Weekly E-News

Hot Topics
 

Supporting Dual Language Learners in State-Funded Preschool

As states focus on improving early literacy outcomes, supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) is a challenge hiding in plain sight. Nationally, one-third of children under the age of five are DLLs, meaning that they are learning English in addition to another home language. Both the number of DLLs in the U.S. and the number of all children attending state-funded preschool are growing. Research shows that high quality preschool benefits DLLs, and benefits can be increased by specific supports for DLLs’ home language development and through engagement with their families. 

NIEER’s new policy brief, Supporting Dual Language Learners in State-Funded Preschool, summarizes information from NIEER’s 2024 State of Preschool Yearbook on states’ policies regarding supports for DLLs and their families in state-funded preschool programs. We find that states vary widely in their supports for DLLs, and that state policies often do not match research-recommended best practices for DLLs. We highlight exemplar states and look closely at the ten states with the highest percentages of DLLs in the state. We offer recommendations to strengthen state-funded preschool programs’ support for DLLs and their families.

Click here to read NIEER’s new policy brief.

Beyond the Sandbox: Lasting Associations of Preschool Peer Language Skills with Third-Grade Vocabulary and the Role of Primary School Peers

Franziska Hürlimann, Oliver Lüdtke, and Daniel Schmerse, writing in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, examined whether preschool peer language skills are associated with children’s vocabulary outcomes in third grade. Using German NEPS data from 499 children across 213 preschool groups and 190 primary school classrooms, the study found that preschool peer language skills had a modest lasting association with later receptive vocabulary. However, this association depended on the language skill level of children’s first-grade peer group. Preschool peer effects were strongest when children later entered lower-skilled primary school classrooms and were not evident in higher-skilled classrooms. The findings suggest that strong preschool peer language environments may provide a compensatory foundation for children when later peer contexts are less supportive.

NIEER Activity 
 

Work With NIEER

NIEER exists to empower young children's growth by partnering with educators, conducting & sharing research, and shaping ECE policy and practice worldwide. Across the U.S., NIEER’s experts are providing evidence-based tools, research, and technical assistance to help state and local leaders build quality early care and education systems. 

Whether you’re looking to conduct a rigorous evaluation of program cost, quality and outcomes, build an effective continuous improvement system, analyze supply and demand as part of your state’s  Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5), or contemplating a 50-state national policy analysis on a ECE-specific topic, NIEER is here to help. 

NIEER’s services include:

• Technical Assistance
• Leadership Development
• Early Childhood Systems Development
• Financing Early Childhood Programs
• Data and Evaluation
• Policy Landscapes
• Cost of Preschool Quality & Revenue
• Partnership with New Jersey

Want to work with us? Contact Allison Muhlendorf on our team.

Longitudinal associations between executive function and mathematics skills in young children: Are there differences for Dual Language Learners?  

NIEER’s Christina Stephens, PhD, is among the authors of this study published recently in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (2026). Jessica Whittaker, along with co-authors Jamie DeCoster, Bob Pianta, Virginia Vitiello, and Elia Ramirez leveraged longitudinal data to examine links between executive function (EF) and mathematics development from preschool entry through spring of first grade, and whether there were differences between dual language learner (DLL) and English monolingual (EM) children. 

Results suggested that strong EF skills positively predicted later EF and math outcomes.  Moreover, early math skills also predicted later EF and math outcomes, and these relationships strengthened over time. These patterns were similar between DLL and EM children, suggesting they experienced comparable pathways of growth in these areas. 

Findings reinforce the importance of supporting the co-development of EF and mathematics skills during early schooling. Future work is needed to explore ways to support the development of these skills among DLLs through high-quality, linguistically- responsive classroom environments. 

Focus on New Jersey Weekly Feature

BELLE 2026 Spring Conference

Join NIEER’s Building Early Learning Latiné Educators (BELLE) June 5 in Piscataway, NJ, for an early childhood conference for all educators interested in learning more about biliteracy and bilingualism. Strengthening Dual Language Practice: Talk, Play, and Reading to Enhance Children's Development. 

Register here before the conference sells out.

BELLE is a leadership academy aimed at improving representation of Latiné leaders in decision making spaces. Specifically, the goals of BELLE include the following:

• To develop a pipeline of Latiné ECE leaders through a culturally and linguistically affirming professional development model to increase representation of Latinés in decision-making positions.
• To increase the recruitment and retention of Latiné educators.
• To improve the quality of supports for bilingual acquisition in early childhood education settings for emergent bilinguals.
  
   

Learn more about BELLE here.
 

The State of Bilingual Education in New Jersey: Policy, Practice, and Possibility

Join the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies - Rutgers University–Newark on Wednesday, June 10, at 5:30pm Eastern for a conversation on the current state of bilingual education in New Jersey. NIEER's Alexandra Figueras-Daniel will join a panel of experts sharing perspectives from district leadership, bilingual education research, and classroom practice. The webinar will explore how policy and practice intersect, and what success should look like moving forward.

Register here.
 

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) Weekly Feature 
 

Finnish Parents’ Reasons for Keeping Their Children at Home During the COVID-19 Lockdown

This explored why Finnish parents chose to keep their five-year-old children at home during the partial COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020 rather than sending them to early childhood education and care (ECEC). The study, conducted by Kaisu Peltoperä, Eija Räikkönen, Anna Siippainen, and Maarit Alasuutari, surveyed 1,068 parents from across Finland whose children had attended ECEC before the pandemic. Findings showed that the primary reasons for keeping children at home were adherence to government recommendations and concerns about protecting children from COVID-19 exposure. Through factor analysis, the researchers identified four key dimensions influencing parental decisions: Protection and prevention, Recommendations, Avoidance of changes in ECEC, and Realised risk of COVID-19. Socio-demographic differences among families had only a limited influence on decision-making, suggesting a relatively equal response pattern across Finnish families during the lockdown period. The study highlights how public trust in government guidance and shared concerns about children’s health shaped childcare decisions during the pandemic.
 

