Welcome to the Early Childhood Education Research Collection, where you will find links from around the web supporting the Early Childhood Vision. The information has been divided into the topics below. Click on the topic to jump directly to that section. NOTE: Links may appear in multiple sections, as applicable.

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Topics Represented

Impact of Early Childhood Education

Developmentally Appropriate Practices

Elements of Early Learning Collaboration

Assessment, Response to Intervention, Tracking Systems

Common Core State Standards & Early Childhood

Social and Emotional Development

Family Engagement

PK to Third Grade Alignment

Public Policy

Collaboration with High Schools, Technical Centers, Colleges, Universities

High Quality Teaching and Learning

Oral Language, Literacy, Vocabulary in Early Childhood

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ASCD For College and Career Success, Start with Preschool Christy Guilfoyle, Winter 2013, Volume 19, Number 4. Pages 1-7

High-quality preschool makes a difference for students and society, and more students are poised to benefit than ever before. To truly lay the foundation for college and career readiness, the education our youngest students receive must be consistent with and connected to early elementary school, address the full range of all students' developmental needs, and work to prepare the whole child for future success as healthy, productive, engaged citizens

New York Times, Do We Invest in preschools or Prisons? (2013)

Growing mountains of research suggest that the best way to address American economic inequality, poverty and crime is — you guessed it! — early education programs, including coaching of parents who want help. It’s not a magic wand, but it’s the best tool we have to break cycles of poverty.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (2012). Access to early childhood education in Education at

a Glance 2012: Highlights , OECD Publishing.

Early childhood education helps to build a strong foundationfor lifelong learning and can pIay a significant role in a child’s development. Making sure all children start on an equal footing can also mitigate social inequalities. It is thus important to promote sustained public funding to support the growth and quality of early childhood programmes. As countries expand their early childhood programmes, they need to consider parents’ needs and expectations regarding accessibility, cost, programme, quality and accountability. Private institutions, child care, or extracurricular activities can result in heavy financial burdens for parents, even when government subsidies are provided.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2013). Early Care and Education.

The mission of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. We work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. We measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. We analyze and compare data to predict future trends. We set international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a policy priority in many countries. A growing body of research recognises that ECEC brings a wide range of benefits, including social and economic benefits; better child well-being and learning outcomes; more equitable outcomes and reduction of poverty; increased intergenerational social mobility; higher female labour market participation and gender equality; increased fertility rates; and better social and economic development for society at large.

Greenwood, G. (1999). Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Intervention. US Department of Justice.

The report supports the conclusion that, in some situations, carefully targeted early childhood interventions can yield measurable benefits and that some of those benefits endure for some time after the program has ended. The report bases this conclusion on a review of nine programs on which evaluations were performed that assessed developmental indicators, educational achievement, economic well-being, and health for program participants and compared the results with a matched control group. Includes Longitudinal Studies.

Isaacs, J. (2008). Model Early Childhood Programs Research Brief. Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution.

This research brief is one in a series of research briefs on the impacts of early childhood programs. See the websites for First Focus (www.fi rstfocus.net) and the Brookings Center on Children and Families (www.bookings.edu/ccf) for the full series including an overview and briefs on State Pre-K, Head Start, Early Head Start, Model Early Childhood Programs, and Nurse Home Visiting.

Parks, G. (2000). The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project. US Department of Justice.

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study is a study of the effects of a high-quality preschool program for children born in poverty. Following 123 children randomly assigned to program or no-program control groups, the study has had little attrition on a variety of measures from age 3 to age 41. The study has found evidence of preschool program effects on childrens readiness for school and their subsequent educational success, economic success in early adulthood, and reduced number of criminal arrests throughout their lives. These benefits add up to a large return on public investment. This study combines with the Abecedarian Study and the Chicago Child-Parent Centers Study to provide strong, robust evidence of the lasting effects of high-quality preschool programs on young children living in poverty. The continuing challenge is to take such programs to scale so that all preschool programs for young children living in poverty have similar effects.

National Education Association (2013) Early Childhood Education The NEA-supported, bipartisan Strong Start for America's Children Act (S. 2452/H.R. 3461), introduced in the House and Senate on November 13, 2013, would promote high-quality learning opportunities for children from birth to age 5. Includes research and background on the impact of early childhood education.

Barnett, W.S., Jung, K., Youn, M., Frede, E. Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study: Fifth Grade Follow-Up (2013). Rutgers, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research, 1-34. Retrieved from http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/APPLES%205th%20Grade.pdf

New Jersey’s Abbott Preschool program is of broad national and international interest because the Abbott program provides a model for building a high-quality system of universal pre-K through public-private partnerships that transform the existing system. The program offers high-quality pre-K to all children in 31 New Jersey communities with high levels of poverty and about a quarter of the state’s children. The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study (APPLES) assesses the impact of this pre-K program on children’s learning and development based on a cohort of children who completed their 4-year-old year in 2004-05.

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Regional Education Laboratories. (1995). A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages.

Under sponsorship from the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Educational Research an Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, the ten Regional Educational Laboratories worked to strengthen linkages between early childhood and elementary school programs. The Regional Laboratories began by studying the research literature and conducting a series of national and regional forums to understand the effect of the transition from early intervention to school programs. This activity included a review of past and current national efforts to create continuity in early childhood and smooth the transition between early childhood and school programs.

National Governor’s Association. (2005). Final Report of the NGA Task Force on School Readiness: Building the Foundation for Bright Futures.

The National Governors Association Task Force on School Readiness sought to identify actions that governors and states can take to support families, schools, and communities in their efforts to ensure that all children start school ready to reach their full potential. The task force adopted a framework for school readiness that incorporates the elements of ready schools, ready communities, ready families and ready children.

