reflective Questioning, Coaching Practices Rating Scale, and Coaching Log.

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The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook [Rush Ed.D. CCC-SLP, Dr. Dathan D., Shelden PT Ph.D., Dr. M'Lisa L.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook

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Coaching and  Consultation Practices in Early Childhood

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Coaching and  Consultation Practices in Early Childhood

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Coaching is one of the best ways to enhance the skills of early childhood practitioners and ensure high‐quality learning experiences for young children with and without disabilities. With this authoritative professional learning resource, educators and early interventionists will learn how to use coaching and consultation methods to support inclusion and ensure the best outcomes for all children from birth to five.

Written by two experts on early childhood intervention and special education, this book introduces multiple models of professional collaboration and offers in‐depth guidance on how to implement an effective consultation/coaching model in early childhood settings. From big‐picture considerations to small logistical details, professionals will master the entire process of creating, maintaining, and evaluating a successful coaching relationship. In each chapter, case examples, discussion questions, chapter summaries, and group activities reinforce key points and encourage reflection.

An essential professional resource and an ideal textbook for courses on consultation and coaching, this comprehensive guide will help early childhood practitioners work together to improve educational and developmental outcomes for all young children.

DISCOVER HOW TO:

Establish ground rules and objectives for coaching

Build rapport and strong communication skills within a coaching relationship

Systematically gather information about the child, teacher, and learning environment to inform coaching practices

Work together to set and prioritize intervention goals for children

Create and implement an action plan that addresses intervention goals

Deliver effective performance feedback

Evaluate the success of both the coaching plan and the partnership

Use current technology to harness the benefits of tele‐intervention, mobile coaching, and remote consultation

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Support successful coaching and consultation with more than 25 reproducible downloads, including progress monitoring forms, action plans, a planning matrix, self‐assessments, and coaching session sample logs.

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Coaching and Consultation Practices in Early Childhood

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Amazon.com: Coaching and Consultation Practices in Early Childhood: 9781681254692: Dinnebeil Ph.D., Dr. Laurie A., McInerney Ph.D., William: Books

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Practitioners' Self-Evaluations of Contrasting Types of Professional Development. Dunst & Raab

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Practitioners' Self-Evaluations of Contrasting Types of Professional Development. Dunst & Raab

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Common PD Needs for Inclusion System Change by

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Common PD Needs for Inclusion System Change by

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Erin E. Barton, Ph.D., BCBA-D, teaches courses in Early Childhood Special Education on evidence-based assessment and intervention practices for young children with disabilities and their families and single case research design. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with children and families in homes, schools, and clinics. Her research interests include early intervention practices for young children with or atâ€"risk for disabilities in natural settings and professional development with early childhood practitioners. She directs research projects related to evidenceâ€"based practices for young children and professional development systems. Dr. Barton serves on several editorial boards and is an active scholar with over 30 publications in major journals and multiple chapters related to early intervention for young children with disabilities.

Dr. Smith received her master's degree in early childhood special education and doctorate in special education and public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her areas of interest include early childhood special education/early intervention policies, systems and program development; leadership and collaboration; and the scaling up of evidence-based practices.

Dr. Smith has held early childhood and early childhood special education positions for the past thirty five years including early childhood teacher, Executive Director of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children; Policy Specialist, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC); and Program Specialist, Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education. She has served as a consultant on state and national early childhood policy, expert witness in right to treatment litigation, prepared and delivered legislative testimony to the Congress as well as state legislatures, and has worked with many parent and professional groups in their state policy efforts.

In an effort to help shape quality inclusive early childhood environments for all children, including those with special needs, she has worked closely for many years with NAEYC and other early childhood leadership organizations including serving on the NAEYC Commission to develop the current program accreditation criteria. Dr. Smith has authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 15 books and chapters one of which was the first book for administrators on preschool inclusion: The Administrator's Policy Handbook for Preschool Mainstreaming (1993). She also chaired the most recent effort to establish the DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education to help guide the field in improving services for young children with special needs, their families and those who work with them.

She is currently Co-Principal Investigator of an OSEP funded doctoral program at UCD in early intervention and early childhood special education policy and collaborative leadership, and is involved in the OSEP funded national Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA). She is the recipient of several awards and honors.

Dr. Chen is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Intervention at Kent State University. She is the lead translator of the traditional version of Ages & Stages Questionnaires® in Chinese, Third Edition (ASQ®-3 Chinese) (by J. Squires & D. Bricker; Brookes Publishing Co., 2019). She received her doctorate in early intervention/special education from the University of Oregon and was a university postdoctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Dr. Chenâ€™s work focuses on the development and application of culturally and linguistically relevant assessments and personnel development in early childhood intervention. She loves reading, traveling, and cats.

