Abstract To ensure that investments in expanding early childhood programs are effective in supporting children's school readiness, early childhood settings must include responsive and cognitively stimulating daily interactions between teachers and children. Few young children are exposed to the types of teacher–child interactions needed to help ensure that they are prepared to start kindergarten. In this article, I review studies identifying teacher–child interactions that promote children's development and documenting how systematic professional development enhances these areas of teachers' practice. I also address the limits to research and the policy implications of this work.
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