Pittsburgh Public Schools. (2002). Ready Freddy, Pathways to Kindergarten Success, Collection of Resources to Support Kindergarten Transition.

The Ready Freddy Program was created in collaboration with Pittsburgh Public Schools, engaged parents, and multiple community partners. A child’s transition into kindergarten sets the tone for her educational experience for many years to come. On the first day of school, every kindergarten child should walk into the classroom feeling excited, ready to learn, and supported by the school, their parents, and their community. Children flourish and learn best in the context of strong and supportive relationships.

Bohan-Baker, M. & Little, P. (2002). The Transition to Kindergarten: A Review of Current Research and Promising Practices to Involve Families. Harvard Family Research Project.

The brief begins with an overview of the concept of transition and its importance to school success. It then examines transition practices that focus on families, considering both practices and key players in implementation; it includes examples of promising transition practices that involve families. It concludes with the presentation of a framework for the development of school and program transition teams that value family involvement.

Kreider, H. (2002). Getting Parents “Ready” for Kindergarten: The Role of Early Childhood Education. Harvard Family Research Project.

This research brief presents preliminary evidence that family involvement in young children's education may contribute not only to a smooth transition to elementary school for children, but also for parents, by helping to prepare them for later involvement in their children's learning. This brief draws from the literature on transition, recent findings from the School Transition Study at the Harvard Family Research Project, and recommended practices from early childhood professionals.

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National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practices Position Statement

The purpose of this position statement is to promote excellence in early childhood education by providing a framework for best practice. Grounded both in the research on child development and learning and in the knowledge base regarding educational effectiveness, the framework outlines practice that promotes young children’s optimal learning and development.

Wilson, D.M. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing: New Reports outline key principles for PreK to Third Grade

As the push to teach literacy and math skills reaches farther into preschool and kindergarten, educators are warning that teachers need to address young students’ social, emotional, and physical needs as well as their cognitive development.

Miller, E. & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the Kindergarten Why Children Need to Play in School

The importance of play to young children’s healthy development and learning has been documented beyond question by research. Yet play is rapidly disappearing from kindergarten and early education as a whole. We believe that the stifling of play has dire consequences—not only for children but for the future of our nation. This report is meant to bring broad public attention to the crisis in our kindergartens and to spur collective action to reverse the damage now being done.

Schiller, P. & Willis, C. (2008). Using Brain-Based Teaching Strategies to

Create Supportive Early Childhood Environments That Address Learning Standards

With careful planning, knowledge of brain research findings, and a little creativity, primary teachers can offer engaging, brain-based activities that encourage exploration and learning and support learning standards. Teachers and children can build a strong community of learners who see learning as an opportunity to be successful problem solvers while anticipating each new challenge as another exciting adventure.

BOOK: Copple, C. & Bredekamp. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice (in Early Childhood Programs, Serving Children from Birth through Age 8)

Based on what the research says about development, learning, and effective practices, as well as what experience tells us about teaching intentionally, DAP articulates the principles that should guide our decision-making. Chapters describe children from birth through age 8 in detail, with extensive examples of appropriate practice for infant/toddler, preschool, kindergarten, and primary levels.

Sadowski, M. (2006). Core Knowledge for PK-3 Teaching: Ten Components of Effective Instruction

Drawing on guidelines set forth by national education groups and the research that underlies them, this brief outlines what experts in the field identify as “core knowledge” for high-quality PK-3 teaching in the U.S. — that is, what educators of children from Preschool through Grade Three must know and be able to do in order to be most effective in their work. Rather than a discrete set of competencies, the elements of effective teaching outlined here essentially point to an aligned set of standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment both within and across developmental levels over the PK-3 continuum.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Call to Action for the 112 th Congress

With appropriate federal policies and funding, all states and communities can develop a well-financed, effective system of early childhood care and education with strong governance, regulation, and oversight; affordable access for all families; stan dards for programs, professionals, and children’s learning and development; valid and useful evaluation for continuous quality improvement; and needed supports for families and children. NAEYC’s “Call to Action” addresses eight areas, giving policy recommendations and identifying legislative ve hicles for action.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function: Working Paper No. 11

Being able to focus, hold, and work with information in mind, filter distractions, and switch gears is like having an air traffic control system at a busy airport to manage the arrivals and departures of dozens of planes on multiple runways. In the brain, this air traffic control mechanism is called executive functioning, a group of skills that helps us to focus on multiple streams of information at the same time, and revise plans as necessary. Acquiring the early building blocks of these skills is one of the most important and challenging tasks of the early childhood years, and the opportunity to build further on these rudimentary capacities is critical to healthy development through middle childhood, adolescence, and into early adult life.

Responsive Classroom Practices Teach the Whole Child (2011)

As part of its Lessons from Our Nation's Schools series, Education World visited two elementary schools that use the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning. By intertwining social and academic learning, advocates of the Responsive Classroom system say, children become more independent learners and more considerate people. Included: Descriptions of how Responsive Classroom practices work in schools.

US Department of Education (2010). The Association Between School-Based Physical Activity, Including Physical Activity, and Academic Performance.

When children and adolescents participate in the recommended level of physical activity—at least 60 minutes daily—multiple health benefits accrue. Most youth, however, do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Schools provide a unique venue for youth to meet the activity recommendations, as they serve nearly 56 million youth. At the same time, schools face increasing challenges in allocating time for physical education and physical activity during the school day. There is a growing body of research focused on the association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance among school-aged youth. To better understand these connections, this review includes studies from a range of physical activity contexts, including school-based physical education, recess, classroom-based physical activity (outside of physical education and recess), and extracurricular physical activity. The purpose of this report is to synthesize the scientific literature that has examined the association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance, including indicators of cognitive skills and attitudes, academic behaviors, and academic achievement.

