Research Institutions and Centers
Child Trends, an independent research center, focuses exclusively on improving the outcomes for children by providing research and analysis to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect children, such as the media, policy makers, and philanthropists. The organization tracks trends and identifies emerging issues, evaluates important programs and policies, and provides data-driven, evidence-based guidance on policy and practice.
Child Care and Early Education Research Connections promotes high quality research and its use in policy making. Their web site offers research and data resources for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and others.
Research and Training Center on Early Childhood Development is part of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices and outlines research highlights on early childhood intervention practices. The site includes the following sections:
- Centerscope (articles)
- Bridges and Bottomlines (practice-based research ideas and summaries)
- Solutions (specific products)
Research-based Studies and Reports
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel illustrates the scientific synthesis of early literacy development and implications for intervention. The report was developed by the National Center for Family Literacy in collaboration with the National Early Literacy Panel. Their primary goal was to identify interventions, parenting activities, and instructional practices that promote the development of children’s early literacy skills.
Effective Early Childhood Education Programs: A Systemic Review
Colleagues at Johns Hopkins University reviews and summarizes evaluations of 28 pre-k curricula, and uses the findings to rate the curricula's relative impact on learning. The authors employed a range of ratings, from "strong evidence of effectiveness" to "limited evidence of effectiveness." They also included a category for insufficient evidence. Of the 28 curricula, six were found to have strong evidence, five had moderate evidence and seven had limited evidence. All of the evaluations reviewed focused on cognitive outcomes, such as literacy and math skills, and most examined impacts through the end of the pre-k or kindergarten year, with a few tracking children's longer-term progress.
The researchers note that curricula with greater cognitive impacts tend to include specific, clearly defined objectives and well-designed learning experiences that support those objectives. The activities are highly interactive, emphasize giving children choices and foster their self-regulation ability. Successful curricula also provide teachers with sophisticated and continuous support for high-quality implementation.
Full Report
9-page Summary
Infants of Depressed Mothers Living in Poverty: Opportunities to Identify and Serve
This brief offers a first-time national look at the characteristics, access to services, and parenting approaches for infants living in poverty whose mothers are depressed. Results reveal that eleven percent of infants living in poverty have a mother suffering from severe depression
Research Synthesis on Infant Mental Health and Early Care and Education Providers
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) recently published a research synthesis, entitled Infant Mental Health and Early Care and Education Providers (n.d.), to answer frequently asked questions that early childhood providers have about Infant Mental Health (IMH), early social and emotional development, and the IMH system.
Roadmap to Effective Intervention Practices: Promoting Social Behavior of Young Children in Group Settings: A Summary of Research describes practices that are designed to increase the frequency or improve the quality of prosocial interactions, as well as those intended to improve emotional responding and reduce inappropriate challenging behaviors.
A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy: Using Evidence to Improve Outcomes in Learning, Behavior, and Health for Vulnerable Children
This report from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child integrates the scientific knowledge base of how brain architecture is formed in very young children with those factors from the program evaluation literature that appear to offer the best course toward positive outcomes for children. It builds on the work that began with the 2000 landmark report by the National Academy of Sciences, From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, followed by the work of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation.
Studies to Advance Autism Research: Autism Speaks, the CDC, and the Advertising Council Launch New Program to Educate Teachers about the Importance of Early Intervention for Autism. Read more...
Tools for Advancing an Early Childhood Agenda for the Latino Community is designed to help early childhood educators build stronger, more effective strategies to ensure educational success for Latino and English language learner (ELL) children. It includes chapters on "Framing the Issue", "Identifying Your Partners and Targets", "Taking Action", and "Media Tools and Resources". It also includes a number of different appendices on different topics, including data collection and the legislative process.
What Works for Early Language and Literacy Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Intervention Strategies (2011)– This fact sheet published by ChildTrends reviews fifteen experimentally-evaluated programs and intervention strategies that were primarily focused on improving early language and literacy skills.
All Studies and Reports below can be downloaded by clicking on the relevant links on the right.
Assistive Technology Training for Providers &Families of Children in Early Intervention (Research Brief Volume 2, Number 1 2005 1) is a brief report of a national study to determine how early intervention providers are educated and trained on the use and implementation of assistive technology for infants and toddlers in early intervention programs.
The publication Assuring the Family’s Role on the Early Intervention Team is designed to provide professionals with a model for explaining the IFSP and Early Intervention process to families. This NECTAC publication provides an overview of the safeguards built into IDEA, and the ways in which parents and families are legally protected and supported in the IFSP process.
Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States
The study from the National Prekindergarten Center explores the number, quality, and characteristics of early childhood education programs in both 2-year and 4-year institutions. The purpose of this study is to identify programs in light of more recent federal and state initiatives, and to look at obstacles to effective teacher preparation.
Evidence Based Practice in Assistive Technology (TNT Reports Volume 1, Number 5. 2004) reports on a study that analyzed and evaluated articles and publications about the use of assistive technology in early intervention programs, specifically with infants and toddlers. The purpose of the study was to identify which articles and publications provide specific and useful information about teaching young children how to use assistive technology devices.
Framework for Developing Evidence-Based Early Literacy Learning Practices is a research-to-practice framework describing available research evidence and how to use this evidence to develop literacy learning practice guides and tool kits.
A Model for Promoting Interprofessional Collaboration and Quality in Early Intervention Personnel Preparation
This briefing paper reviews several models of improving the quality and consistency of professional development programs and opportunities. This paper provides an overview of several different approaches and identifies commonalities in practices.
Personnel Preparation Policy and Practice in Early Intervention and Preschool Education is a brief report of a study conducted by The Center to Inform. The report highlights the results of a study on the alignment of individual states’ Early Childhood Special Education standards with national standards. The study found several areas for improvement in the overall alignment of state and national early childhood special education standards.
Standards for Online Professional Development
The Southern Regional Education Board has expanded the standards for evaluating the quality of teacher professional development created by the National Staff Development Council to include the growing field of online and distance learning. This valuable set of context, process, and content standards can help determine which online programs can provide the most effective professional development experiences.
What Do We Mean by Professional Development in the Early Childhood Field?
This resource created by the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion aims to create a field-wide definition of professional development, and to identify a conceptual framework with which professional development experiences can be evaluated.
