Professional development practices that really improve child outcomes--that's what every early childhood education program needs. With this authoritative research volume, administrators and policy makers will discover the latest findings on best professional development practices--and learn how to scale up successful efforts across an entire district or state.

Based on the annual leadership symposium of the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (NCRECE), this book is a must for anyone engaged in high-level efforts to ensure teacher quality. Through clear explanations of cutting-edge research from two dozen respected contributors, readers will

• investigate specific, field-tested professional development (PD) models that improved both teacher practice and child outcomes (with a spotlight on Robert Pianta's effective MyTeachingPartner framework)
• learn how these models helped educators teach academic content areas (early literacy, math, and science) and improve children's social-emotional skills
• examine positive teacher attributes that PD efforts should target, such as increased self-regulation skills and reduced cognitive overload
• discover success strategies for scaling up professional development efforts through existing infrastructure and more investment in teacher quality (includes an extended case study on a comprehensive PD program in Texas)
• explore the policy implications of the professional development interventions described in this volume

Essential reading for early childhood administrators, policy makers, and researchers, this important book will help bring about widespread improvements in professional development programs--key to advancing teacher quality and better outcomes for young children.