This volume extends the knowledge base supporting research-informed child care for infants and toddlers, while simultaneously highlighting areas of study ripe for future research. The authors demonstrate from a systems perspective, that the experiences and outcomes of very young children in child care are influenced by characteristics of and interactions between the children, adults, and settings. Varying methodological approaches as well as the utilization of newer data collection instruments inform the field’s understanding of current practices and procedures while offering guidance for future programming and policy. In turn, the chapters highlight a plethora of open questions and a need for a new generation of research to support the field of infant/toddler care. Future challenges are evident in the recognition of the inadequate nature of our current measures of child outcomes and classroom processes, the field’s unmet promise to incorporate interdisciplinary perspectives, and the need for newer methodological designs that blend the strengths of quantitative and qualitative approaches.
These issues are important given the growing demand for infant/toddler care and the increasing recognition of the unique role of this age period in serving as the foundation for all later development. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Education and Development.
Deborah J. Norris is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Research and Inquiry Network at Stone House with Kansas State University, USA. She examines the experiences of children and adults in play-based classrooms serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. In addition, she is the leader of the Early Childhood Leadership Link, a translational research entity that supports and strengthens pedagogical leadership in early childhood settings.
Diane M. Horm is the George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Chair and Founding Director of the Early Childhood Education Institute (ECEI) at the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa, USA. She is currently leading several applied research initiatives including program evaluation research in collaboration with Tulsa’s Educare and Head Start programs. She is also leading the development of the Infants, Toddlers, Twos, and Threes Research Center, a designated University Strategic Organization, in which she is mentoring a diverse group of young researchers to partner with community agencies with the shared goal to improve services for young children and their families.
