This article includes a description of a family-systems model for implementing early childhood and family support assessment and intervention practices. The model includes both conceptual and operational principles that link theory, research, and practice. Lessons learned from more than 20 years of research and practice have been used to revise and update the model, which now includes a major focus on family capacity building as a mediator of the benefits of intervention. Key components of the most recent version of the model are described, and findings from research syntheses showing the relationship between the different components of the family-systems model and parent, family, and child behavior and functioning are summarized. Future directions are described.

Findings from a metasynthesis of 15 research reviews of in service professional development to improve or change teacher content knowledge and practice and student/child knowledge and behavior are described. The research reviews included 550 studies of more than 50,000 early intervention, preschool, elementary, and secondary education teachers, educators, and practitioners. The goal of metasynthesis is to identify the common and core features of in service professional development associated with changes and improvements in educator and student outcomes. In-service professional development experts’ contentions about the key characteristics and core features of effective in-service training were used to code and analyze the research reviews. Results showed that in-service professional development was most effective when it included trainer introduction, demonstration, and explanation of the benefits of mastering content knowledge or practice, active and authentic teacher learning experiences, opportunities for teachers to reflect on their learning experiences, coach or mentor supports and feedback during the in-service training, extended follow-up supports to reinforce in-service learning, and in-service training and follow-up supports of sufficient duration and intensity to have discernible teacher and student effects. Implications for improving in-service professional development are described. Key words: Metasynthesis, case studies, in-service professional development core features, teacher change, student change.

An implementation science framework is used to differentiate between two types of practices (implementation and intervention) and to describe how the fidelity of the two practices are related and would be expected to influence outcomes of interest. The two practices are the methods and procedures used by implementation agents (e.g., a coach) to promote adoption of early childhood intervention practices and the methods and procedures used by intervention agents (e.g., early childhood practitioners) to influence changes or improvements in individual or group outcomes. Data from a study using an evidence-based adult learning practice to promote Head Start staff use of an evidence-based naturalistic instructional practice are used to illustrate the applicability of the fidelity framework.

This paper includes a nontechnical description of methods for calculating effect sizes in intellectual and developmental disability studies. Different hypothetical studies are used to illustrate how null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and effect size findings can result in quite different outcomes and therefore conflicting results. Whereas NHST uses probability levels (e.g., p < .05) to evaluate the results of studies, effect size analyses focus on the magnitude of differences between groups or contrasting conditions and the strength of the relationship among variables of interest to report and interpret study results. Two families of effect sizes are described (mean difference, correlation coefficients) that are likely to be applicable to most intellectual and developmental disability studies. Sources of information on effect size calculators are included to provide researchers ready-available data analysis procedures for computing effect sizes and confidence intervals for different types of research designs and studies.

Background. Family-centered care is now practiced throughout the world by physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals. The call for adoption of family-centered care is based on the contention that the physical and psychological health of a child is influenced by parents' psychological health where family-centered care enhances parent well-being which in turn influences child well-being. We empirically assessed whether these relationships are supported by available evidence.Method. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect influences of family-centered care and self-efficacy beliefs on parent and child psychological health. Data from more than 2900 parents and other caregivers in 15 studies were used for the analyses.Results. Family-centered care had indirect effects on parent and child psychological health mediated by self-efficacy beliefs.Conclusion. The relationships posited in the literature about family-centered care were supported by the study results.