Download or read book Does Early Childhood Education Climate Matter The Relationship Between State Policy School Readiness and Enrollment in Organized Care written by Erin Baumgartner and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an era of increased emphasis on student assessment and achievement, scholars, educators, and administrators continue to look to school readiness, or students' preparedness to begin formal schooling, as the key for improving student performance and decreasing educational disparities among children. This dissertation focuses on examining student readiness for school and the early childhood educational contexts that may foster greater levels of readiness among students at kindergarten entry.Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Kindergarten Cohorts of 1998-1999 and 2010-2011, I begin by estimating change in readiness between two nationally-representative cohorts of kindergarten students to assess whether students who are enrolled in kindergarten in 2010-2011 are more ready for school than students enrolled in kindergarten in 1998-1999. I focus this analysis on examining the between sociodemographic group differences in readiness for each cohort and observe whether all or some groups are making progress in decreasing gaps in readiness. Specifically, I examine between group differences by race/ethnicity, student gender, maternal education, family structure, and household income, finding that school readiness disparities are converging for some racial/ethnic groups and some family structure types. But unfortunately, the convergence in trends between most groups was not fast enough to eliminate disparities by 2010-2011. For most groups, including across measures of socioeconomic status, the disparities between groups has remained constant over time. In the second part of the analysis, I examine the relationship between the educational climate created by state-level early childhood policy and two of the primary goals of early childhood policy: to increase student participation in early learning opportunities and to increase student's readiness for school. With regards to greater odds of student enrollment in organized care, living in a state with greater per pupil spending is not associated with increased odds of enrolling in care. However, living in a state that offers unrestricted or restricted access to state-funded pre-k is associated with higher odds of enrollment than living in state that offers no access to pre-k, net of confounders. Analyses in this chapter also suggest that the relationship between living in a state that offers access to state-funded pre-k and organized care enrollment may be different for students from different racial or ethnic groups. When examining the relationship between early educational climate, as measured by state policy, and student readiness for school, this study finds that living in a state where quality requirements of state-funded pre-k programs are high and a greater proportion of four-year-old students in the state are enrolled in state-funded pre-k are positively associated with math and verbal readiness, as students in states that have a high number of quality requirements (7+) and a greater proportion of students served by state-funded pre-k programs have higher cognitive readiness scores. But students in states where more per pupil funding is needed to reach the benchmarks of a high quality program have lower math and verbal readiness scores than their peers in states where no funding or less funding is needed. Again, these results vary between racial/ethnic groups, with some students benefiting more from these state-level policies than others.
Download or read book School Involvement in Early Childhood written by Donna Hinkle and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public education begins with kindergarten for most children, but an estimated 1 million prekindergarten children are also in public schools, and the number is increasing. In December 1997, the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement convened a group of national, state, and community early childhood and education leaders to discuss the interrelationship between preschool and public education. Meeting participants unanimously agreed on the need to move from the current state of fragmented programs to a coordinated preschool care and education system that is linked with the public school system. Based on discussions at that meeting and on recent related data and research, this publication is intended to provide schools, families, and communities with information and ideas about public school prekindergarten and other preschool care and education initiatives that are linked with public schools. The publication offers insights from meeting participants about public school involvement in early childhood, and provides examples of how states and communities are designing programs to expand and improve preschool care and education. Following an introduction and background information on the meeting, the publication explores the following questions pursued at the meeting: (1) "Why Should Schools Be Involved in Early Childhood?"; (2) "What Roles Should Schools Play in Early Childhood?"; (3) "What Facilitates School Involvement in Early Childhood?"; (4) "What Challenges Do Public Schools Face with Involvement in Early Childhood?"; (5) "What Are the Key Issues for Professional Development?"; and (6) "What Are the Key Research and Evaluation Questions?" The publication concludes with a 52-item bibliography and lists of meeting participants and state early childhood education contacts. (HTH)
Download or read book Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 587 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.
