Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute

Findings from a meta-analysis of meta-analyses of 14 different types of preservice student and beginning teacher preparation practices are described. The research synthesis included 118 meta-analyses and 12 other research studies of preservice practices-preservice student and beginning teacher outcomes. The research reports included between 5000 and 6000 studies and an estimated 2.5 to 3 million study participants. The outcomes included two different teacher quality measures and two different preservice student and beginning teacher measures. Mean difference effect sizes, confidence intervals for the average effect sizes, and generalized patterns of results were used to identify very high impact, high impact, medium impact, low impact, and no impact preservice practices. Results showed that clinically rich field experiences (extended and limited student teaching), learning experiences that included multiple opportunities for deliberate practice, faculty and school-based coaching, clinical supervision and performance feedback, different types of experiences and opportunities to learn to teach, course-based experiential learning experiences, and cooperative learning opportunities stood out as especially important practices that were related to optimal preservice and beginning teacher outcomes. The patterns of results are consistent with a practice-based approach to teacher preparation where the focus of preservice and beginning teacher education is the learning experiences and opportunities to learn and use optimal effective teaching practices.

A review of 25 technical assistance models and frameworks was conducted to identify the core elements of technicalassistance practices. The focus of analysis was on generally agreed upon technical assistance practices that wereconsidered essential for planning, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical assistance. Resultsindicated that there are five major components of technical assistance and 25 different core elements. Analyses of themodels and components found considerable variability within and between components in terms of the core elementsthat are considered most important or essential. Findings were used to define and describe the core elements of thetechnical assistance models and frameworks and how they can be used in research and evaluation studies todetermine if the use of the core elements and practices are related to changes or improvements in program,organizational, or systems practices.

<p style="text-align:justify">The analyses described in this paper permitted an evaluation of whether capacity-building professional development practices were related to early childhood intervention practitioners’ reported use of capacity-building family-centered practices. This was ascertained by structural equation modeling for two different types of family-centered practices (participatory and relational) where the two models were compared to determine the better fitting model and the sizes of effects for the relationships among the variables in the models. Results provided converging evidence that capacity-building professional development engenders practitioners’ use of capacity-building family-centered practices. Implications for practice are described.</p>

Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for examining the use of FCPs in Spain.

Findings from a meta-analysis of 26 studies investigating the effects of either the Kids on the Block or Count Me In puppet shows on changes in elementary students' attitudes toward and knowledge of individuals with disabilities are reported. The studies included 5,302 intervention group participants and 2,642 comparison group participants. Results indicated that the puppet shows had small to medium effects on changes in the participants' attitudes and knowledge, and that the sizes of effect were moderated by a number of intervention- and nonintervention-related variables. Both the strengths and limitations of the meta-analysis are described as well as are the implications for practice.

The term parapatric speciation, borrowed from biogeography, is used as a metaphor for describing and illustrating a little acknowledged change in the field of early intervention that occurred at the time of the passage of the Education of the Handicapped Act Part H early intervention legislation. The term refers to the formation of a new species from a parent population that lives adjacent to but does not interact with the parent population. Up until the passage of the Part H legislation, early intervention was defined primarily in terms of the experiences, activities, and learning opportunities used to influence infant and toddler behavior and development. Thereafter, early intervention was redefined in terms of the professional services provided young children and their families. The paper includes a discussion of the consequences of the parapatric speciation of early intervention and why the Part H/Part C is in dire need of revision and updating and what those changes might look like.

The effectiveness of three types of in‐service training designed to improve early intervention practitioners’ abilities to use family‐systems intervention practices was evaluated in the study of 473 participants. Participants attended either conference presentations or one of two types of workshops (half day/full day or multi‐day), or received one of two types of on‐site, field‐based training (basic and enhanced). Study participants made self‐ratings of the usefulness of the training content and the extent to which the trainings improved their abilities to work with families. The ratings were made either one month or six months after the trainings were completed. Results showed that both types of on‐site, field‐based training were associated with greater benefits compared with the other types of training, and that the enhanced field‐based training was associated with optimal participant benefits. The key features of in‐service training associated with positive learner benefits included active practitioner involvement in the learning opportunities (application, reflection, self‐assessment, etc.), which occurred on multiple occasions over time.

The effects of three types of in-service training on practitioners’ self-evaluations of evidence-based preschool classroom practices were evaluated in a study of 255 participants from 26 states. Participants attended either conference presentations or 1-day or 2- to 3-day workshops or received one of two types of intensive in-service training (weeklong institutes or on-site training in the participants’ classrooms). Study participants made self-ratings of the usefulness of the training content and the extent to which the training changed or improved their classroom practices, 1 or 6 months after training. Results show that both types of intensive in-service training are more effective than either conference presentations or workshops and that on-site training is more effective than weeklong institutes in affecting study participants’ judgments of the in-service training. The findings are discussed in terms of the characteristics of in-service training most likely to change or improve preschool classroom practices.

The article includes a practical definition of evidence-based practices, examples of different types of practice-based research syntheses, 3 models for conceptualizing evidence-based early childhood intervention, and a description of the implications of the definition, syntheses, and models of early

A growing body of research demonstrates that the nature of the relationship between parents and professionals and parents' judgements of their feelings of empowerment are closely linked. This article focuses on one component of this relationship—partnerships—and reports on the association between parent–professional partnership and both parent empowerment and parenting capabilities in a sample of parents with a child with a disability or developmental delay. The results of this study extend our knowledge about the nature of help‐giving that is likely to produce desirable outcomes for families.