This bibliography is compiled in conjunction with the 3rd Lee Sing Kong Professorship and the NIE Professorships Summit 2025.
It is based on the NIE Library's collection. Access to licensed resources is only available to NIE staff and students.
Professor Pianta is the Batten Bicentennial Professor of Early Childhood Education, professor of psychology, and founding director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on teacher-student relationships and their impact on learning and development. He leads work on measurement tools and interventions used globally to improve teacher-student interactions and continues to consult internationally on early childhood and K–12 education.
More about Prof Pianta: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/robert-c-pianta
Howes, C., Downer, J. T., & Pianta, R. C. (2011). Dual language learners in the early childhood classroom. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Kane, T., Kerr, K., & Pianta, R. (2014). Designing teacher evaluation systems: New guidance from the measures of effective teaching project. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nielib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1707091
Pianta, R. C., Barnett, W. S., Justice, L. M., & Sheridan, S. M. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of early childhood education. Guilford Press.
Pianta, R. C., Cox, M. J., & Snow, K. L. (Eds.). (2007). School readiness and the transition to kindergarten in the era of accountability. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Gregory, A., Allen, J. P., Mikami, A. Y., Hafen, C. A., & Pianta, R. C. (2015). Promise of a teacher professional development program in reducing racial disparity in classroom exclusionary discipline. In D. J. Losen (Ed.), Closing the school discipline gap: Equitable remedies for excessive exclusion (pp. 166–179). Teachers College Press.
Hamre, B. (2016). Improving teacher evaluation systems: Making the most of multiple measures. In J. A. Grissom & P. Youngs (Eds.), Improving teacher evaluation systems (pp. 22–36). Teachers College Press.
Hofkens, T. L., & Pianta, R. C. (2022). Teacher–student relationships, engagement in school, and student outcomes. In Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07853-8_20
LoCasale-Crouch, J., Moritz Rudasill, K., Sweeney, B. D., Chattrabhuti, C., Patton, C., Pianta, R., Urdan, T. C., & Karabenick, S. A. (2012). The transition to kindergarten: Fostering connections for early school success. In Karabenick, S. A., & Urdan, T. C. (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 17, pp. 1–26). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0749-7423(2012)0000017004
Pianta, R. C. (2016). Classroom processes and teacher-student interaction: Integrations with a developmental psychopathology perspective. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology: Risk, resilience, and intervention (pp. 770–814). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125556.devpsy415
Pianta, R. C. (2018). Teacher-student interactions: Measurement, impacts, improvement, and policy. In Ferretti, R. P., & Hiebert, J. (Eds.), Teachers, teaching, and reform: Perspectives on efforts to improve educational outcomes. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315186559-5
Pianta, R. C., & Hamre, B. K. (2016). Implementing rigorous observation of teachers: Synchronizing theory with systems for implementation and support. In J. A. Grissom & P. Youngs (Eds.), Improving teacher evaluation systems (pp. 22–36). Teachers College Press.
Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. C. (2017). The state of children in the United States: School readiness. In E. Dearing & E. Votruba-Drzal (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood development programs, practices, and policies (pp. 3–17). Wiley. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nielib-ebooks/reader.action?docID=4799580&ppg=33
Williford, A. P., & Pianta, R. C. (2020). Banking time: A dyadic intervention to improve teacher-student relationships. In Reschly, A. L., Pohl, A. J., & Christenson, S. L. (Eds.), Student engagement: Effective academic, behavioral, cognitive, and affective interventions at school. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37285-9_13
Ansari, A., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. V., Vitiello, V. E., & Ruzek, E. A. (2022). Preschool teachers' emotional exhaustion in relation to classroom instruction and teacher-child interactions. Early Education and Development, 33(1), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1848301
Ansari, A., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. E., Vitiello, V., & Ruzek, E. (2021). Enrollment in public-prekindergarten and school readiness skills at kindergarten entry: Differential associations by home language, income, and program characteristics. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 54, 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.07.011
Ansari, A., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. V., Vitiello, V. E., Ruzek, E. A., & Zhang, J. (2021). Does the timing of kindergarten absences matter for children's early school success? School Psychology, 36(3), 131-Ansari, A., Zimmermann, K., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. V., Vitiello, V. E., Yang, Q., & Ruzek, E. A. (2023). The first-grade outcomes of pre-k attendees: Examining benefits as a function of skill type, environments, and subgroups. American Educational Research Journal, 60(6), 1139-1173. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312231195559
Ansari, A., Koziol, N., McCormick, M., Purtell, K., Lin, T.-J., Bratsch-Hines, M., Kuhn, L., Witte, A., Franco-Jenkins, X., Burchinal, M. R., Cohen-Vogel, L., Conner, C., Hsueh, J., Iruka, I. U., Justice, L., Knoche, L., Peisner-Feinberg, E., Pianta, R., Pralica, M., & Whittaker, J. (2025). Associations between school characteristics and learning gains for pre-k attenders and non-attenders: Important constructs, limited evidence. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 72, 182-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.001
Bleil, M. E., Roisman, G. I., Gregorich, S. E., Appelhans, B. M., Hiatt, R. A., Pianta, R. C., Marsland, A. L., Slavich, G. M., Thomas, A. S., Yeung, W. S., & Booth-LaForce, C. (2023). Thirty-year follow-up of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD): The challenges and triumphs of conducting in-person research at a distance. BMJ Open, 13(3), e066655. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066655
Bleil, M. E., Roisman, G. I., Hamilton, D. T., Magro, S. W., Appelhans, B. M., Gregorich, S. E., Booth-LaForce, C., & Pianta, R. C. (2024). Which aspects of education are health protective? A life course examination of early education and adulthood cardiometabolic health in the 30-year study of early child care and Youth Development (SECCYD). BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1092. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18560-4