Download or read book The Future of Children Spring 2005 written by Cecilia Rouse and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Future of Children is a new semiannual publication that provies research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children. This first issue focuses on "School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps." For more than 30 years, researchers have seen white children outperform black and other minority children in tests of reading and math skills. Though there is evidence that the gap has narrowed somewhat, the very persistence of this "racial and ethnic gap" remains a source considerable concern for academics, policy professionals and parents. The ethnic and racial gaps appear to reach back to the preschool years. When children reach the school door, minority children exhibit lower school readiness skills, at least those measured by standardized tests, than their white counterparts. From that point forward, the achievement gap only widens. If policy professionals are to address this disparity in academic achievement (and the consequent disparity in later opportunity), the racial and ethnic gap must be examined in the very earliest years, before students begin school with embedded inequalities. This volume critically summarizes the research on the origin and trajectory of the racial and ethnic gap in the early years from several theoretical perspectives. In particular, research is analyzed to determine when these differences start to emerge, in what areas they appear, what factors contribute to their development by the time children enter grade school and what are the long term effects. Contents: Introducing the Issue of Test Score Ethnic and Racial Disparities, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Sara McLanahan, and Cecilia Elena Rouse Identifying Racial and Ethnic Differences in School Readiness, Donald Rock and Jack Stenner Test Score Gaps: The Contribution of Family and Neighborhood Characteristics, Greg Duncan and Katherine Magnuson Genetic Differences and School Readiness, William T. Dickens Neuroscience Perspectives on Disparities in School Readiness, Kim Noble, B. J. Casey, and Nim Tottenham Low Birth Weight and School Readiness, Nancy Reichman The Impact of Health on School Readiness, Janet Currie Parenting, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Lisa Markman Childcare and Early Education, Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel
Download or read book Ready or Not written by Stacie G. Goffin and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After more than a century of evolution, early childhood care and education in the United States is in transition. In this frank discussion of the field’s purpose, identity, and responsibility, the authors examine the major issues that must be addressed if children are to be given more and better opportunities. They show how adaptive leadership work can unify the field, create openness to new change strategies, generate a shared vision, and build a viable strategy for its achievement. This provocative volume: Examines the leadership challenges of early childhood education, drawing lessons from extensive interviews and focus groups and from historical analyses.Suggests how the early care and education field can position itself to take charge of its future, rather than being driven by external influences. Outlines the need to focus internally, along with a challenging assessment of the field’s resistance to change.Focuses on the necessity for the early care and education field to engage in critical adaptive work or risk the consequences of not doing so. “This is a powerful book that has the potential to reinvent the field in ways that have yet to be determined. It should be required reading for all who work in early care and education.” —Josué Cruz, Jr., Dean, College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and past president of NAEYC “They get it! We need a true system of services for young children and their families in America. The authors explain to us why and present options for all of us to consider as we move forward.” —Dick Clifford, Associate Director, National Center For Early Development, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Goffin and Washington employ a variety of tactics to help us acknowledge imminent fork-in-the-road options in our field….If we fail to engage in this adaptive work, we will be no better than the elected officials whom we criticize for their partisan stubbornness and refusal to collaborate for the good of the whole.” —Marilyn M. Smith, Council for Professional Recognition, Washington, DC
Download or read book Cradle to Kindergarten written by Ajay Chaudry and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2021-03-25 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early care and education for many children in the United States is in crisis. The period between birth and kindergarten is a critical time for child development, and socioeconomic disparities that begin early in children’s lives contribute to starkly different long-term outcomes for adults. Yet, compared to other advanced economies, high-quality child care and preschool in the United States are scarce and prohibitively expensive for many middle-class and most disadvantaged families. To what extent can early-life interventions provide these children with the opportunities that their affluent peers enjoy and contribute to reduced social inequality in the long term? Cradle to Kindergarten offers a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy that diagnoses the obstacles to accessible early education and charts a path to opportunity for all children. The U.S. government invests less in children under the age of five than do most other developed nations. Most working families must seek private childcare, which means that children from low-income households, who would benefit most from high-quality early education, are the least likely to attend them. Existing policies, such as pre-kindergarten in some states are only partial solutions. To address these deficiencies, the authors propose to overhaul the early care system, beginning with a federal paid parental leave policy that provides both mothers and fathers with time and financial support after the birth of a child. They also advocate increased public benefits, including an expansion of the child care tax credit, and a new child care assurance program that subsidizes the cost of early care for low- and moderate-income families. They also propose that universal, high-quality early education in the states should start by age three, and a reform of the Head Start program that would include more intensive services for families living in areas of concentrated poverty and experiencing multiple adversities from the earliest point in these most disadvantaged children’s lives. They conclude with an implementation plan and contend that these reforms are attainable within a ten-year timeline. Reducing educational and economic inequalities requires that all children have robust opportunities to learn, fully develop their capacities, and have a fair shot at success. Cradle to Kindergarten presents a blueprint for fulfilling this promise by expanding access to educational and financial resources at a critical stage of child development.