Publish in the International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP)   

• It’s FREE – article processing charges for all articles published in the journal are fully sponsored.   
• The journal is indexed by Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and by Scopus.
• All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Authors will retain copyright.

ECE Research
 

Reframing Resilience for At-Risk Pre-Kindergarten Children with Emotionally Responsive Teaching Through Positive Storybook Reading Initiatives

In Reading & Writing Quarterly, Yan Yan and Jill E. Killough explored how emotionally responsive teaching through positive storybook reading initiatives can support resilience among at-risk prekindergarten children following COVID-19. The mixed-method study included 278 Pre-K children identified as at risk for early literacy difficulties and 12 pre-service teachers implementing the intervention. The study found significant improvements in children’s emotional regulation, peer relationships, and sense of belonging after participation in the storybook-based initiative, although outcomes varied across school contexts and implementation practices. Reflections from pre-service teachers suggested that combining social-emotional learning with literacy instruction helped foster empathy, perseverance, and problem-solving skills while supporting foundational reading development. The study highlights resilience as a teachable capacity and suggests that emotionally responsive storytelling may offer a scalable strategy for promoting well-being and academic success among young learners.

Preschool Teachers’ Use of Harsh and Lax Discipline: The Role of Cognitions and Anger

Michael Costa, Samuel Jackson, Gabriella Damewood, Serah Narine, and Tamara Del Vecchio examine preschool teachers’ use of harsh and lax discipline in a new Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education article. Using survey responses from 351 preschool teachers, the study explored how teachers’ beliefs about children’s misbehavior and feelings of anger were related to discipline responses in hypothetical situations involving noncompliance and peer aggression. Teachers who viewed children’s behavior as intentional, negatively appraised the behavior, or doubted children’s ability to learn showed greater anger, which was linked to harsher discipline. This suggests early childhood teacher preparation and professional development should address not only behavior management strategies, but also the cognitive and emotional processes that shape teachers’ responses to challenging behavior.

How Reliable and Valid Is Measuring Interaction Quality in Quebec’s Home-Based Childcare with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Toddler? 

Lise Lemay, Julie Lemire, Alexandra Paquette, Noémie Paquette, Caroline Bouchard, and Nathalie Bigras examined the reliability and validity of the French version of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Toddler (CLASS Trottineur) in Quebec home-based childcare settings in an article in the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. The study included 37 licensed home-based childcare programs serving children ages 0–5 in mixed-age groups and assessed the tool’s reliability, inter-rater agreement, and multiple forms of validity. Findings supported the reliability and structural validity of the CLASS Trottineur, particularly in measuring Emotional and Behavioral Support. Associations of CLASS scores with educator qualifications and structural program features further supported the tool’s criterion validity. 

Screen Time Patterns and Cognitive Development Among Preschool Children

Valerie Carson, Madison Boyd, Yao Zheng, Christina M. Rinaldi, Ramiah Moldenhauer, Morgan Potter, Jasmine Rai, Joshua Li, Kyla Dorn, and Sandra Wiebe in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined screen time patterns and cognitive development among 359 preschool children in Western Canada as part of the TECHnology and Development in Early Childhood (TECH) project. Using parent-reported two-week daily diaries and virtual cognitive assessments, the study found that preschool children averaged 77 minutes of screen time per day, with entertainment-based shows, movies, and videos being the most common form of use. Higher levels of entertainment screen time, especially on mobile devices, were consistently associated with weaker executive functioning skills, including response inhibition, working memory, and self-control. In contrast, communication-based screen use and screen co-use with an adult were linked to stronger language scores in some contexts..

A RE-AIM Analysis of Better Together: A Multi-Level Program to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity in Early Care and Education in Four States

Caliste B. Hope, Roshelle Payes, Emily Alexander, and colleagues in Childhood Obesity, evaluated the Better Together initiative, a multi-level program designed to improve nutrition and physical activity in early care and education (ECE) settings across four states. Guided by the RE-AIM framework, the quasi-experimental study examined the program’s reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance at both organizational and systems levels. Better Together combined learning collaboratives for ECE providers with broader state-level systems change efforts coordinated through partnerships and the CDC’s Spectrum of Opportunities 2.0 Framework. The initiative reached 1,078 staff across 533 ECE programs, with program completion rates ranging from 58% to nearly 95%. Participating programs demonstrated an average 15.1% increase in health-promoting practices. 

Opportunities

Data Collector, NIEER

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Study of Early Education through Partnerships, University of Virginia

Policy Analyst II, Work and Family, Niskanen Center

Clinical Assistant Professor, Early Childhood, University of Vermont

Vermont Education Agency: State Director of Special Education

First Children's Finance, Director of Iowa and National

First Children's Finance, Director, Vermont

Manager of Communications and Engagement, Mississippi Early Learning Alliance

Part Time Coordinator of Operations and Administration, Mississippi Early Learning Alliance

Director of Marketing & Communications, Small Magic (Birmingham, AL)

Director of Institutional Partnerships, Small Magic (Birmingham, AL)