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Galinsky, E. (2010). Mind in the Making. Harper Collins: NY.

Mind in the Making, Ellen Galinsky has grouped Social and Emotional research into seven critical areas that children need most: (1) focus and self control; (2) perspective taking; (3) communicating; (4) making connections; (5) critical thinking; (6) taking on challenges; and (7) self-directed, engaged learning. For each of these skills, Galinsky shows parents what the studies have proven, and she provides numerous concrete things that parents can do—starting today—to strengthen these skills in their children. These aren't the kinds of skills that children just pick up; these skills have to be fostered. They are the skills that give children the ability to focus on their goals so that they can learn more easily and communicate what they've learned. These are the skills that prepare children for the pressures of modern life, skills that they will draw on now and for years to come.

Guernsey, L. (2012). Podcast: Focusing on Social-Emotional Development in PreK-3rd Graders.

Ensuring that children receive a good education throughout their early years, from pre-kindergarten through third grade, is not just about helping them achieve academically. It also means providing kids with teachers who can help them grow socially and emotionally year after year. This presentation highlights the positive impact of teaching pre-K children how to regulate their emotions and share with their peers -- as well as the less-impressive results that derive when those strategies aren't continued in elementary school.

Hawn Foundation. (2011). Mind Up Program.

As The Hawn Foundation’s signature educational initiative, MindUP™ is anchored in current research in cognitive neuroscience, evidence-based classroom pedagogy, best-practices mindful education, precepts of social and emotional learning (SEL), and guiding principles of positive psychology. MindUP™ is a family of social, emotional, and attentional self-regulatory strategies and skills developed for cultivating well-being and emotional balance. Among the various MindUP™ skills taught to students, focused attention and nonreactive monitoring of experience from moment to moment display the potential to have a long-term impact on brain function and social and emotional behavior.

Durlak J.A. · Weissberg R.P. (2011). Promoting Social and Emotional Development Is an Essential Part of Students’ Education. Human Development;54:1–3

This paper outlines the examination of outcomes that were obtained by 213 controlled published and unpublished outcome studies that involved over 270,000 students. Each study evaluated a social and emotional learning (SEL) program and compared the outcomes to students participating in these programs to those in control groups.

Cooper, J., Masi, R., & Vick, J. (2009). Social-Emotional Development in Early Childhood. What Every Policymaker Should Know.

The early years of a child’s life present a unique opportunity to foster healthy development, and research has underscored the importance of the first five years of life – both positive and negative experiences – in shaping children’s cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development. This brief outlines the risks faced by young children with social, emotional, and behavioral problems, as well as barriers to eligibility, access to services, and service utilization. The authors conclude by recommending policy improvements needed by young children and their families.

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National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2013). Frameworks for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood: Description and Implications.

This paper, “Frameworks for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood: Description and Implications,” has been jointly developed by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Head Start Association. The purpose of the joint paper is to define early childhood response-to-intervention frameworks and to promote a broader understanding and discussion of the topic.

Greenwood, C. Carta, J. et. al. (2011). Advances in Measurement for Universal Screening and Individual Progress Monitoring of Young Children. Journal of Early Intervention 33:254.

In the last two and half decades, much has been learned about conceptualizing and developing measures for use by practitioners designed to inform their intervention decision making, such as when a child would benefit from receiving additional instructional support (universal screening) and whether the child is responding positively to the intervention when delivered (progress monitoring). The authors describe these developments, related issues continuing to face the field, and what is needed in terms of measures, access, and usability in future practice, research, and development.

Putting the Pieces Together: New York Early Learning System

A consortium of national organizations, the Early Childhood Data Collaborative, has convened to help states build, link, and use early childhood data systems. One of the Collaborative’s first efforts has been to articulate a set of key policy questions that a well-crafted early childhood data system can help answer. Their initial questions focus on early care and education data, while anticipating subsequent links to data on other services. This report represents an important first step to help New York answer these questions through a coordinated early childhood data system.

Snow, C. & Van Hemmel, S. (2008). Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, and How? Committee on Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children.

In 2006, Congress requested that the National Research Council conduct a study of developmental outcomes and appropriate assessment of young children. With funding from the Office of Head Start in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the specific charge to this committee was the identification of important outcomes for children from birth to age 5 and the quality and purposes of different techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.

National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) & National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in Departments of Education. (2003). Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Building an effective accountability system in early childhood programs, Birth to Age 8.

Early childhood curriculum, child assessment, and program evaluation are the foundation of this joint positionstatement from the National Association for the Educationof Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Associationof Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments.

Assessment Systems: Necessary Considerations: in the Assessment of Young Children. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

The Center for Applied Research at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC ) has developed this guidance to support states’ development and implementation of kindergarten readiness assessment systems. Such systems, properly developed and implemented, can contribute greatly to the success of early childhood programs and early elementary programming to identify and meet the needs of children entering kindergarten.

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Stedron, J. (2011). A Look at Maryland’s Early Childhood Data System. National Conference of State Legislatures

State policymakers and administrators use the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR)—the main component of the state’s early childhood data system—to evaluate and promote children’s school readiness and later academic success. Information from MMSR is used to improve programs, conduct research, do interagency planning and conduct policy analysis.

Snow, K. (2011). Developing Kindergarten Readiness and Other Large-Scale Assessment Systems: Necessary Considerations in the Assessment of Young Children. National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The considerations presented in this paper are built around NAEYC positions related to assessment and research on child assessment. While focused on large-scale assessment of young children, the guidelines included here are intended to inform considerations about early childhood assessment beyond the implementation of kindergarten entry assessments.