Download or read book Squandering America s Future Why ECE Policy Matters for Equality Our Economy and Our Children written by Susan Ochshorn and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This remarkable book manages to pinpoint the critical issues in the care and education of young children with up-to-date research, and all of this in a pleasurable and lively style. This needs to be read widely, and right away.” —Deborah Meier, MacArthur award–winning public school teacher, principal, and author “An ambitious book, unlike any other in early childhood policy . . . a must-read for all who care about kids.” —Nancy Carlsson-Paige, professor emerita, Lesley University “Susan Ochshorn . . . shows us how a few dedicated people, schools, agencies, and institutions have made a difference in children’s lives—a difference that is enhancing early development in this generation and those to come.” —Samuel J. Meisels, founding executive director, Buffett Early Childhood Institute University of Nebraska “Indispensable for policymakers, educators, and all who care about our future.” —Riane Eisler, social scientist, attorney, and author “Sharp eyed, warm, and lively—a delightful read on a dead-serious topic.” —Janet Gornick, professor of political science and sociology, City University of New York “An urgent call to action that could change the course of the nation’s future.” —Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University “A kaleidoscope of stories and statistics to illustrate the profound injustices we are visiting on our children and the corresponding injuries we are inflicting on ourselves. We can only hope that Squandering America’s Future will help to turn the tide.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America
Download or read book Healthy Learners written by Robert Crosnoe and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The early childhood field has long understood that targeting the intersection of health and learning is integral to serving children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Yet this developmentally informed educational philosophy has been jeopardized by an increased emphasis on standards-based accountability. In this book, the authors explain why healthy learning is good for children, schools, and society and they suggest concrete ways to make it happen. Moving back and forth between national statistics and the intimate voices of parents, teachers, and service providers in a large urban school district, they formulate an action plan for educating the whole child and reducing educational inequities. While the book covers a broad spectrum of American children, special attention is given to the growing population of Mexican immigrant children. Chapters include: Issues to Ponder, Keywords, Take-Home Messages, and Next Questions. Book Features: An in-depth examination of the connection between good health and learning that all too often is lost in the daily hustle and bustle of families and schools. Statistical evidence from the national level combined with the voices of participants on the local level, providing a scientifically rigorous and personalized portrait of early childhood education in the United States. A focus on diversity and inequality, highlighting the experiences of children from underserved and often marginalized groups. “Blending diverse data sources and analytic tools, Crosnoe, Bonazzo, and Wu present a compelling case for linking ECE with health in policy and practice. The authors paint a cogent picture of early learning in social contexts, with a focus on the paradoxical trajectories of the children of Mexican immigrants. Pedagogically rich in terms of policy and methodologically innovative, this books shows the power of multimethod research.” —Beth Graue, Sorenson Professor of Childhood Studies, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin–Madison “This book is important for anyone who is concerned about educational equity, high quality early education, educational policy issues, or improving educational and occupational outcomes for vulnerable populations. One aspect of early education that is frequently overlooked is health care, and its central role in early learning is highlighted in this book. Although Healthy Learners focuses on the Mexican immigrant population, the analysis, findings, and recommendations are highly relevant for all children and families that face adversities. The writing is clear, multiple forms of data are provided to support arguments, and the ‘voices’ or personal reflections of children, parents, and providers vividly illustrate the main points of each chapter. I highly recommend this book to all levels of the early care and education profession.” —Linda Espinosa, University of Missouri–Columbia
Download or read book Building and Using Coordinated State Early Care and Education Data Systems written by Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State policymakers are increasingly focused on closing the achievement gap and preparing all students to succeed in school and in life. However, college and career readiness begins long before students enter high school or even a classroom. Differences in children's abilities appear as early as the first year of life, and research has shown that targeted interventions during the early childhood years can narrow the "school readiness gap." Accurate, timely and quality early care and education (ECE) data are necessary to inform policy decisions; guide the daily work of ECE professionals; and support coordination among ECE programs, the K-12 system, and other systems that serve young children and their families. To support state policymakers' efforts to build and use coordinated ECE data systems, seven national organizations established the Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC). After identifying the critical policy questions confronting state policymakers, the ECDC identified 10 Fundamentals of coordinated state ECE data systems. The 10 ECE Fundamentals will increase the capacity of state policymakers and other stakeholders to answer critical questions about policy and practice, but that is only the beginning. To fully realize the potential of coordinated state ECE data systems, state policymakers need to establish policies, practices and structures that ensure appropriate access and help stakeholders use data effectively to guide decisionmaking. Early Childhood Data Collaborative Stakeholder Outreach is appended. (Contains 5 notes.).
