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NIEER has released a new 2025 policy brief, How to Choose a Preschool Curriculum, authored by Steve Barnett and Linda Espinosa, to support state and local leaders, policymakers, and program administrators in making informed curriculum decisions. 

The brief outlines why curriculum choice matters, defines key features of high-quality preschool curricula, and synthesizes research on what matters for whom and why. Particular attention is focused on alignment with early learning standards, multilingual learners, children with disabilities, and ensuring rich content for every child across developmental domains. It also emphasizes the importance of implementation supports, including curriculum-specific professional development and coaching. The brief concludes with a practical six-question checklist to guide curriculum selection and review processes in both public and private preschool programs.

Getting to Impact in Home-Based Child Care Networks: Evaluating Implementation,

Outcomes, and Long-Term Effects

As states and funders invest more heavily in home-based child care (HBCC) networks, attention is increasingly turning to how these initiatives define and measure impact. A new evaluation framework from Erikson Institute’s Home-Based Child Care Research Initiative outlines practical approaches for assessing network implementation, provider outcomes, and longer-term system effects. By offering guidance on aligning evaluation design with program goals, the framework highlights how more consistent and meaningful measurement can strengthen accountability, inform continuous improvement, and support evidence-based decision-making in HBCC systems.

American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey  

RAND’s American Public School Pre-K Teacher Survey offers the first comprehensive look at the experiences of public school-based pre-K educators across the United States. Using responses from over 1,300 teachers in the spring 2024 survey, early reports highlight that more than 80% of public pre-K teachers use multiple curriculum materials—often combining commercial and teacher-created resources—to support children’s learning, especially in language, early numeracy, and social-emotional domains. The survey also reveals persistent challenges: many teachers report insufficient time for planning and coordination, particularly in part-day classrooms, and limited access to dedicated professional learning tailored to pre-K needs. 

Instructional Coherence for Literacy: Knox County Study Shows Stronger Growth, Better Alignment, and Teacher Support

A new study from Tennessee SCORE and Knox County Schools provides the strongest causal evidence yet that instructional coherence—aligning literacy intervention directly with core classroom instruction—can accelerate early literacy development, especially for students needing the most support. In the 2024–25 pilot, students receiving coherent intervention through high-dosage tutoring made an average of 1.3 additional months of literacy growth compared with peers receiving traditional, unaligned intervention. Importantly, this approach leverages the same high-quality instructional materials used in regular classrooms, reducing the need for separate intervention resources and yielding potential cost savings for districts. Four out of five teachers in the study preferred instructionally coherent supports, highlighting improved efficiency and alignment with core teaching. 

Early Intervention Strategies for Language and Literacy Development in Young Dual Language Learners: A Literature Review

A systematic literature review by Ekta Ghosh and Rashida Banerjee synthesizes evidence on early intervention approaches that support language and literacy development in young dual language learners (DLLs). The review highlights a range of strategies shown to promote vocabulary growth, expressive language, and early reading skills, including targeted small-group instruction, interactive shared reading, and culturally responsive pedagogies. The authors emphasize the importance of intentional, developmentally grounded practices that leverage children’s home languages while building English proficiency. This review offers a research-based foundation for educators and policymakers working to address achievement gaps and strengthen literacy outcomes for DLLs in early childhood settings. 

NIEER Activity

Newly released, How to Choose a Preschool Curriculum

Selecting a preschool curriculum is a critical decision with implications for teaching practice and child learning. In this new NIEER brief, researchers outline key questions policymakers, administrators, and educators can use to evaluate curriculum options—focusing on alignment with learning goals, evidence of effectiveness, professional development supports, and implementation considerations. The brief highlights what research suggests matters most when choosing curricula to support effective instruction at scale.

IJCCEP

Policy Translation for Early Childhood Education and Care: The Growing Up in New Zealand Approach

Using data from New Zealand’s Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort study, this analysis examines how early childhood education and care (ECEC) participation varies by family background and how cohort research can inform policy design. Drawing on parent-reported data for 6,242 children at age two, the study documents clear differences in the type, amount, and proxy measures of quality of non-parental care by maternal ethnicity, income, area-level deprivation, and household structure. Children of Māori, Pacific, and Asian mothers, as well as children living in higher-deprivation areas, were less likely to experience higher-quality care indicators. 

Research

Early Parent-Mediated Training for Social-Communication Skills in Toddlers and Preschoolers with ASD: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials finds that early parent-mediated training shows moderate to large effects on improving social skills, communication abilities, and reducing challenging behaviors in toddlers and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Across studies published between 2014 and 2024, the overall effect size for combined developmental outcomes was strong (0.80), with particularly large gains for social interaction and meaningful improvements in communication and behavior. 

Complexity of Parental Number Talk Predicts Preschoolers’ Gains in Cardinal Knowledge

A new Scientific Reports study finds that the complexity of the number-related conversations parents have with their preschoolers predicts children’s growth in cardinal number knowledge—a foundational math skill that supports later achievement. Analyzing parent–child interactions and children’s number understanding over time, researchers found that richer, more varied “number talk” at home was linked with stronger gains in children’s ability to understand and use number concepts. These results suggest that everyday conversations about numbers—beyond simple counting—matter for early numeracy development. 

Conceptualizing Callous-Unemotional Traits from Preschool to Adolescence Through Network Analysis

A new study uses network analysis to examine how callous-unemotional (CU) traits are organized across developmental stages, including preschoolers aged 5–6. J. Eilts, N. Baker, A. Rademacher, and Jessica Wilke analyzed CU item relationships in a sample of 2,368 children and adolescents (ages 5–19) and found both stable and shifting patterns in trait structure. In preschoolers, CU traits clustered into two core dimensions—callousness and uncaring—suggesting a simpler trait organization early in development. By middle childhood, a distinct emotional disregard community emerged, while adolescents showed a more consolidated network with greater prominence of deficits in remorse and empathy

Exploring Perceptions of Early Childhood Teachers on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education 

A recent study by Joohi Lee, Joo OK Lee, and Jiyoon Yoon in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education explores how early childhood educators perceive the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in ECE settings. Drawing on teacher reports and reflections, the research highlights both opportunities and challenges as educators consider integrating AI tools into daily practice. Teachers noted potential benefits of AI for supporting individualized learning and enhancing instruction, but also expressed concerns about readiness, professional learning needs, and the appropriateness of AI for very young learners. 

Opportunities

Research Fellow, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families 

Head Start Early Childhood Specialist, ICF

Parent Leadership Development Lead, ZERO TO THREE