NIEER Newsletter

HOT TOPICS Early Childhood Matters: Behavioural Insights, Ideas and Action for the Early Years   Teachers, parents and other caregivers are faced with challenges each day when caring for young children; the 2022 edition of Early Childhood Matters, rele

HOT TOPICS Unequal Access to Head Start is a Widespread Problem: Leveling Up is the Solution   NIEER released the State(s) of Head Start and Early Head Start: Looking at Equity this week, the second report to provide a state-by-state look at Head Start

The NIEER Newsletter will be on hiatus until Dec. 2, 2022. Happy Thanksgiving! HOT TOPICS Early Childhood Education: Health, Equity, and Economics Clear evidence indicates that center-based early childhood education (ECE) programs designed to improve t

HOT TOPICS Facilitating Kindergarten Transitions: The Role of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between Head Start and Local Education Agencies Agreements between Head Start grantees and the schools often lack clear strategies for successful kindergart

HOT TOPICS COVID-19 in the Early Elementary years: A Comparison of Achievement in Spring 2019 and Spring 2022 Students who were in pre-K and kindergarten at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 demonstrated math and reading scores in their

HOT TOPICS Examining the Relationship Between Discrimination, Access to Material Resources, and Black Children’s Behavioral Functioning During COVID-19   Caregivers of young Black children who lacked adequate access to economic and health-promotin

HOT TOPICS COVID-Inspired Policy Adaptations in State Pre-K Programs Many state-funded pre-K programs changed policies in response to the pandemic. NIEER’s Karin Garver explores policy adaptations by state-funded pre-K programs in 2020-21. At least 15

HOT TOPICS Building Early Learning Latine Educators (BELLE): Developing a Pipeline of Latine Early Childhood Leaders in New Jersey, A Unique New Model   The proportion of Latine teachers and administrators in early childhood education lags behind

HOT TOPICS Prevalence of Chronic Diseases, Depression, and Stress Among US Childcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic   Early care and education (ECE) professionals 2-3 months into the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were found to have elevate

HOT TOPICS Impacts of Two Public Preschool Programs on School Readiness in San Francisco Two public preschool programs in California had positive impacts on students’ school readiness at kindergarten entry, researchers at Stanford University found. The

HOT TOPICS Universal Pre-K and College Enrollment: Is There a Link?  Children who attended Tulsa’s universal public pre-K program were more likely to attend two- and four-year colleges than children who did not attend pre-K or Head Start, according to

HOT TOPICS Short and Medium-Run Effects of a High-Quality Early Education Intervention   A high-quality early childhood program in Colombia had positive impacts on children’s health and cognitive development, NIEER co-Director for Research Milagros Nor

HOT TOPICS Assistant Teachers in State-funded Preschool Programs   Assistant teachers are an integral component of the preschool classroom. However, there is limited research on the impact of assistant teacher qualifications and training on child outco

HOT TOPICS Kindergarten Academic and Social Skills and Exposure to Peers with Pre-Kindergarten Experience   Kindergarteners who attended pre-K and those who didn’t both showed modestly larger gains in inhibitory control and vocabulary when they had mor

HOT TOPICS QRIS and Interaction: Do Quality Rating Systems Reflect Individual Experience?   Approximately one quarter of children receive very little adult-child interaction in early learning settings, even in the highest-rated classrooms within a stat

HOT TOPICS Practice Guide: Preparing Young Children for School   Research has identified specific practices that can better prepare children ages 3-5 to benefit from school in kindergarten and beyond. A panel of experts compiled this research into seve

HOT TOPICS Expanding Access to Outdoor Preschool in Publicly Funded Programs   Outdoor preschool has gained in popularity in recent years, and the global pandemic, with high indoor transmission rates, only boosts the appeal. Few outdoor preschools are

HOT TOPICS Early Childhood Workforce Special Series: Strengthening Systems: Embedding Equity when Defining Quality  NIEER Assistant Research Professor Dr. Alexandra Figueras-Daniel will speak at a webinar on Tuesday, Aug. 9 focused on defining and meas

HOT TOPICS State of Preschool Yearbook 2021 Appendix Now Available The complete 2021 State of Preschool Yearbook “Appendix” is now available! This means that you can find answers to every question in the State of Preschool Yearbook survey from all 64 s

HOT TOPICS Early Education and Adult Health: Age 37 Impacts and Economic Benefits of the Child-Parent Center Preschool Program Three decades out, participants in the high-quality Chicago Child-Parent Center preschool program experienced positive long-t