Weekly E-News
September 4, 2026
Hot Topics
New Study: Parents Read to Young Children Less Today Than Before 2020
New research by NIEER’s Kwanghee Jung and Steven Barnett, published in JAMA Network Open, "Parent-Child Shared Book Reading With Preschoolers During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic," finds that parent-child shared reading declined during and after the pandemic.
In 2019, about 85% of US preschool-aged children were read to at least three times a week. Reading declined after the pandemic began and, despite some rebound, remained below 75%. Findings from this study are based on 5 years of NIEER's Preschool Learning Activities (PLA) survey of American families, made possible by funding from the PNC Foundation's Grow Up Great Initiative.
Additional findings include:
- Each additional 10 physical books in the home was associated with 8 percent higher odds of frequent reading. Access to eBooks had no statistically significant association.
- Screen time was negatively associated with reading frequency, suggesting digital media may displace interactive home learning routines.
- Black and Hispanic parents reported less frequent reading than other parents, but the Black-White difference is statistically insignificant after adjusting for other socioeconomic characteristics.
Does Pre-K Give Kids a Lasting Edge? Here’s What the Latest Study Says
A new study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly by Kaitlyn Mumma, Louis L. Manfra, Charles C. Bleiker, Laura Dinehart, Suzanne Hartman, Victoria Rabii, and Adam Winsler examined whether the type of preschool children attended at age four was associated with academic outcomes in third grade and whether elementary school quality influenced these longer-term effects. The longitudinal study followed 27,814 predominantly Latino, Black, and low-income children who attended family-based child care, center-based child care, or public-school pre-K programs in a large urban community in the southeastern US.
After accounting for children’s age-four cognitive skills and demographic characteristics, children who attended public school pre-K had higher third-grade GPAs and reading and math scores than children who attended other child care settings. Elementary school quality moderated these differences only for reading: the advantage associated with public school pre-K was greatest among children attending lower-quality elementary schools and narrowed as elementary school quality increased.
The findings indicate that benefits associated with public school pre-K can persist through third grade and suggest that subsequent school quality may influence the extent to which early educational advantages are sustained.
- Read the study, “The influence of elementary school quality on differential long-term effects of preschool programs in third grade.”
- Read Elizabeth Heubeck’s EdWeek article about the new study, “Does Pre-K Give Kids a Lasting Edge? Here’s What the Latest Study Says”
School district superintendents' leadership on early childhood education: a national survey
A new paper published by Tim Drake, Rachel White, Rachel Rowan, Lauren McKenzie, and Lora Cohen-Vogel) in the American Educational Research Journal surveyed 404 school district superintendents nationwide about how they lead when it comes to pre-K.
The researchers found:
- A belief-practice gap: 83% strongly agree pre-K is critical to their district's educational success, but only 38% call it a top-three strategic priority, and just 25% say their school board treats it that way.
- Lack of experience: Most superintendents are leading pre-K with very little firsthand experience in it. Only 6% ever taught pre-K, and 14% report no formal training in early childhood education at all.
Upcoming Event: Understanding New Jersey’s Child Care Landscape: Findings from the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative
Join leaders from research, government, philanthropy, advocacy, and the early childhood community on September 23rd for a day of presentations and discussion examining findings from the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative. Together, we will explore what the research tells us about New Jersey's child care landscape and consider how these findings can inform policy, practice, and future research.
The Center for Women and Work (CWW), the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development (Heldrich), and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) have joined together to form the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative. Funding for the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative is provided by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
Click here to see more research from the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative.
NIEER Activity
On August 26, NIEER’s Alexandra Figueras-Daniel and Christina Stephens presented on a webinar hosted by the National Head Start Association, “Language and English Learners.” The webinar was part of a series breaking down the Trump Administration’s recent Head Start Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which includes a new mandate to provide instruction in English only. The researchers shared findings from their new policy brief, "An English-Only Mandate for Head Start will Harm Children."
What should providers, advocates, and policy makers take away from the brief?
- Dual Language Learners account for 36 percent of Head Start enrollment and 40 percent of Early Head Start enrollment across the U.S.
- Young emergent bilingual children progress better in English language development and other domains when the home language (but not only the home language) is used for instruction.
- English-only instruction does not produce faster acquisition of English and undercuts the development of proficiency in the home language.
As Figueras-Daniel recently told a reporter, the debate over English-only instruction in Head Start is “bringing to surface the fact that so few people know about that research,” she said. “But from a cognitive and brain development perspective, we know better.”
NIEER’s Steve Barnett Shares Research on School Readiness with North Dakota Lawmakers
On August 31, NIEER Director Steve Barnett served as a resource expert at the Hunt Institute’s North Dakota Legislators Retreat in Bismarck. Along with Mandan Public Schools Early Learning Coordinator Janet Bassingthwaite and South East Education Cooperative and Child Care Aware of North Dakota leader Keely Ihry, Barnett contributed to a session dedicated to improving the state's school readiness. During the session, experts and state lawmakers from both parties and chambers explored how strategic investments in early childhood education reduce the need for later remediation, support improved student outcomes and enable a more stable, productive workforce.