Jaclyn (Jackie) D. Joseph, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is Executive Director at the Rise School of Denver, Colorado. Dr. Joseph has been involved in research and technical assistance for the LEAP Model, Pyramid Model, Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children, and Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Families. Dr. Josephâ€™s professional and research interests include young children with challenging behavior and interventions for improving their social-emotional competence. She also is dedicated to promoting and advocating for high-quality inclusive early care and education opportunities for all young children, and especially for her determined, strong, and amazing little girl who has a rare genetic syndrome.

Dr. Steed is Associate Professor in the Early Childhood Education program at the University of Colorado Denver. She received her doctorate in early intervention from the University of Oregon in 2006. Dr. Steed has been the principal investigator on several research projects and personnel preparation grants. She has published articles about early identification of social-emotional disorders in young children and evidence-based and culturally relevant practices to support young children with challenging behavior.

Lois M. Pribble, Ph.D., is Lecturer and Research Associate in the Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) Program at the University of Oregon. She teaches methods and applications courses in EI/ECSE with a focus on intervention in naturalistic and inclusive settings. Her research interests include social-emotional assessment and interventions for young children, coaching caregivers and practitioners, and EI/ECSE personnel preparation. Prior to becoming a university instructor, Dr. Pribble was an EI/ECSE classroom teacher, consultant, supervisor, and Child Find screener for over 15 years.

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The Preschool Inclusion Toolbox: How to Build and Lead a High-Quality Program

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Amazon.com: The Preschool Inclusion Toolbox: How to Build and Lead a High-Quality Program: 9781598576672: Barton Ph.D. BCBA, Dr. Erin E., Smith Ph.D., Dr. Barbara J., Salisbury Ph.D., Christina L.: Books

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10 key Elements of Coaching in Early Childhood

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10 key Elements of Coaching in Early Childhood

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ECE Professional Development: Training and Technical Assistance Glossary

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ECE Professional Development: Training and Technical Assistance Glossary

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The DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education: Social Validation

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The DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education: Social Validation

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Page 1: What is an EBP?

For Your Information

Although the terms evidence-based practices and evidence-based programs have been used interchangeably, experts in the field, as well as practitioners, are beginning to differentiate between them.

Evidence-Based Practice: Skills, techniques, and strategies that have been proven to work through experimental research studies or large-scale research field studies.

Evidence-Based Program: A collection of practices that, when used together, has been proven to work through experimental research studies or large-scale research field studies.

Educators often use the well established and commonly used practices and strategies that they have seen others use-including their own teachers-never questioning whether these practices are supported by evidence. In fact, some of these practices have been shown to be ineffective or have no data to support them. For example, many schools across the country have adopted a zero tolerance policy and associated disciplinary practices for certain behaviors, yet research indicates that these practices are not only ineffective but are also associated with negative student outcomes.

To improve the quality of instruction students receive and the outcomes that students achieve, the field of education has been making great efforts for a number of years to implement evidence-based practices or programs (EBPs). In general, an EBP is one whose effectiveness is supported by rigorous research. In other words, research shows that the practice or program works. Unfortunately, identifying and selecting an EBP is difficult for education professionals for a number of reasons.

There are few opportunities for educators to learn about evidence-based practices (e.g., professional development training, conferences, professional journals, a limited number of websites).

Specific information about an EBP (e.g., description of the practice, the student population it is effective with, implementation procedures, effectiveness rating) can be difficult to locate.

EBPs are often presented in formats (e.g., research article) that educators find difficult to understand and, in turn, to apply in the classroom.

Training on how to read and interpret research findings is often inadequate.

Written descriptions (especially when composed by vendors) might claim that practices and programs are evidence-based even though they are not backed by rigorous research.

The criteria for deeming a practice or program "evidence-based" might vary depending on the organization or agency producing the effectiveness rating.

The term "evidence-based" has not been used consistently. Several similar terms have been used to describe the effectiveness of programs or practices: research-based, research-validated, and best practice. Further complicating matters, these terms have evolved over time and have been used interchangeably; consequently, it can be hard to get past the terminology and determine which practices or programs have been shown by research to be effective.

To help clarify the terminology, the table below highlights some common terms you may encounter when searching for an EBP. The first term, "evidence-based practice," refers to a practice with the strongest research evidence.

