Amanda Williford
Biographic Data
| ID | 4604982 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amanda Williford |
| GIVEN NAMES | Amanda |
| FAMILY NAME | Williford |
| SIGNATURE | WILLIFORD A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Virginia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8626-3906 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 64 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Are You Ready for It? Educator Readiness for Change and STREAMin3 Curriculum Implementation
Effective implementation of comprehensive early childhood education (ECE) curricula is considered a key component in supporting children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. However, limited research has examined how educator-level factors, such as readiness for change (RFC), are associated with curriculum use during large-scale implementation efforts. This study investigated associations between early educators’ RFC and their self-repor…
Developing Self-Regulation Through Peer Relationships
Recent empirical studies in early childhood education indicate that peer relationships are an underexamined contributor to preschoolers’ school readiness. Self-regulation, a core aspect of school readiness, is an important predictor of future mental/behavioral health and academic achievement and may be developed in relation to appropriately structured peer interactions. Identifying mechanisms for promoting self-regulation through channels that ar…
Using data to promote inclusion through early childhood mental health consultation
Introduction Early childhood educators continue to need support to build their capacity to promote positive social and emotional development and address challenging behavior when it occurs, without resorting to exclusion. One approach to improve the experiences and outcomes of young children through better support to educators is Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC). ECMHC is an evidence-based intervention that pairs a mental health…
The joint development of self-regulation and expressive language in preschool classrooms
Readiness for change in early childhood education
This study explores readiness for change (RFC) in infant and early childhood education through the perspectives of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) consultants and social‐emotional (SEL) coaches. Specifically, this research examines how these professionals perceive educators’ RFC, identify barriers and facilitators to engagement, and implement strategies to tailor intervention efforts based on educators’ individual levels of readi…
Supporting all learners through high quality early childhood curricula
Introduction Curricula are an essential component of high-quality early learning experiences. Unfortunately, many early childhood educators face challenges in accessing evidence-based curricula, and implementation fidelity to curriculum is often poor without aligned support, including professional development for educators. This is especially true for educators within family day homes and private programs, who receive the lowest pay, struggle to …
Missing Out
Research Findings: Students perceived as struggling to regulate their emotions and behavior are at risk for experiencing classroom and school exclusion beginning in preschool. In this preliminary and exploratory secondary data analysis study, we examined teachers’ self-reported use of classroom-based soft exclusionary discipline practices with kindergarten students whom they perceived as displaying the lowest self-regulation and social skills. In…
Elucidating linkages of executive functioning to school readiness skill gains
Implementation of an early childhood mental health consultation pilot in Virginia
Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) is a targeted prevention service that aims to build the capacity of early care and education (ECE) professionals and foster supportive environments that promote children’s social–emotional competence and improve mental health and well-being. A key challenge to delivering ECMHC at scale is navigating complex multi-level factors to maximize successful implementation and program benefits at scale. T…
Teacher and Child Factors Associated with Emotion Talk between Teachers and Preschoolers Displaying Elevated Externalizing Behaviors
Research Findings: Talking about emotions with their caregivers help young children develop emotional competence, and is particularly beneficial for children who display elevated externalizing behaviors. However, prior descriptive work has shown that teacher-child emotion talk in preschool classrooms is scarce. As children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, there is value in understanding the factors associated with te…
A conceptual model to understand and address racial disparities in exclusionary discipline through teacher-child relationships
Narrowing the Research-to-Practice Gap in Effective Professional Development in a State Preschool Program
Examining the association between neighborhood conditions and school readiness across low and highly segregated school attendance boundaries
Neighborhood characteristics are well documented determinants of adolescent and adult health and well-being. One such neighborhood characteristic heavily explored in K-12 research is the role of residential segregation on educational outcomes. Surprisingly, little is known about how community conditions, as well as racial segregation, relate to children’s early school readiness. This is a critical gap in the field as children’s school readiness i…
Teacher and Classroom Predictors of Preschool Teacher Stress
Research Findings: Better understanding the correlates of teacher stress is critical to develop effective, targeted prevention and intervention efforts to decrease early childhood educator stress and ultimately improve outcomes for educators and young children. Previous studies of early childhood educator stress have mostly focused on teacher professional background and child behavior in relation to stress and rarely simultaneously considered oth…