Burchinal, M., Pianta, R., Ansari, A., Whittaker, J., & Vitiello, V. (2023). Kindergarten academic and social skills and exposure to peers with pre-kindergarten experience. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 62, 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.07.012
Cash, A. H., & Pianta, R. C. (2023). Associations between teachers' skill in identifying effective interactions and children's gains in language, literacy, and early learning behaviors. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 62, 324-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.09.008
Downer, J. T., Doyle, N. B., Pianta, R. C., Burchinal, M., Field, S., Hamre, B. K., LoCasale-Crouch, J., Howes, C., LaParo, K., & Scott-Little, C. (2024). Coaching and coursework focused on teacher-child interactions during language/literacy instruction: Effects on teacher outcomes and children's classroom engagement. Early Education and Development, 35(5), 1032-1062. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2024.2303604
Hofkens, T. L., Whittaker, J., Pianta, R. C., Vitiello, V., Ruzek, E., & Ansari, A. (2022). Pathways of mathematics achievement in preschool: Examining executive function and task orientation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101432
Jirout, J. J., Ruzek, E., Vitiello, V. E., Whittaker, J., & Pianta, R. C. (2023). The association between and development of school enjoyment and general knowledge. Child Development, 94(2), e119-e127. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13878
Lu, M. S., Whittaker, J. E., Ruzek, E., Pianta, R. C., & Vitiello, V. E. (2023). Fostering early motivation: The influence of teacher-child relationships and interactions on motivation in the kindergarten classroom. Early Education and Development, 34(3), 648-665. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2022.2055992
Magro, S. W., DeJoseph, M. L., Pianta, R. C., & Roisman, G. I. (2024). Using moderated nonlinear factor models to adjust for differential item functioning in the student-teacher relationship scale from kindergarten to grade 6. Journal of School Psychology, 105, 101324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2024.101324
Melo, C., Pianta, R., DeCoster, J., & Orellana, P. (2024). Development of self-regulation of bilingual children and the role of teacher-child interactions. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 27(6), 836-853. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2024.2310187
Melo, C., Pianta, R. C., LoCasale-Crouch, J., Romo, F., & Ayala, M. C. (2024). The role of preschool dosage and quality in children's self-regulation development. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52(1), 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01399-y
Paulick, J., Quinn, A., Whittaker, J., Vitiello, V., & Pianta, R. (2024). Factors influencing kindergarten Families' perceptions of home-school interactions. Infant and Child Development, 33(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2540
Pianta, R. C. (2021). A dean's perspective. The future of children, 31(1), 151-156. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2021.0007
Pianta, R. C., Lipscomb, D., & Ruzek, E. (2021). Coaching teachers to improve students' school readiness skills: Indirect effects of teacher-student interaction. Child Development, 92(6), 2509-2528. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13600
Pianta, R. C., Lipscomb, D., & Ruzek, E. (2022). Indirect effects of coaching on pre-k students' engagement and literacy skill as a function of improved teacher-student interaction. Journal of School Psychology, 91, 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2021.12.003
Pianta, R. C. C., & Hofkens, T. (2023). Defining early education quality using CLASS-observed teacher-student interaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1110419. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1110419
Pianta, R. C., Ansari, A., Whittaker, J. E., Vitiello, V., & Burchinal, M. (2025). Early skills predict fourth-grade post-COVID-19 academic, inhibitory control, and social-emotional outcomes for students from diverse home language backgrounds. The Elementary School Journal, 125(3), 445-467. https://doi.org/10.1086/734330
Rinaldi, T., Castelli, I., Palena, N., Greco, A., Pianta, R., Marchetti, A., & Valle, A. (2023). The representation of child-parent relation: validation of the Italian version of the child-parent relationship scale (CPRS-I). Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1194644. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1194644
Stephens, C., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. E., & Vitiello, V. E. (2025). Developmental assets at preschool entry that support dual language learners' academic development through the first grade. Early Education and Development, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2025.2484849
Stuhlman, M., Mikami, A. Y., Hofkens, T., Allen, J., Pianta, R., & Smit, S. (2022). Integrating research-supported coaching practices into secondary teachers' team meetings: Early indications of potential to impact collaborations, classroom interactions, and student engagement. Frontiers in Education (Lausanne), 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.883226
Vitiello, V. E., Nguyen, T., Ruzek, E., Pianta, R. C., & Whittaker, J. V. (2022). Differences between pre-k and kindergarten classroom experiences: do they predict children's social-emotional skills and self-regulation across the transition to kindergarten? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 59, 287-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.11.009
Vitiello, V. E., Nguyen, T., Ruzek, E., Pianta, R. C., & Whittaker, J. V. (2022). Differences between pre-k and kindergarten contexts and achievement across the kindergarten transition. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 80, 101396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101396
Whittaker, J. E., Hofkens, T., Vitiello, V. E., Pianta, R. C., DeCoster, J., & Ansari, A. (2024). Patterns of children's readiness at school entry and their association with kindergarten academic and social-emotional outcomes: Do classroom interactions matter? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 66, 112-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.09.005
Yang, Q., Ansari, A., Purtell, K. M., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. V., & Vitiello, V. E. (2023). Classroom skill compositions and preschoolers' early academic and executive function outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 64, 290-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.04.003