About Us
We empower young children's growth by partnering with educators, conducting & sharing research, and shaping ECE policy and practice worldwide.
Our Mission
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) improves the learning and development of young children by collaborating with a network of local, state, national, and international early education practitioners to conduct, create and disseminate rigorous research, evaluation, and policy analysis that transforms early childhood policy and practice.
We offer independent, research-based analysis and technical assistance that provides the following:
- A rendering of early education excellence in terms policymakers can use and the public can understand
- Monitoring and evaluation of national and state progress toward early educational excellence
- Development and analysis of model legislation, standards, regulations, and other policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs
- Compares the costs, outcomes, and economic benefits of alternative policies
Our Vision
Transforming entire early education ecosystems by producing and using research that is child-centered, unbiased, and nonpartisan to influence policymaking to address the needs of young children and their families in their unique circumstances so as to improve their lives in these early years and to build the foundations for later success in school and life beyond school.
Our Values
Our work puts young children first and seeks to improve the well-being and development of all children. Early education has both intrinsic and instrumental value. It can improve young children’s well-being during their early years, meet family needs for child care, and enhance learning and development so as to increase school success and enrich their lives through adulthood. Our work also emphasizes equity with a focus on the needs of young children who have least access to social and economic resources. We value both policymakers and practitioners as essential partners with whom we work to develop, conduct, and interpret research to support high-quality, early education for all young children.
Collaborate With Us
NIEER works with local, state, and national policy makers and others to:
- Design and conduct new research and analysis to inform early childhood policy and practice
- Collect, archive, and disseminate information on the status of early education access and quality, exemplary practices and policies, and public opinion
- Develop research and communication strategies to fill gaps in knowledge and to effectively apply scientific knowledge to early education policy
- Create a rapid response capacity to provide policy-makers with information needed to formulate policy and the media with an independent, research-based perspective on breaking news
- Stimulate national and state discussion of early education policy and articulate a coherent national research agenda to support policy development in partnership with others
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