The relation between teacher and child race, teacher perceptions of disruptive behavior, and exclusionary discipline in preschool
How does inhibitory control predict emotion regulation in preschool? The role of individual children’s interactions with teachers and peers
Emotion regulation is foundational to children's psychological wellbeing and future school adjustment. As young children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, investigating how early childhood classrooms can foster emotion regulation development is warranted. In this study, we tested individual children's interactions with teachers and peers as potential mechanisms through which inhibitory control supports emotion regulat…
Supporting Young Children Exposed to Potentially Traumatic Events
Every year in the United States, millions of young children under the age of 5 are exposed to potentially traumatic events that threaten their safety, security, and well-being. Decades of scientific research clearly demonstrate the pervasive negative consequences of trauma exposure on young children’s neurocognitive, psychosocial, and physical development, with adverse effects extending into adulthood. In addition, early childhood trauma is now w…
Behavioral Self-Regulation as a Protective Factor for Children at Risk of Reading Failure
Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to understand how well two state screening measures, administered at school entry, predicted the first-grade reading outcomes of a large sample of first-time kindergarteners (N=5,480) at high risk for future reading failure. We examined young children’s emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation skills in the fall of kindergarten in relation to de…
Alignment of teacher ratings and child direct assessments in preschool
Exploring dyadic teacher–child interactions, emotional security, and task engagement in preschool children displaying externalizing behaviors
Based on attachment theory, we tested whether the link between dyadic teacher–child interactions and task engagement operates through a child's security with the teacher. In a sample of preschoolers ( N = 470) rated by their teachers as exhibiting elevated disruptive behaviors, the quality of dyadic teacher–child interactions and children's security were observed using a standardized task. Children's engagement with tasks was both observed in the…
Observed quality of classroom peer engagement in a sample of preschoolers displaying disruptive behaviors
Context influences on task orientation among preschoolers who display disruptive behavior problems
Examining the validity of a widely-used school readiness assessment
Measuring the quality of teacher–child interactions at scale
Relations between social skills and language and literacy outcomes among disruptive preschoolers
Dose–response relations between preschool teachers’ exposure to components of professional development and increases in quality of their interactions with children
Variation in children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool
MyTeachingPartner-Math/Science pre-kindergarten curricula and teacher supports
Measuring the quality of teacher–child interactions at scale
Relations between social skills and language and literacy outcomes among disruptive preschoolers
Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Alcohol, Cigarette, and Marijuana Use During Adolescence
How does inhibitory control predict emotion regulation in preschool? The role of individual children’s interactions with teachers and peers
Emotion regulation is foundational to children's psychological wellbeing and future school adjustment. As young children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, investigating how early childhood classrooms can foster emotion regulation development is warranted. In this study, we tested individual children's interactions with teachers and peers as potential mechanisms through which inhibitory control supports emotion regulat…
Observed quality of classroom peer engagement in a sample of preschoolers displaying disruptive behaviors
Context influences on task orientation among preschoolers who display disruptive behavior problems
Examining the validity of a widely-used school readiness assessment
The joint development of self-regulation and expressive language in preschool classrooms
Alignment of teacher ratings and child direct assessments in preschool
Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Alcohol, Cigarette, and Marijuana Use During Adolescence
Predicting Change in Parenting Stress Across Early Childhood
Contextual risk and parental attributions of children's behavior as factors that influence the acceptability of empirically supported treatments
This study examined the acceptability of several empirically supported treatments (child social skills training, parent training and medication) within a sample of low-income African American mothers of a preschooler exhibiting significant disruptive behavior. Contextual risk and causal and responsibility attributions were predicted to be associated with treatment acceptability. Eighty-seven participants completed an attributional-style measure o…
Variation in children's classroom engagement throughout a day in preschool
Children's Engagement Within the Preschool Classroom and Their Development of Self-Regulation
This study used an observational measure to examine how individual children's engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks was associated with gains in self-regulation. A sample of 341 preschoolers was observed and direct assessments and teacher reports of self- regulation were obtained in the fall and spring of the preschool year. RESEARCH FINDINGS: Children's positive engagement with teachers was related to gains in compliance/executive function …
Dose–response relations between preschool teachers’ exposure to components of professional development and increases in quality of their interactions with children
MyTeachingPartner-Math/Science pre-kindergarten curricula and teacher supports