Zellman, G. (2012). Approaches to Incorporating Child Assessments into State Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems. RAND Corporation.

Many studies have shown that higher-quality early care and education (ECE) predicts positive developmental gains for the children who experience it. However, much ECE in the United States is not of sufficiently high quality to produce these benefits. Quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) attempt to improve practice and care quality in ECE settings; both are expected to improve child functioning. However, these systems rarely assess children to determine their effects because of the high costs and assessment burdens involved. Yet including child assessments in the design, implementation, and evaluation of QRISs or other quality improvement (QI) efforts could improve practice and raise care quality. The authors identify five strategies for states to consider for incorporating child assessments into QRISs or other QI approaches. Two of the strategies use assessments to inform classroom practice and to support program improvements. The remaining three use assessments to measure the effects of participating in a given classroom, program, or ECE system on child functioning.

Samuels, C. (2013). Federal Grant Prospect Reignites Kindergarten-Assessment Debate Proposed Federal Money Reignites Policy Debate

A federal grant program in the works to help states jump-start kindergarten-entry assessments is renewing debate among early-childhood educators about the benefits and pitfalls of evaluating young children. States vary widely in how—or if—they assess the skills and learning status of kindergartners. Research working on behalf of the Build Initiative, a multistate partnership that helps construct coordinated programs for young children and their families, compiled information on how the 37 states that applied for Early Learning Challenge Grant funds were handling assessments of young children.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Caution and Opportunity: The Common Core State Standards and Early Childhood Education. Retrieved February 2013 from

As states adopting the Core standards are moving towards implementation, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has developed this paper to provide a frame for this ongoing dialogue. This frame is built around the four central themes articulated in NAEYC’s position statement on early learning standards. In addition to providing a framework for dialogue, this paper encourages dialogue so that early childhood education can work in concert with K-12 education to ensure that learning standards for young children, before they enter school and as they progress through the early elementary years, are consistent with our accumulated knowledge and expe rience as a field.

King, J. E. (2011). Implementing the Common Core State Standards: An Action Agenda for Higher Education. Achieve & American Council on Education.

The Common Core State Standards present a great opportunity for education in general—and for higher education in particular. It is incumbent on faculty and administrators at institutions across the nation to seize this historic moment.

Liben, D. & Liben, M. (2013). VIDEO: Why Merging the CCSS into Existing Literacy Practices Earliest Grades is So Important.

In this video, you will learn why merging the Common Core State Standards into the existing literacy practices at the earliest grades is important. Meredith and David will discuss academic vocabulary, background knowledge, syntax and rich read-alouds.

Erikson Institute. (2012). High Quality PK to Third Grade in the Age of Common Core New Schools Project: Symposium, Videos, and Resources.

On February 6, 2012, Erikson Institute hosted a forum entitled High-Quality PreK–3rd in the Age of Common Core. Cybele Raver from New York University provided the keynote address. Other speakers included Jennifer Cheatham, John Price, and Stephen Zrike, Jr. from Chicago Public Schools; Charles Payne from the University of Chicago; and Jie-Qi Chen, Sarah Dennis, and Gillian Dowley McNamee from Erikson. The speakers’ biographies are below. This paper provides a synthesis of the ideas presented during the event.

Erikson Institute. (2012). High Quality PK-3 in the Age of Common Core: Complete Resources New Schools Project: Symposium, Videos, and Resources.

As Common Core State Standards and PreK–12 alignment shape school reform, high-quality PreK–3rd should be viewed as a critical first link in the full educational continuum. But how can we avoid false dichotomies such as early childhood education emphasizing “soft” social-emotional skills and K–12 being narrowly focused on academic “rigor” and content? Rigor and responsiveness can be part of early childhood — as well as later grades.

Barnard, W. (2004). Parent involvement in elementary school and educational attainment. Children and Youth Services Review

Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 39–62.

Using data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, this study investigated the association between parent involvement in elementary school and success in high school. Parent involvement in school (based on teacher and parent reports) and parent reports of home involvement were used to determine if greater reported parent involvement was associated with indicators of school success. Results indicated that even after controlling for background characteristics and risk factors, parent involvement in school was significantly associated with lower rates of high school dropout, increased on-time high school completion, and highest grade completed. This study suggests that parent involvement in school is an important component in early childhood education to help promote long-term effects.

Alliance for Childhood. (2010). Family Play and Family Well-Being.

The Alliance for Childhood promotes policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Their public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood as they act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future. This film focuses on family play time with the vision that, "The family that plays together stays together." It features many children along with six play advocates, including the Alliance's Joan Almon.

Consortium of Chicago School Research. (2010). Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago.

This book by current and former researchers from the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) provides a detailed analysis of why students in 100 public elementary schools in Chicago were able to improve substantially in reading and math over a seven-year period and students in another 100 schools were not. Using massive longitudinal evidence, the study yields a comprehensive set of school practices and school and community conditions that promote improvement, noting that the absence of these spells stagnation. The key ingredients, which the authors call the “essential supports,” are school leadership, parent and community ties, professional capacity of the faculty, student centered learning climate, and instructional guidance. Schools that measured strong in all five supports were at least 10 times more likely than schools with just one or two strengths to achieve substantial gains in reading and math. Moreover, a sustained weakness in just one of these areas undermined virtually all attempts at improving student learning. Lesson # 2 “Parent and Community Ties”

Education World (2011). Home Visits Force School, Home Links. Retrieved February 2013 from

Getting to better know students and their families can make parents powerful advocates in their children's education. Home visits can give teachers the insight they need to help all students succeed. Included: Descriptions of successful home visit programs. Educators today are finding that showing up at students' doors -- establishing a positive relationship with students' families -- is an important tool in school reform, particularly in low-income, urban districts where educators traditionally struggle to build parent involvement. Starting the year off with teacher visits to students' homes, with such visits serving as invitations to parents to become partners in their children's education, is, in fact, one of the easiest ways to establish relationships.

