Education Level: Early Childhood

COVID-19 Impacts on Child Care Providers and Families

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:59:00 +0000

Higher Costs, Lower Enrollment Threaten Availability

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed—and exacerbated—challenges affecting our nation’s child care system. Many child care operators have struggled financially as they deal with shut downs, lower enrollments and increased costs.

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New Research Points to Continued Promise of Pre-K

Beth Day — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000

Researchers continue to examine the long-term impacts of pre-K participation, and more sophisticated methods and better data may help solidify the consensus that has already emerged: investing in early childhood education plays an important role in preparing young children for success in the early grades and pays off in the long run.

Pre-K Benefits: 2018 Update

Beth Day — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 19:47:00 +0000

Research Snapshot

This snapshot summarizes important takeaways from four research studies published in 2017 that reinforce the value of pre-K. High-quality pre-K programs help prepare children for school, especially dual language learners and children from low-income families. Head Start programs can disrupt the cycle of poverty. And pre-K shows effects on outcomes such as math achievement and the likelihood of graduating from high school.

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Leaders from Southern states push to improve early education

Beth Day — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 00:53:00 +0000

Our understanding about early childhood development has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. New brain research tells us that children’s brains form very rapidly early on, and their earliest experiences have lifelong effects on their likelihood to succeed.

Now it’s time to put what we’ve learned into practice so that our young children get the best start possible.

Early Childhood Education

Beth Day — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 19:20:00 +0000

State Policy Recommendations

The report of the SREB Early Childhood Commission

Building a Strong Foundation: State Policy for Early Childhood Education

The Commission calls for states to raise the quality of early education programs and ensure they are well-coordinated across different agencies and budgets.

The recommendations cover wider access and accountability for results. The report also sheds light on the need for a statewide policy framework to bring together public and private funding currently spread across agencies and budgets.

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Early Learning: Birth to Third Grade Continuum

Steph Bradley — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 18:54:00 +0000

SREB Annotated Bibliography, 2014

Recent studies indicate that persistent achievement gaps among children begin as early as 18 months, years before most publicly funded prekindergarten programs offer enrollment. Likewise, research supports such a holistic approach to early education to ensure that every child enters school ready to learn. Policy makers should look for ways to align programs from birth through third grade to ease the transition into school, especially for at-risk children.

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Early Learning: Program Quality in Early Childhood Education

Steph Bradley — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 18:52:00 +0000

SREB Annotated Bibliography, 2014

Overwhelmingly, research shows that program quality is a major determinant in the achievement gains for young children who participate in early education programs. Teacher quality, in particular, is closely related to positive educational outcomes for preschool participants. Also, research shows that the use of developmentally appropriate curricula predicts program quality, as does a high degree of direct instruction that comes from smaller staff-child ratios and focused small group activities.

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Pre-K Benefits: The Facts on Fade-out

Steph Bradley — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 18:48:00 +0000

As policymakers adopt policies for pre-K programs, they want to know that the programs are effective. Do the gains last? Here’s what we know.

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Early Childhood Commission Glossary

Steph Bradley — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 18:47:00 +0000

Glossary of terms related to early childhood education, pre-K and child care. Includes key early childhood organizations, types of programs, and terms related to quality, accountability and assessment, statewide alignment, federal programs and funding sources, teacher quality, and family engagement strategies, plus sources. Compiled by SREB staff for SREB’s Early Childhood Commission

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Confronting the Fade-Out Debate

Steph Bradley — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 18:45:00 +0000

Children Flourish and Gains Do Last in High-Quality Pre-K Programs

This brief traces the evolution of research on state-funded pre-K programs. While a few older studies gave rise to and perpetuated a fade-out theory, recent research has produced evidence that children can sustain the gains made during the pre-K year.

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The Critical Infrastructure of Early Learning

Beth Day — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 22:59:00 +0000

Birth to Books

What happens in a child’s first three years of life has deep and long-lasting implications for success in school and life. Studies show that how many words children are exposed to by age 3, their mothers’ education level, and the stress of poverty are huge factors in whether or not they are ready for kindergarten at age 5.

Early Learning: Return on Investment

Steph Bradley — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 18:56:00 +0000

SREB Annotated Bibliography, 2014

Findings in these studies identify specific elements in pre-K programs that are most beneficial. Evidence from state programs in Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia is also instructive.

Cost-benefit and effect size analyses of pre-K programs
Catch up vs. fade out: Do pre-K’s positive effects persist through K-12?
Evaluations of pre-K programs in SREB states

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