Evidence-based practice

Shown to have a positive effect on student outcomes

The research design allows one to infer that the practice led to child or student improvement

Multiple high-quality studies have been conducted

Reviewed by a reputable organization (e.g., What Works Clearinghouse)

Promising practice

Shown to have positive effects on learner outcomes

The research design does not clearly demonstrate that the practice led to child or student improvement

Insufficient number of studies conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness

Research-based practice

Some research studies have demonstrated positive effects on student outcomes while other studies have not

Based on research that may or may not clearly demonstrate that the practice led to improved child or student outcomes

Multiple studies have been conducted

Emerging practice

Anecdotal evidence of effectiveness

Research has not been conducted

Other terms that you might encounter during your search for an EBP are "best practice" or "recommended practice." These terms have been used inconsistently. Sometimes these practices or programs are backed by research, and other times they are not. When reviewing these practices or programs, proceed with caution. You want to make sure they are backed by research not just anecdotal evidence or professional judgment.

Keep in mind that due to inherent difficulties posed by research, limited time, and lack of funding, not all educational practices and programs have been subjected to rigorous research.

Bryan Cook discusses the differences between evidence-based practices and promising practices and how to prioritize their use. (time: 3:05).

Transcript: Bryan Cook, PhD

There are a lot of confusing terms out there. I think it's important to think about how we use these terms and try to use them meaningfully and consistently, if possible. I think promising practices is an especially important term to be thinking about and to be using, because not everything out there is necessarily identified as an evidence-based practice. I think sometimes we slip into a way of thinking where we think of things as evidence-based practices and everything else we think, "If I'm a good educator, I'm trying to do good things for my students, I want to only use evidence-based practices," and it would be the rare day, I think, where you could go through an entire day of teaching and use only evidence-based practices. We have to think of ways to prioritize non-evidence-based practices and not think of them as all the same.

There's at least a few reasons why practices might be non-evidence-based. We might not have a formal review done where we've definitively determined that this is an evidence-based practice. There could be research out there that does indicate its effectiveness, but it's just not been reviewed and formally identified as an evidence-based practice by a scholarly journal or by the What Works Clearinghouse or some of these different systems or organizations that do that kind of work. There's probably quite a few different things out there that are supported by research but aren't identified as evidence-based just because evidence-based reviews take a lot of time and effort to do. And I think probably the most-common reason why effective practices aren't identified yet as evidence-based is that there's not a body of high-quality research done on a lot of practices. Every evidence-based practice at some point started off as a non-evidence-based practice that we didn't have enough research out yet to tell whether it was evidenced-based. And so just because something's not evidenced-based doesn't necessarily mean that it's ineffective.

So when we have some research evidence that something works, and we can consider it promising, that's important to know, and it's when...we should prioritize evidence-based practices first, but if we don't identify any relevant evidence-based practices, or the one or two evidence-based practices that we did identify ended up not working for particular students then promising practices are a very good next step that we can go to instead of just saying, "Well, I've no idea what to do next." The other reason that something might not be identified as an evidence-based practice is that we have good research that show that it doesn't produce meaningful positive effects or that it actually does harm. We don't want to use that. It obviously wouldn't be a promising practice. We don't have enough evidence-based practices to address every situation for every learner. We're going to have to go down to kind of a next level, which are promising practices, and I think that's okay.

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Although the terms evidence-based practices and evidence-based programs have been used interchangeably, experts in the field, as well as practitioners, are beginning to differentiate between them. Evidence-Based Practice: Skills, techniques, and strategies that have been proven to work through experimental research studies or large-scale research field studies.

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Defining Implementation Science

As it is a fairly new field of study, there are many published definitions of implementation science which range from narrow to broad. Some definitions emphasize closing the know-do gap, where others emphasize producing generalizable knowledge or locally fit solutions. Examples of the range of definitions include:

Improvement science 'deploys rapid tests of change to guide the development, revision and continued fine-tuning of new tools, processes, work roles and relationships' and is 'a methodology for using disciplined inquiry to solve a specific problem of practice,' ( 💻 Improvement Science at the Carnegie Foundation).

The focus of improvement science is narrower than implementation science, as it seeks to maximize the impact of lessons learned from a specific improvement effort with the intent to maximize local benefits from local solutions.

Delivery science 'is applied research that evaluates clinical or organizational practices that systems can implement or encourage' ( ✪ Lieu & Madvig, 2019), and has a broad focus compared to implementation science, targeting health systems strengthening and addressing the societal factors that impact public policy and system functioning.

Knowledge translation is 'the exchange, synthesis, and ethically sound application of researcher findings with a complex system of relationships among researchers and knowledge users,' ( ✪ Khalil, 2016). Where knowledge translation differs from implementation science is that KT does not cover how to implement knowledge.

Program science is focused on 'the totality of a program, including an appraisal of the epidemic transmission dynamics, setting appropriate prevention objectives by sub-population, selecting and combining interventions and allocating resources between interventions accordingly' ( 💻 Program Science: The Concept and Applications). Implementation science focuses on the uptake of an evidence-based practice into programmatic settings, but not on improvement of a whole program in and of itself.

Distinguishing implementation science from intervention research