Epstein, et. al. (2011). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

How can teachers and administrators be prepared to create partnerships with families and communities? This volume, based on thirty years of original research, addresses the growing field of school, family, and community partnerships and offers an alternative approach. It is now possible to prepare teachers and administrators with a solid base of knowledge on partnerships. Parents and teacher share responsibility for the education and development of their children. Common messages and collaborative activities of home and school help to promote student success, prevent problems, or solve those that arise.

Epstein, J. L. (1995/2010). School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share.

Retrieved February 2013 from

The author highlights the importance of designing integrated, coordinated social contexts in which children can develop. She summarizes the results of many studies and the work of educators and families in elementary, middle, and high schools and describes how schools can develop more positive school/family/community connections.

Ferguson, C., Ramos, M., Rudo, Z., & Wood, L. (2008). The school family connection: Looking at the larger picture: A review of current literature. National Center for Family and Community Connections with School. Austin, TX: SEDL.

The SEDL National Center for Family and Community Connections exists to support the school, family and community connections to increase student success as well as connections that contribute to the students' overall success in school and in life. This literature takes a long-range view of the school-family connections framework in correlation to common characteristics and actions steps for effective support. Areas of focus include: Sense of welcome, Misconceptions among stakeholders, Use of and Issues related to resources, Home context and Student performance, Program structures and the roles of those involved in school-family connections.

“When school staff have a better understanding of their students’ home cultures, families parenting practices, home contexts, home crises, or significant family and community events, they can develop processes and strategies to bridge school-based and home-based activities and increase support for student learning.”

Harvard Family Research Project. (2012). Family Engagement in Early Childhood: A Resource Guide For Early Learning Challenge Grant Recipients

To support RTTT–ELC grant recipients’ efforts, Harvard Family Research Project produced this selective list of resources about engaging and supporting families with young children. We hope that this list of journal articles, practical guides, webinars, and presentations will be useful for grant recipients, along with any other states, districts, and local programs interested in expanding their family engagement work.

Halgunseth, L. C. & Peterson, A. (2009). Family Engagement, Diverse Families, and Early Childhood Education Programs: An Integrated Review of the Literature. National Association for the Education of Young Children.

NAEYC mission is to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with the primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources. The literature clearly indicates that in order to promote optimal development for all children, early childhood education programs and policy decisions must be respectful of the cultural and ethnic ideals of the families they serve, not just those that fit within the preconceived beliefs of teachers, administrators, and policymakers.

Henderson, A. (2006). Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family and School Partnerships. Teacher Guide Retrieved February 2013 from http://thenewpress.com/teacher_guides/1296.guide.pdf

Packed with tips from principals and teachers, checklists, and an invaluable resource section, Beyond the Bake Sale reveals how to build strong collaborative relationships and offers practical advice for improving interactions between parents and teachers, from insuring that PTA groups are constructive and inclusive to navigating the complex issues surrounding diversity in the classroom.

Written with candor, clarity, and humor, Beyond the Bake Sale is essential reading for teachers, parents on the front lines in public schools, and administrators and policy makers at all levels.

Henderson, A. & Mapp, K. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence

The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. National Center for Family & Community Connections with Schools & Southwest Education Development Laboratory. Retrieved February 2013 from

In this report you will find an impressive increase in the quantity and quality of research in this area over the past two decades, which is encouraging. It will only be significant in contributing to school reform, however, if you pay serious attention to the evidence of the positive contributions that partnership programs can make to student achievement and other beneficial outcomes, and then act on what has been learned. This report is important because it helps deliver and interpret the evidence. Many policymakers, administrators, and funders ask for evidence that parent involvement helps student achievement, including test scores. Many who ask the question are frustrated with the vague and sometimes confusing answers they get. This report provides some useful answers.

Henderson, A. (2006). Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family and School Partnerships. Teacher Guide

Written with candor, clarity, and humor, Beyond the Bake Sale is essential reading for teachers, parents on the front lines in public schools, and administrators and policy makers at all levels.

NEA Foundation. (2012). Parent/Teacher Home VisitsCreating a Bridge Between Parents and Teachers as Co-Educators in Springfield, MA and Seattle, WA.

How do they do it? Springfield has adopted a model of home visits developed by the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project (PTHVP) of Sacramento, CA. This model is founded on the core belief that “parents and teachers are equally important co-educators given that the parent is the expert on the individual child while the teacher is the expert on the curriculum that must be mastered for success.”Other distinguishing features of the model include:

Visiting all students’ homes irrespective of student achievement level to ensure that the visits are not associated exclusively with problems or disciplinary action.
Voluntary participation by parents and teachers
Compensation for teacher time
Multiple visits per year over the course of students entire career from elementary to grade 12

The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project. (2013).

Retrieved February 2013 from http://www.pthvp.org/

The concept behind the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project is simple. Rather than blaming each other, teachers and families come together, in a unique setting, as equal partners, to build trust and form a relationship where they can take the time to share dreams, expectations, experiences, and tools regarding the child’s academic success. Once a relationship is formed, the partners are empowered, finding accountability with each other to make the necessary changes to ensure that students experience academic and social success.

Supporting Effective Teaching: Communication Resources for Implementing New Systems for Teacher Development and Evaluation.

Beyond school staff, parents have the most at stake in ensuring that every child is taught by an effective teacher. The path for effective communication between school staff and parents include relying on teachers to help reach parents, simplify and make messages relevant, promote transparency, and develop parent leaders.