If you would like to invite a NIEER expert to share research with your organization or members, contact Allison Muhlendorf, NIEER’s External Affairs Consultant.
Curriculum and Family Child Care: Guidance for Mixed-Delivery Pre-K Programs
With the support of Home Grown, NIEER launched the Enriching Public Pre-K Through Inclusion of Family Child Care (EPIC FCC) initiative in 2024. Through this effort, we worked with pre-K system leaders and FCC educators in Alabama, Nevada, Durham, North Carolina, and Michigan as the established advisory groups, examined their pre-K and FCC systems, and/or developed policies and funding streams to support FCCs in their pre-K systems. NIEER’s FCC & Pre-K Policy Data Snapshots were developed as a result of some of the discussions that occurred during the EPIC FCC initiative.
Check out our latest data snapshot, "Curriculum and Family Child Care: Guidance for Mixed-Delivery Pre-K Programs," and the full FCC & Pre-K Policy Data Snapshots series, here.
International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) Weekly Feature
Yirenkyiwa Gyebi Eyison, Vivian Tackie-Ofosu, David Kwame Kumador, Justice Owusu-Bempah, and Sheriffa Mahama examined how children's participation rights are implemented in public and private preschools in Ghana using a cross-sectional survey of 172 early childhood educators. The authors found that educators generally provided opportunities for children to participate by creating supportive environments and encouraging children to express their views. However, lower levels of implementation were observed in ensuring that children's perspectives were meaningfully considered and influenced decision-making. No significant differences were found between public and private preschools, suggesting that these challenges are systemic rather than sector-specific. The findings highlight the need for targeted teacher professional development and policy reforms to strengthen educators' capacity to fully implement children's participation rights and promote meaningful child engagement in early childhood education.
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.
Focus on New Jersey Weekly Feature
NIEER’s new report, funded by the Maher Charitable Foundation, examines the perspectives of child care and Head Start directors in New Jersey who contract with school districts to provide public preschool. New Jersey has a long history as a leader in providing public preschool through a mixed delivery system where policymakers, advocates, and researchers have worked together to address implementation issues. However, efforts to expand the availability of public preschool, along with changes in state policy that no longer mandate partnering with local child care and Head Start providers, bring new challenges. Findings from this study suggest the need for durable, statewide structures to support continued development of mixed delivery.
ECE Research
Priyanka Chaudhary, Jerraco L. Johnson, E. Kipling Webster, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, and Amanda E. Staiano examined the longitudinal associations between poverty and preschool children's physical activity, screen time, and sleep over a one-year period. Published in Children, the authors followed 66 children aged 3 to 4.9 years and found that children living at or below the federal poverty level consistently experienced significantly higher daily screen time than their peers living above the poverty level, even after adjusting for child characteristics.
Huizhen Li, Chunlin Li, Liang Du, Pingyan Hu, Huiyu Zhou, Songsong Huang, Xinyi Weng, Xiaocheng Xu, Peiyun Sun, Yao Shen, and Jing Hua examined the relationship between neighborhood access to physical activity facilities and overweight and obesity among 164,649 Chinese preschool children across 551 cities. Published in Environmental Research, the authors found that greater residential access to indoor physical activity facilities was consistently associated with lower odds of overweight and obesity, while access to outdoor facilities showed protective effects primarily within 1,500-meter residential areas. These associations were strongest among children living in areas with higher pollution and among children whose mothers had lower educational attainment.
Timo Reuter, Jonas Schäfer, and Miriam Leuchter examined how different instructional approaches influence preschool children's understanding of gear mechanics among 338 children (mean age = 5.7 years). Published in Early Years, the authors compared minimal guidance with three forms of instructional modelling (gestural, verbal, and combined) during repeated gear construction activities. While children's explicit conceptual knowledge, measured through a paper-and-pencil assessment, did not improve significantly across conditions, their implicit understanding, reflected in the quality of their gear construction solutions, improved in all groups. Instructional modelling produced immediate gains, whereas minimal guidance led to more gradual improvement over time. The findings suggest that young children's conceptual understanding may emerge first through successful performance before they can verbally explain scientific concepts, underscoring the value of combining action-based and traditional assessments in early science education.
Opportunities
National Association of State Leaders in Early Education (NASLEE) Roundtable
It's not too late to register for the NASLEE Roundtable, Oct 7-9, 2026 in Scottsdale, AZ! Registration and hotel deadline is August 11.
Bank Street Education Center’s Early Childhood Policy Fellowship
This 12-month leadership program, beginning January 2027, welcomes early childhood systems leaders at the federal, state, city, and local levels who are working to build equitable, high-quality early care and education systems across the country.
Chief of Early Learning, First Steps, State of South Carolina
Minnesota Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS) Director
Vice President, Early Childhood Policy, Center for American Progress
Lead Advocacy Officer, ZERO TO THREE
Director of Early Childhood Policy, Colorado Children’s Campaign
The Authors
Allison Muhlendorf manages external affairs for NIEER, including communications, earned and owned media, government relations, partnerships, and outreach. Allison and her team at Longleaf Strategies are conducting a communications audit for NIEER and developing a long-term external affairs strategy.
About NIEER
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, conducts and disseminates independent research and analysis to inform early childhood education policy.
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