Early Childhood Education and Development

This research guide is for students, educators, and researchers in the field of early years learning and child development.

Key Journals

Child Development "... published articles, essays, reviews, and tutorials on various topics in the field of child development since 1930. Spanning many disciplines, the journal provides the latest research, not only for researchers and theoreticians, but also for child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, specialists in early childhood education, educational psychologists, special education teachers, and other researchers." (publisher's description)
Early Childhood Research Quarterly "For over twenty years, Early Childhood Research Quarterly (ECRQ) has influenced the field of early childhood education and development through the publication of empirical research that meets the highest standards of scholarly and practical significance." (publisher's description)
Journal of Early Childhood Research "... provides an international forum childhood research, bridging cross-disciplinary areas and applying theory and research within the professional community."
Early Childhood Education Journal "Provides a practical and lively forum for early childhood teachers, program administrators, day care workers, and other professionals concerned with the education of young children." (ulrichsweb)
Infant and Child Development "Publishes theoretical, empirical and methodological papers covering all aspects of psychological development during infancy and early childhood." (ulrichsweb)
Early Child Development and Care "... a multidisciplinary publication that serves psychologists, educators, psychiatrists, paediatricians, social workers and other professionals who deal with research, planning, education and care of infants and young children."
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy "... a fully peer-reviewed international quarterly journal. Since its foundation in 2001 JECL has rapidly become a distinctive, leading voice in research in early childhood literacy, with a multinational range of contributors and readership. The main emphasis in the journal is on papers researching issues related to the nature, function and use of literacy in early childhood."
Infant Observation "... publishes the best of the varied and original writing emerging from this field. It comprises case studies on infant and young child observation, research papers, and articles focusing on wider applications of the psychoanalytic observational method, including its relevance to reflective professional practice in fields such as social work, teaching and nursing." (publisher's description)
International Journal of Early Years Education "... a forum for researchers and practitioners to debate the theories, research, policy and practice which sustain effective early years education world-wide." (publisher's description)
Journal of Cognition & Development "... the official journal of the Cognitive Development Society (CDS). Some CDS members are concerned with basic research or theory; others focus on policy issues and practical applications. The range of interests includes cognitive development during all stages of life." (publisher's description)

Key Databases

Sociological Abstracts [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
Sociological Abstracts covers the international literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It provides abstracting and indexing of articles and book reviews from serials publications, plus books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers.
PsycInfo [EBSCOhost] This link opens in a new window
PsycINFO contains abstracts of peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations in the disciplines of behavioral science and mental health. It contains records and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s with journal coverage spaning from the 1800s to the present in dozens of languages.
ERIC [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) provides access to education-related literature including coverage of journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs.
CBCA [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window
CBCA (Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database) is a Canadian periodical collection covering multiple subjects and topics. It features a diversified mix of publications, including scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, reports, radio and television transcripts, news, dissertations, and more.