Snow, K. (2013). Research News You Can Use: Family Engagement and Early Childhood Education. National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Meaningful family engagement in children’s early learning supports school readiness and later academic success. Parental involvement is a critical element of high-quality early care and education. It has been mandated by the Head Start framework since Head Start’s inception in 1964, built into model programs like Abecedarian, outlined in Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), and incorporated into NAEYC standards for programs serving young children. A pair of recent studies underscores the importance of family involvement in early education experiences. The first study looks at how frequently families engage in certain activities at home that promote readiness skills in relation to their views about several readiness skills. The second study examines family home practices as they relate to child outcomes while enrolled in Head Start.

Redding, S., Murphy, M., & Sheley, P. (2011). Handbook on Family and Community Engagement. Academic Development Institute.

This Handbook is intended to provide educators, community leaders, and parents with a succinct survey of the best research and practice accumulated over the years. More important, the Handbook gives us a guide—a lean and lucid roadmap with which we can travel to a new plain in our quest for each and every student’s academic, personal, social, and emotional development. We offer the Handbook as a skeleton on which the body of good work in the field can be built. That work is extensive, and the people engaged in it are a special breed, firm in their commitment to enhancing the opportunities for our youth and wise in their understanding that schools cannot provide that opportunity alone.

Sawchuck, S. (2011). Through Home Visits, Teachers Recruiting Parents as Partners. Retrieved February 2013 from

The expansion of a parent-involvement strategy in which teachers make scheduled visits to their students' homes promises to yield insights into how those visits might be used to improve outcomes for students and sustain engagement by parents in their children's academics.

Sief, K. (2011). Teachers increasingly use home visits to connect with students’ families.

In Washington DC, the Flamboyan Foundation, which focuses on education, has trained teachers from 47 schools to conduct home visits. That program took shape after parents articulated their mistrust of local schools and teachers in a series of focus groups.

Parents as Teachers National Center (2007). Parents as Teachers Program: Impact on School Readiness and Later School Achievement

Schools, communities and families all share the common goal of wanting children to succeed in school.

Being a competent reader by third grade is one key indicator of children’s academic success. Children who

do well in the early grades of elementary school are more likely to graduate from high school and to go on to be

successful in life. How can we increase the likelihood that children will do well in elementary school? Research shows that school readiness predicts later school achievement. Therefore, we should provide positive experiences for children, starting at birth or earlier, that maximize school readiness. Since education begins at home and parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers, supporting and educating parents is a logical strategy. Parents who are involved in their children’s early care and education have children who are better prepared for school. The Parents as Teachers Born to Learn program is one key way to ensure that children enter school ready to learn. This research summary reports results from a 2006 study of Missouri children who participated in Parents as Teachers and other early childhood experiences. Researchers investigated the impact of pre-kindergarten services on 7,710 Missouri children’s readiness for school and performance on state assessments at the end of the early elementary years.

Weiss, H. (2008). Building the Future of Family Involvement. Harvard Family Research Project: The Evaluation Exchange. Retrieved February 2013.

In 2005, Harvard Family Research Project introduced the concept of complementary learning—the idea that integrating school and nonschool supports in an aligned and systemic way can better ensure learning and positive development for all children and youth. In this issue, we spotlight one of the central components of complementary learning: family involvement. Building these investments in policy and practice requires reframing family involvement within a complementary learning framework. As the Theory & Practice article outlines—and articles throughout the issue illustrate—investments in family involvement are important across ages and settings and through the coconstructed efforts and shared responsibilities of many stakeholders.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2013). Early Care and Education.

Gayl, C. (2011). Framing the Future, Addressing PK in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. PREK Coalition.

The Pre-K Coalition is a collaboration of the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association to develop consensus on pre-kindergarten policy goals. This brief describes the expanded context of early learning that exists today, how it connects with and bolsters education reform, and why it is important for federal legislation to address pre-kindergarten.

Kilburn, M. R. & Karoly, L. A. (2008). The Economics of Early Childhood Policy: What the Dismal Science Has to Say About Investing in Children. RAND Corporation.

This paper summarizes the contributions from the field of economics, which has played an increasingly prominent role in recent discussions about early childhood policy. The insights from economics also have broader implications for social programs focused on prevention, especially during childhood, rather than later-in-life remediation. This research will be of value to individuals who are interested in early childhood policy, including decision makers in the public and private sectors, service providers, and the public more generally.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Call to Action for the 112th Congress.

With appropriate federal policies and funding, all states and communities can develop a well-financed, effective system of early childhood care and education with strong governance, regulation, and oversight; affordable access for all families; standards for programs, professionals, and children’s learning and development; valid and useful evaluation for continuous quality improvement; and needed supports for families and children. NAEYC’s “Call to Action” addresses the eight areas, giving policy recommendations and identifying legislative vehicles for action.

Mitchell, A. & Stoney, L. (2011). Toward Better Policy for Early Care and Education in the United States. Alliance for Early Childhood Finance.

The recession economy is taking its toll on ECE programs and policies throughout the United States. As thought leaders and consultants, we have become deeply concerned about how policy makers, and the ECE community as a whole, are responding to budget cuts. Without a very clearly defined and focused agenda we fear that the gains we have made over the past 20 years could be lost. To address this concern, in 2011 we asked a small group of individuals to help us think more clearly about how to proceed. This policy framework represents our collaborative thinking.

Strauss, V. (2012). Early Childhood Educational Policies Overall: How Ed Policy is Hurting Early Childhood Education. The Washington Post.

A coalition of national leaders in the field of early childhood education are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of recent federal education policy concerns for early care and education around the country. Their concerns fell in three major categories.

Almon, J. & Miller, E. (2011). The Crisis in Early Education. Alliance for Early Childhood.

