Last month, we convened a group of stakeholders from across the U.S. for the Early Learning Network Forum, a virtual event hosted in partnership with the Institute of Education Sciences, under the theme, “Equitable and Effective Early Learning Opportunities: Research, Practice and Policy Considerations." On Dec....
The transition from prekindergarten to kindergarten is tough for many children — there are new faces, different routines, and, often, higher expectations for academic achievement. Yet there is little empirical evidence of how differences between pre-K and kindergarten classroom environments affect children, particularly as they...
Researchers at MDRC, University of Michigan and the Harvard Graduate School of Education worked with Boston Public Schools to better understand the extent to which content-rich and cognitively demanding instruction leads to gains in children’s language and math skills, and to create more reliable measures...
Research by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln team strengthens the case that positive, sustained relationships promote social skills and reduce problem behaviors in early childhood....
Research by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill team sheds light on factors that influence American states to adopt publicly-funded prekindergarten (pre-K). The historical analysis found legislative partisanship, legislative professionalism and unemployment are key predictors in a state’s decision to support public pre-K...
A recent Early Learning Network study led by researchers at Ohio State University found that instructional practices in prekindergarten (pre-K) were starkly different from those in kindergarten through third grade, and that kindergarten appears to be highly academic for about two-thirds of classrooms. Findings also...
Education researchers and scholars are uniquely positioned to provide evidence-based solutions to help ensure all children reach their potential. But the language we use in our work matters. The words we use to describe children, families and communities, and the systems that support them, must align...
In a new research brief, Early Learning Network researchers explore lessons learned from one approach to measurement: Fine-grained, time-based measures that capture how young children spend their time in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms....
The third presentation in the Early Learning Network's Spring Webinar Series focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in early learning. Video is available from the presentation led by researchers Iheoma Iruka and Meghan McCormick: "Building Toward Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Early Learning."...
Today, nearly 5 million children attend a formal prekindergarten (pre-K) program in the United States. The Biden administration’s recent proposal to invest $200 billion to provide universal pre-K to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the country highlights the critical need to ensure that children, especially...