Learn about supporting positive language and literacy development, ACF Research with American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Playful Learning as an Academic Yardstick.

Supporting Positive Language and Literacy Development in Young Language Minority Children: Research, Policy, Practice (April 2008)

In April 2008 the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation along with several other federal agencies hosted a roundtable meeting, Language and Literacy Development in Young Language Minority Children: Research, Policy, and Practice, where invited participants engaged in critical dialogue regarding how research can support and expand policy and practitioner concerns regarding the language and literacy needs of young language minority children (0 to 5 years of age). Two central goals framed many of the discussions that took place at the meeting: 1) to gain a better understanding of the needs of policy and practitioner audiences in the area of supporting positive language and literacy outcomes for language minority children and 2) to gain a better understanding of how available research can presently inform these needs (while identifying gaps in, the literature along the way).

The various materials for this roundtable are posted.

The Way Forward: ACF Research with American Indians and Alaska Natives (April 2014)

On April 17-18, 2014, OPRE held a meeting titled "The Way Forward: ACF Research with American Indians and Alaska Natives" at the National Museum of the American Indian. Over sixty researchers and federal staff who do research with American Indian/Alaska Native communities gathered to learn about the current state of ACF research in tribal communities and to discuss future directions. From Tribal Health Profession Opportunity Grants to Tribal Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting, participants engaged in a lively discussion regarding how best to build knowledge that can increase understanding and help inform decision-making in tribal communities.

View Meeting Materials

• Meeting Summary

Presentations

• Setting the Stage: An Overview of Human Development Research Relevant to ACF Programs Serving AIAN Children, Families, and Communities (Monica Tsethlikai)

• Co-Creating a Strategic Roadmap for Collaborative and Effective Evaluation To Improve Tribal Child Welfare Programs (Paulette Running Wolf, Malia Villegas, Carol Hafford, and Melinda J Baldwin)

• Tribal Health Program Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Evaluation: Applying the Roadmap Principles (Carol Hafford and Alana Knudson)

• Building Capacity to Conduct Scientifically and Culturally Rigorous Evaluations in Tribal Communities through the Tribal Home Visiting Evaluation Institute (Erin Geary, Kate Lyon, and Julie Morales)

• Community-Engaged Measure Development for Framing Questions about Culture in Interventions: Questions about Culture (Nancy Rumbaugh Whitesell)

• Community-Engaged Measure Development for Framing Questions about Culture in Interventions: Culture and Intervention--Measuring Outcomes (James Allen)

• Challenges of Using Existing Measures of Early Development in Tribal Contexts (Jessica Barnes, Ann Belleau, Hi Fitzgerald, and Michelle Sarche)

• Designing and Scaling Interventions with and across Cultures: Communities That Care (CTC) (Richard F. Catalano and Tessa Evans-Campbell)

• Designing and Scaling Interventions with and across Cultures: The Family Spirit Story (Allison Barlow)

• Ho'Ouna Pono: Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention for Rural Hawaiian Youth (Scott K. Okamoto)

• Thinking Outside the Box of RCT's: What Additional Rigorous Options are There? (David Henry)

Playful Learning as an Academic Yardstick (PLAY) (December 2009)

In December 2009 the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation hosted a meeting "Playful Learning as an Academic Yardstick" (PLAY). Invited participants, including federal policymakers and researchers, engaged in critical dialogue regarding the research on play and children's development and policies related to play in early care and education settings. Goals of the meeting included: assessing the state of play research and establishing a basic research foundation; exploring whether policies are in line with the current research on play; and determining steps necessary to move the field forward.

View The Meeting Notes

Presentations

• Dorothy Singer 

• Ellen Frede

• Angeline Lillard

• Joe Frost

• Juliann Woods

• Karen Bierman

• Kathy Hirsh

• Marilou Hyson