Relations between social skills and language and literacy outcomes among disruptive preschoolers
Measuring the quality of teacher–child interactions at scale
Exploring dyadic teacher–child interactions, emotional security, and task engagement in preschool children displaying externalizing behaviors
Based on attachment theory, we tested whether the link between dyadic teacher–child interactions and task engagement operates through a child's security with the teacher. In a sample of preschoolers ( N = 470) rated by their teachers as exhibiting elevated disruptive behaviors, the quality of dyadic teacher–child interactions and children's security were observed using a standardized task. Children's engagement with tasks was both observed in the…
Observed quality of classroom peer engagement in a sample of preschoolers displaying disruptive behaviors
Context influences on task orientation among preschoolers who display disruptive behavior problems
Examining the validity of a widely-used school readiness assessment
Supporting Young Children Exposed to Potentially Traumatic Events
Every year in the United States, millions of young children under the age of 5 are exposed to potentially traumatic events that threaten their safety, security, and well-being. Decades of scientific research clearly demonstrate the pervasive negative consequences of trauma exposure on young children’s neurocognitive, psychosocial, and physical development, with adverse effects extending into adulthood. In addition, early childhood trauma is now w…
Behavioral Self-Regulation as a Protective Factor for Children at Risk of Reading Failure
Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to understand how well two state screening measures, administered at school entry, predicted the first-grade reading outcomes of a large sample of first-time kindergarteners (N=5,480) at high risk for future reading failure. We examined young children’s emergent literacy and behavioral self-regulation skills in the fall of kindergarten in relation to de…
Alignment of teacher ratings and child direct assessments in preschool
Examining the association between neighborhood conditions and school readiness across low and highly segregated school attendance boundaries
Neighborhood characteristics are well documented determinants of adolescent and adult health and well-being. One such neighborhood characteristic heavily explored in K-12 research is the role of residential segregation on educational outcomes. Surprisingly, little is known about how community conditions, as well as racial segregation, relate to children’s early school readiness. This is a critical gap in the field as children’s school readiness i…
Teacher and Classroom Predictors of Preschool Teacher Stress
Research Findings: Better understanding the correlates of teacher stress is critical to develop effective, targeted prevention and intervention efforts to decrease early childhood educator stress and ultimately improve outcomes for educators and young children. Previous studies of early childhood educator stress have mostly focused on teacher professional background and child behavior in relation to stress and rarely simultaneously considered oth…
The relation between teacher and child race, teacher perceptions of disruptive behavior, and exclusionary discipline in preschool
How does inhibitory control predict emotion regulation in preschool? The role of individual children’s interactions with teachers and peers
Emotion regulation is foundational to children's psychological wellbeing and future school adjustment. As young children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, investigating how early childhood classrooms can foster emotion regulation development is warranted. In this study, we tested individual children's interactions with teachers and peers as potential mechanisms through which inhibitory control supports emotion regulat…
Implementation of an early childhood mental health consultation pilot in Virginia
Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) is a targeted prevention service that aims to build the capacity of early care and education (ECE) professionals and foster supportive environments that promote children’s social–emotional competence and improve mental health and well-being. A key challenge to delivering ECMHC at scale is navigating complex multi-level factors to maximize successful implementation and program benefits at scale. T…
Teacher and Child Factors Associated with Emotion Talk between Teachers and Preschoolers Displaying Elevated Externalizing Behaviors
Research Findings: Talking about emotions with their caregivers help young children develop emotional competence, and is particularly beneficial for children who display elevated externalizing behaviors. However, prior descriptive work has shown that teacher-child emotion talk in preschool classrooms is scarce. As children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, there is value in understanding the factors associated with te…
A conceptual model to understand and address racial disparities in exclusionary discipline through teacher-child relationships
Narrowing the Research-to-Practice Gap in Effective Professional Development in a State Preschool Program
Supporting all learners through high quality early childhood curricula
Introduction Curricula are an essential component of high-quality early learning experiences. Unfortunately, many early childhood educators face challenges in accessing evidence-based curricula, and implementation fidelity to curriculum is often poor without aligned support, including professional development for educators. This is especially true for educators within family day homes and private programs, who receive the lowest pay, struggle to …
Psychology (30 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (28 works) · Developmental psychology (27 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (15 works) · Pedagogy (14 works) · Early childhood (13 works) · Early childhood education (13 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Medicine (10 works) · Parental Involvement in Education (9 works)