This report presents findings from a systematic review of international reviews and meta-analyses, as well as Chinese empirical studies, on parent-child reading. Existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in English largely concern Western contexts -- especially the US and the UK -- yet few studies have reviewed articles in global…

Policymakers need to decide how to invest in strengthening the most basic foundation for early childhood development: family relationships. The challenges: (1) help parents provide the responsive and stimulating environments that will prepare young children for school; and (2) support fathers' engagement with their children regardless of whether…

Researchers, educators, professional organizations, administrators, parents, and policy makers have increased their involvement in the assessment and evaluation of early childhood education programs. This interest has developed swiftly during the last decades. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National…

Each week, nearly 11 million children under age 5 are in some type of child care setting for an average of 35 hours. Parents, as consumers of child care, equate a child care license with state approval--a gold seal for those businesses to which a state grants a license. Child Care Aware® of America reviews state licensing policies, which include…

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) program is an oral assessment designed to measure the most basic foundation skills for literacy acquisition in the early grades. EGRA's purpose is to document student performance on early grade reading skills in order to inform ministries…

This paper aims to broaden the discussion about effective teacher preparation by exploring three hypotheses designed to expand the early care and education (ECE) research agenda: (1) Both the content and the method of delivery of an educational degree influence teacher practices; (2) Teachers' ability to apply knowledge and skills effectively…

Because technology in the home is becoming ever more available, understanding the role of technology in early childhood development is increasingly an opportunity and a concern for educators. This report examines data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, to provide an overview of the role of technology in the…

With over half the nation's infants and toddlers in regular, non-parental child care, the quality of that care is a priority concern for policymakers. Many studies show that high-quality child care supports the positive social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. The research summarized in this policy brief identifies factors…

A firm that has designed many preschool and elementary school projects identifies three factors that are vital to successful design for young children: protection, interaction, and scale. Accompanying drawings of three projects illustrate these design principles. (MLF)

The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was appointed in 2002 and carried out its work under the auspices of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). NELP's primary goal was to identify interventions, parenting activities, and instructional practices that promote the development of children's early literacy skills. The National Institute…

Research on parents has shown the critical contribution that linguistic input plays in fostering early literacy, but there have been no systematic studies of the literacy of the early care and education workforce and its role in fostering quality early learning environments. This report examines the literacy levels of early childhood educators in…

As part of a longitudinal examination of the New Zealand junior school (which provides the first 3 years of schooling to New Zealand pupils), a study of organizational patterns in a random selection of schools and of children's school experiences was conducted. Class activities in a sample of junior school classrooms located in seven state…

This monograph documents the magnitude and likely prognosis of demographic changes in the 1970's and suggests the impact of these trends on the problems of early childhood education. The implications of this changing environment for designing a new Follow Through program are also examined. With respect to the changing demographic environment,…

Policy planners can create improved systems of care and new support systems for rural families who are raising children with disabling conditions or special health care needs, by recognizing the unique needs of these families, the ecology of local service delivery systems, and the special resource requirements of rural areas. Lack of information…

The research agenda for arts education presented in this report is a challenge to researchers, foundation directors, and policymakers. The intellectual stimulus for this report was the publication of "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development" (2002), conducted under the leadership of the Arts Education…