Qualitative interviews and focus groups are commonly used methods to elicit participants' voices in program evaluations. However, the use of these data-gathering methods can fall short of the goal; even with open-ended questions, the protocols guiding and shaping interviews and focus groups heavily reflect the evaluators' understanding and…

Childhood research is increasingly being conducted from different disciplines, and research methods for showing the child's world are also increasing and evolving. This article examines the challenges and opportunities of childhood research in an early childhood education and care (ECEC) environment from an ethnographic approach. The purpose of…

As countries make continued investments in early childhood care and education (ECCE) systems, data and measurement play a critical role in outlining strengths and areas for improvement. To promote data-driven decision-making across all levels of early childhood systems, measurement must be valid, reliable, and feasible, especially when used at…

Building Understanding: Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in Colorado, the 2023 edition of "KIDS COUNT in Colorado!," spotlights trends in youth mental health and access to care. It includes an overview of the most recent data on the topic and offers recommendations for policy action to promote youth mental health in the years ahead.…

Following the onset of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, daily life significantly changed for the population. Accordingly, researchers interested in examining patterns of change over time may now face discontinuities around the pandemic. Researchers collecting in-person longitudinal data also had to cancel or delay data…

Fredrich Froebel was a scientist, both in instinct and in training, and his life coincided with an important and dynamic period of scientific growth. I take this opportunity to delve both into some history and futurology to examine the heritage and legacy of his work. The usual of interpolation is of reading into data: where there exist some…

With decades of evidence to support early childhood development (ECD) programs and policies, investment in ECD has expanded worldwide. Currently, over 70 nations have national ECD legislation, the majority in the last 20 years. However, with these increased investments comes evidence that the capacity of policy systems to support ECD--across…

This commentary discusses the implication of child and adolescent development research for public policy in Latin America. As illustrated by the articles in this special issue, even though the research of child and adolescent development in Latin America is making significant progress, still more research is needed. Developmental research in the…

This brief explores the lessons learned from the 2016 Parents and Children Thriving Together: Two-Generation State Policy Network (PACTT Network), a collaboration between the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Through this initiative, five states explored how to use the two-generation approach to…

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments related to the development of indicators of educational progress in the context of the Post 2015 deliberations to generate a new international architecture for educational investment through to 2030. There have been a plethora of suggestions and several parallel consultation processes…

This report reviews the conceptual debates and existing data sources that relate to three ambiguous and controversial targets included in the post-2015 education framework: Relevant Learning Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Attitudes (for education for global citizenship and sustainable development); and Teachers and Safe, Inclusive, and…

This report describes the population of young children in Durham, North Carolina, through the lenses of socioeconomics, health and education. When helpful in highlighting areas of strength or concern, data on Durham's children are compared with their counterparts statewide. The report also shows how particular groups within the overall population…

To make a scientific contribution, a reanalysis must be firmly rooted in the identification of a clearly superior methodological innovation over the original research. By contrast, a reanalysis rooted in dissatisfaction with previous results will necessarily be biased and can only obscure scientific discoveries. The reanalysis published by…

Many studies have demonstrated a positive association between familial activities (e.g. reading to the child) and children's development in different domains. It is also well-known that social and ethnic differences exist regarding the frequencies of such activities. However, the mechanism behind these differences is less clear. This article…

The California Children and Families Act of 1998 led to creation of the Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) to support early childhood service programs in Kern County, the third largest county in California that spread a land area as large as the state of New Jersey. In Fiscal Year 2014-15, First 5 Kern administered more…