The crisis in early education in the U.S. continues unabated. Policymakers persist in ignoring the huge discrepancy between what we know about how young children learn and what we actually do in preschools and kindergartens.

Harvard University, Center for the Developing Child. (2007). A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy.

A ground-breaking framework for using evidence to improve outcomes in learning, behavior, and health for vulnerable children, co-authored by the members of the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Combining knowledge from neuroscience, behavioral and developmental science, economics, and 40 years of early childhood program evaluation, the authors provide an informed, nonpartisan, pragmatic framework to guide policymakers toward science-based policies that improve the lives of young children and benefit society as a whole.

Grunewald, R. (2003). Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return.

Early childhood development programs are rarely portrayed as economic development initiatives, and we think that is a mistake. Such programs, if they appear at all, are at the bottom of the economic development lists for state and local governments. They should be at the top. Most of the numerous projects and initiatives that state and local governments fund in the name of creating new private businesses and new jobs result in few public benefits. In contrast, studies find that well-focused investments in early childhood development yield high public as well as private returns.

PEW Center on the States (2011). Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K-12 Future.

This report challenges our nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving from a K-12 to a Pre-K-12 system. This vision is grounded in rigorous research and informed by interviews with education experts, as well as lessons from Pew’s decade-long initiative to advance high-quality pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds.

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King, J. E. (2011). Implementing the Common Core State Standards: An Action Agenda for Higher Education. Achieve & American Council on Education.

Bishop, J. H. & Mane, F. (2003). The Impacts of Career-Technical Education

on High School Completion and Labor Market Success. Center for Advanced Human Resources Studies.

High school career-technical education (CTE) is a massive enterprise. Last year high school students spent more than 1.5 billion hours in vocational courses of one kind or another. This paper studies the impact of the Career Technical Courses and students transition to college and careers.

Georgetown University Center on Health and Education. (2009). Forging a New Framework or Professional Development: A Report on The Science of Professional Development in Early Childhood Education: A National Summit. ZERO TO THREE: National Center for

Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Retrieved February 2013 from

The Georgetown University Center on Health and Education and ZERO TO THREE, with the support of the ECEPD Program, of the U.S. Department of Education, convened a distinguished group of scientists, practitioners, and policymakers for The Science of Professional Development in Early Childhood Education: A National Summit, a look at the latest knowledge about effective professional development and evidence-based practices that promote school readiness and academic success.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Caution and Opportunity: The Common Core State Standards and Early Childhood Education.

National Association of Early Childhood Educators. (2008). Position Statement on Early Childhood Certification for Teachers of Children 8 years old and Younger in Public School Settings: A position statement of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE).

Teachers qualified to meet the unique developmental and educational needs of children between the ages of 3 and 8 are knowledgeable about the developmental and learning characteristics of these children and use this knowledge to inform appropriate teaching techniques and assessments. Since teacher preparation and certification should be relevant to the teacher’s position, NAECTE recommends that state certification agencies and school districts adopt policies for Early Childhood Education and Teacher Placement.

American Federation of Teachers. (2012). Raising the Bar: Aligning and Elevating Teacher Preparation and the Teaching Profession.

The American Federation of Teachers Teacher Preparation Task Force was established to examine the research on what works and what does not work in the field of teacher preparation as a basis for making policy recommendations. Just as important, the task force considered how best to implement such policy recommendations in a way that takes into account all stakeholders—teacher education institutions, K-12 schools, teacher accrediting agencies, state education boards, federal government regulators, education associations and unions—and leads to real improvement in the field as measured by the quality of new teachers entering the profession. The task force recommends three significant changes that must be made to truly improve teacher preparation and, by extension, improve teaching and learning in our schools.

Bornfruend, L. A. (2011). Getting in Sync Revamping Licensing and Preparation for Teachers in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and the Early Grades. New America Foundation.

In this report, the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation provides a review of the state of preparation among teachers who receive a bachelor’s degree to teach young children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and the early grades of elementary school. The quality of the instruction that children receive in prekindergarten through the third grade can make a lasting impact on how well they perform throughout their years in school. With excellent teaching throughout this period of their lives, children are more likely to build on what they learned in programs they attended before formal schooling, quashing arguments that gains made in those programs are short-lived. More importantly, strong teachers in these years are critical to instilling children with a love of learning and excitement for school that builds on itself at each grade level.

Council of Great City Schools. (2012). Supporting Effective Teaching: Communication Resources for Implementing New Systems for Teacher Development and Evaluation.

A growing number of states, districts, and public charter school organizations understand that to increase student learning they must support effective teaching. They are focusing on personalizing and strengthening supports for teachers, developing new evaluation systems to recognize and foster excellence and improvement, and creating new opportunities for teachers. Clear, consistent, and transparent communication is critical to successful implementation of these changes. Effective communication is more than messages or messengers. It involves sharing information, getting feedback, making changes based on that input, and establishing predictability in what is inherently a continuous improvement process.

Colker, L. (2008). Twelve Characteristics of Effective Early Childhood Educators. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Beyond the Journal: Young Children.

What does it take to be an effective early childhood teacher? This is a question that has long gnawed at reflective teacher educators, idealistic teachers (especially those just beginning their careers), and worried families who place their young children in the care of another adult. Many educators feel that effectiveness as a teacher stems from a combination of knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics (Katz 1993).

Hightower, A.M., Delgado, R.C. et. al. (2010). Improving Student Learning By Supporting Quality Teaching: Key Issues, Effective Strategies and Outcomes.

In this report the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center explored issues related to teaching quality and student learning, and offers strategies, approaches, and considerations for philanthropic and other organizations. This work should be of particular interest for institutions considering investing in the areas of teaching and learning.

