Research Connections’ librarians have curated this page to include publications that may be of particular interest to child care and early education policymakers, professionals supporting the workforce, and researchers. The publications were selected because they align with federal priorities, seasonal priorities, current events, or national interest. Many of the highlighted publications have been featured in Research Connections newsletters.
Infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) is a method of preventing early childhood expulsion and suspension used in all 50 states. This review provides an updated look at the recent body of literature on the positive impact of IECMHC in ECE settings. The review discusses…
How did child care directors respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic? This study analyzes a survey of 27 child care directors on the unique challenges introduced by the pandemic. Many identified concerns with staffing and financial issues, increased stress, and a disruption in the…
A close, supportive teacher-student relationship in early childhood can have long-lasting effects. This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to look at the role of teacher-student closeness and factors like cognitive flexibility and reading motivation on student reading…
This study uses data from more than 81,000 child care professionals surveyed early in the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the rates of chronic diseases and mental health concerns among child care workers. The study finds that depression rates were higher among child care professionals during the…
Could strong positive relationships between students and teachers help mediate expulsion risks? This study examines the relationship between preschool children’s inhibitory control and their risk of expulsion. Findings indicate that better inhibitory control is associated with a lower risk of…
This review covers more than 40 studies on professional development approaches for managing classrooms and providing behavioral support skills. Findings show most studies focus on educators from Head Start and public preschools. Professional development approaches included strategies for…
Could participation in high-quality ECE equip children who are at risk for educational failure with skills on par with their more advantaged peers? This study examines children randomly assigned as infants to participate in an enhanced Early Head Start–Head Start program. The study finds…
This analysis examines the racial disparities of a tiered funding policy in Pennsylvania. This policy awards more funding to high-quality ECE programs. The analysis finds the average white child’s ECE providers received significantly more funding than the average Black and Latina or Latino…
This study looks at whether numeracy skills—set counting, numeral identification, number comparison, and number line estimation—mediated the relationship between executive functioning skills and math achievement in young children. This study finds executive functioning skills are a significant…
Why are Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participation rates declining? This report looks at participation benefits, barriers, and facilitators among CACFP–participating independent child care centers and sponsors in California to understand what might be causing the decline. The…
This brief explores how educators, administrators, and policymakers can use TIC to support young children from low-income households. It specifically focuses on children affected by trauma from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The brief provides research-based information on TIC…
Does the amount of time children spend in Head Start matter? This study looks at the effects of time spent in Head Start on children’s self-regulation skills in kindergarten. Researchers found spending an extra year in the program was significantly associated with children’s self-regulation…
Early childhood teachers may deal with stress in the workplace as well as chronic stress from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This study looks at whether the source of stress has independent associations with teacher resilience and classroom behavior. Findings suggest that both higher…