High-quality preschool programs are heralded as an effective policy tool to promote the development and life-long wellbeing of children from low-income families. Yet evaluations of recent preschool programs produce puzzling findings, including negative impacts, and divergent, weaker results than were shown in demonstration programs implemented in…

Over the last several years, a growing number of cities have invested in early care and education for 3- and 4-year-old children, known as "preschool." This paper aims to aid cities in planning preschool programs by outlining a range of factors to consider. We largely do not make recommendations, but rather try to identify a range of…

This system-level ethnographic study of a strength-based approach to transforming a national invention education program makes visible how program leadership drew on research and their own expertise to shift who and how they served. With data analysis grounded in program reports, documentation, and internal and published research, the program's…

Getting it Right from the Start (GIRFTS) is a research study that aims to implement a response to intervention (RTI) framework in early primary school (Foundation and Grade 1) to improve oral language and reading. RTI is a multi-tiered conceptual framework that supports student learning through delivery of high-quality classroom instruction, early…

The Survey of Head Start Grantees on Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) was conducted in program year 2019-2020 with a nationally representative sample of Head Start program directors and Head Start managers/coordinators to understand how Head Start grantees use T/TA of all types and from all sources. Head Start program directors completed…

This "Building Capacity for Change" "playbook" highlights practices and strategies that proved to be effective in supporting the rollout and implementation of certain programs under the New York State Department of Health's First 1,000 Days on Medicaid Initiative, a series of evidence-based reforms aimed at improving health and…

This chapter concerns the state of the literature on early childhood education (ECE) -- formal programs offering group instruction for children younger than the standard eligibility age for public education. I describe how ECE programs can be convincingly evaluated and why they may or may not work to narrow gaps in well-being across the lifecycle.…

This large-scale study used a survey to collect data on K-12 world language program leadership and instructional practices in Massachusetts public schools, investigating associations between the presence of a program leader or primary evaluator who is a world language specialist and instructional practices, curriculum, and assessment. The study…

The "Program Administration Scale" (PAS) is designed to reliably measure and improve the leadership and management practices of center-based programs--the only instrument of its kind to focus exclusively on organization-wide administrative issues. In the third edition, the authors share updated information supporting the reliability and…

Purpose: This study examined the implementation of an agile-blended learning (ABL) approach in a master-level early childhood research course and assessed its impact on the learning experience. The purpose was to understand how incorporating ABL concepts affected flexibility, learner autonomy, collaboration and technology mediation, the core…

Head Start is an essential part of the programs and funding streams that provide early care and education (ECE) services to young children in the U.S. Head Start focuses on supporting children and families with low incomes, but also contributes to the broader effort to expand access to high quality ECE for all young children. Programs and…

Structured motor tasks may affect cognitive development by creating a cognitively challenging "enriched environment', giving opportunity for social cooperation, increasing the joy to learn through play, improving the sense of mastery and competence. The study investigated the association between motor and cognitive exercises, through a…

Center-based community early childhood programs are essential options for pre-kindergarten care and education. Consistent with federal legislation (IDEA, 2004), these settings should be accessible so that young children with disabilities can receive their special education services there. In the United States, fewer than 50% of children who…

In this study we examined teachers' perspectives regarding the second year of implementing a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Using a mixed-methods approach, we focused on the administration process, the perceived benefits of the assessment, and how teachers used the assessment to inform instruction. We also investigated whether these…

Over the past decade, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners have increasingly come to recognize the importance of quality in early care and education. Along with this recognition is compelling evidence that sound administrative practices help ensure high-quality learning opportunities for young children. Since its first publication in…