Hyson, M. Tomlinson, H. B., Morris, C. A. (2009). Quality Improvement in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Faculty Perspectives and Recommendations for the Future

Approximately 1,200 institutions of higher education in the United States offer a degree in early childhood education, but recent research questions the strength of the relationship between teachers having a degree and benefits to child development and learning. However, there has been little empirical focus on the quality of degree programs. This exploratory study examined faculty perspectives on program priorities and factors that may facilitate or impede program quality-improvement efforts. Data were obtained from an online survey of early childhood education program administrators and faculty (N = 231); additional telephone interview data were obtained from 20 survey participants. Faculty reported relying on national and state standards for guidance in designing and implementing their programs. Results indicated inadequate knowledge of current early childhood research and theory on the part of some faculty. Faculty-reported priorities to enhance program quality included strengthening student competencies (the highest priority being implementing curriculum effectively), building faculty capacity, and accreditation. When describing their program’s organizational climate, most faculty reported being in implementation or maintenance mode, building mode, and change mode. Those who described themselves as being in survival mode were more likely to report low philosophical and financial support from their institutions. To improve program quality, faculty cited the following needs: more faculty, more time, institutional recognition of their program’s value, financial support, professional development opportunities, and institutional understanding of the larger context of early childhood education. The paper concludes with recommendations for research, policy, and technical assistance and support for teacher preparation programs in the United States

International Alliance of Leading Educators. (2008). Transforming Teacher Education Redefined Professionals for 21st Century Schools.

The International Alliance of Leading Institutes (IALEI) is a consortium of nine education institutes that seeks to enhance the quality of education in their own countries and to provide leadership for educational development internationally. Both researchers and policy makers want the same thing – high quality teachers. Both want evidence of what is likely to work best. While we have relied on the best available evidence and scholarship, we have also sought to clearly set out some propositions to guide policy choices. The balance has been difficult to achieve but we hope we have achieved it to a reasonable extent.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (2011). Caution and Opportunity: The Common Core State Standards and Early Childhood Education. Retrieved February 2013 from

National Governor’s Association. (2012). Governor’s Role in Aligning Early Education and K-12 Reforms: Challenges, Opportunities, and Benefits for Children.

As policymakers who have the responsibility for the well-being and education of children of all ages, governors are uniquely situated to bring state agencies together and develop a coordinated strategy to align ECE and K-12 Policies so they better serve all children, starting at birth. Doing so requires leaders from both systems to analyze what their respective goals, approaches, and reform strategies have in common and how they differ. This process can help governors, their staff, and other state policy leaders develop concrete action steps that promote greater alignment of ECE and K-12.

PEW Center on the States (2011). Transforming Public Education: Pathway to a Pre-K-12 Future.

Sparks, S. (2013). FOCUS ON: LITERACY. Students Must Learn More Words, Say Studies. Education Week. Education Week Vocab Studies.pdf

Children who enter kindergarten with a small vocabulary don't get taught enough words—particularly, sophisticated academic words—to close the gap, according to the latest in a series of studies by Michigan early-learning experts. The findings suggest many districts could be at a disadvantage in meeting the increased requirements for vocabulary learning from the Common Core State Standards, said study co-author Susan B. Neuman, a professor in educational studies specializing in early literacy development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Hart & Risely (1995) The 30 Million Word Gap

In 1995, researchers Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley published a study that highlighted the close link

between children’s academic success at ages nine and 10 and their verbal interaction with their parents

during the first years of life. As they documented in their book, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday

Experience of Young American Children, the vast gap in the amount of words and language heard by poor

children and their wealthier peers from birth until age three leads to developmental delays that then

predict a tougher climb to literacy.

Language gap between rich and poor children begins in infancy, Stanford psychologists find (2013)

Research by Stanford psychologists reveals that 2-year-old children of lower-income families may already be six months behind in language development. Future work aims to devise intervention methods.

Fifty years of research has revealed the sad truth that the children of lower-income, less-educated parents typically enter school with poorer language skills than their more privileged counterparts. By some measures, 5-year-old children of lower socioeconomic status score more than two years behind on standardized language development tests by the time they enter school.

Language of Babies

Even before a child learns to speak, the amount and quality of the language she hears has an important impact on her developing communication skills.Sadly, for many children,particularly those facing multiple risk factors including poverty, their home and primary care environments are not structured to maximize language and literacy development. We now know from research that there is a strong association between the ‘language gap’ children display in the early years and the eventual achievement gap they exhibit in school. Far too often, the early language and literacy needs of babies and toddlers are overlooked, thus reducing the likelihood they will enter preschool eager to learn or go on to kindergarten equipped to succeed.

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Applied Survey Research (2010) School Readiness and Student Achievement A Longitudinal Analysis of Santa Clara and San Mateo County Students

A growing body of research at the national level has begun to examine the relationship between children’s readiness for school at kindergarten entry and their later school achievement as well. This work has shown that children’s social and cognitive readiness for school acts as a

“springboard” for later success in school. Locally, the Santa Clara County Partnership for School Readiness sponsored ASR’s first longitudinal study examining longer-term academic outcomes of San Mateo County students who took part in school readiness assessments in 2001- 2003. In this study, ASR found that children who entered kindergarten with strengths across all readiness domains were the most successful on academic tests at third grade, and, in particular, Kindergarten Academics skills were most closely associated with later academic success.

New York Times, Literacy Laws Challenge Third Graders and Schools, Motoko Rich, August, 2014

With states starting to align standardized tests with the Common Core, new academic standards that have been adopted by more than 40 states, more students have fallen short of proficiency guidelines than in the past. That could mean many more third graders subject to the new policies about repeating the year.

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