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…
The findings in this study suggest that organization of classroom time and classroom activities may facilitate higher language learning in children, particularly at the start of the school year. The study examines 60 preschool classrooms: In half of these classrooms, children made higher…
To better understand how educators approach social-emotional learning in their afterschool programs, the authors interviewed 23 afterschool educators and program directors. The interviews showed that afterschool educators integrate social-emotional learning into daily interactions with children…
This study asks whether parental adverse childhood experiences have intergenerational effects for their children. Results showed no association between parental adverse childhood experiences and children’s social-emotional skills. However, the results did show a statistically significant…
Does attending a high-quality prekindergarten program affect elementary school behavioral and academic outcomes? This study looks at whether participating in San Antonio’s Pre-K 4 SA program affected student academic and behavioral outcomes in third and fourth grades. The study compared Pre-K 4…
Using a regression-discontinuity design, data from 155 Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program classrooms and 5,189 children across two cohorts, this study examines how the Tennessee Voluntary PreK program affects literacy, language, and math skills at kindergarten entry. The analyses show…
What are the long-term mental and physical health impacts of attending the Child-Parent Center Preschool program? This article examines participants of a Chicago program more than 30 years later. Findings indicate that preschool participation in the Chicago Child-Parent Centers is associated…
This review examines data from studies on the impact of adult/child ratio and group size in ECE programs. Its results find tentative support for the idea that smaller group sizes and fewer children per adult promote child development. However, the authors stress the need for contemporary…
Are preschool children with disabilities suspended or expelled at higher rates? This study using the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health data finds that 5.4 percent of young children with disabilities have been suspended or expelled. Meanwhile, 1.2 percent of children without disabilities…
This report analyzes the impact of a Chicago policy aimed at increasing access to preschool for high-priority groups. The policy resulted in increased full-day enrollment in Chicago Public Schools’ prekindergarten programs. City-funded community-based preschools also saw increased full-day…
This 2021 Longitudinal Workforce Report provides information from the National Workforce Registry Alliance. The report uses data from 14 registries that “met quality standards in the data collection and reporting on early childhood and out-of- school-time workforce data” (p. 2). Analyses…