Download or read book Challenging the School Readiness Agenda in Early Childhood Education written by Miriam B. Tager and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging the normative paradigm that school readiness is a positive and necessary objective for all young children, this book asserts that the concept is a deficit-based practice that fosters the continuation of discriminatory classifications. Tager draws on findings of a qualitative study to reveal how the neoliberal agenda of school reform based on high-stakes testing sorts and labels children as non-ready, affecting their overall schooling careers. Tager reflects critically on the relationship between race and school readiness, showing how the resulting exclusionary measures perpetuate the marginalization of low-income Black children from an early age. Disrupting expected notions of readiness is imperative to ending practices of structural classism and racism in early childhood education.
Download or read book Ready or Not written by Stacie G. Goffin and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2019-06-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ready or Not made its mark in 2007 by boldly calling for a field-wide response to the question: “What defines and bounds early care and education as a field of practice?” A dozen years later, this question remains pivotal to the field’s understanding of its present and its aspirations for the future. In this updated and expanded edition, Goffin and Washington reunite to examine the major issues that must still be addressed if children are to be given more and better opportunities. This second edition will help everyone whose work impacts the ECE workforce, including those working directly with children, to deepen their commitment to adaptive and systems work and to develop the leadership capacity needed to become change agents. Ready or not, early childhood education needs to tackle its adaptive challenges. Nothing less will enable it to shift the field’s developmental trajectory, fulfill its potential, and satisfy its obligations to children, families, and society. “The second edition of Ready or Not is a reflective self-examination of the field of early care and education. It is a must-read book.” —Marquita Furness Davis, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “Goffin and Washington boldly identify the barriers and opportunities we face.” —Anne Douglass, University of Massachusetts Boston “A must-read for those that are invested in early care and education.” —Tracy Ehlert, State Representative for Iowa House District 70, Cedar Rapids, IA “A must-read for everyone who is committed to the field’s success.” —Ariel Ford, Office of Early Learning, City of Chattanooga
Download or read book Caring Communities written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Examining Access to and Participation in Early Care and Education Among Children of Immigrants written by Ying-Chun Lin and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children with at least one immigrant parent are one of the fastest growing child populations in the U.S.; however, these children are more likely to fall behind children of U.S.-born parents on school readiness skills. Despite the positive effects of center-based early care and education (ECE) on children's school readiness, children of immigrants are less likely than children of U.S.-born parents to attend center-based ECE. Lower center-based ECE participation rates may be a missed opportunity for critical learning among children of immigrants. Research largely focuses on child and family factors to explain the gap and suggests that family characteristics-lower household income and parental education levels and two-parent households-are important predictors of lower enrollment in center-based ECE. However, little is known about how broader community factors, such as child care subsidies and the supply of ECE, affect immigrant parents' child care decisions. Paper 1 uses data from the American Community Survey and state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) policies from 2009 to 2016 to examine the effects of state CCDF policies related to subsidy generosity and the ease of application on center-based ECE participation among low-income children of immigrants and children of U.S.-born parents. Results suggest that higher initial income eligibility and an easier application process increase the likelihood of using center-based ECE for children of immigrants. Paper 2 uses data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education to examine whether the availability of different types of ECE helps explain the gap in center-based ECE participation between children of immigrants and children of U.S.-born parents. Results indicate that the availability of care provider who are family members, friends, and neighbors is associated with lower center-based ECE participation among 0- to 2-year-olds, while the availability of child care centers is associated with higher center-based ECE participation among 3- to 5-year-olds. However, the supply of ECE does not explain the difference in ECE arrangements. Taken together, findings highlight the importance of considering community factors in immigrant parents' child care decisions. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research, public policy, and social work practice.
Download or read book Resources in Education written by and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Road to High Quality Early Learning written by Marjorie E. Wechsler and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book will help policymakers and practitioners convert their visions of high-quality early education into on-the-ground reality by providing a much-needed, richly detailed look at how states can design, fund, and manage exemplary programs. The authors describe and analyze how four states—Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, and North Carolina—have built early education systems that positively affect student outcomes. Sharing a commitment to advancing key elements of a quality preschool education, each of the states developed programs with different enrollment requirements, services, and oversight. All of them, however, rely on common overarching strategies, such as: establishing standards and supporting improvement, investing in knowledgeable educators, coordinating and aligning early education programs with elementary school, seeking sufficient funding sources and mechanisms, and building broad-based support. This book offers powerful lessons for anyone who is committed to delivering engaging, age-appropriate preschool programs for all. “This book is so valuable—it’s a ‘how-to’ for the current generation of political leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, who want to develop early education policies and practices that work.” —James B. Hunt, Jr., former Governor of North Carolina “This book provides critical insights for addressing the key challenge to preschool policy: fulfilling preschool’s promise at scale.” —W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) “A great resource for everybody engaged in state-level processes on behalf of young children, providing valuable lessons from leading states to help other states chart their own path.” —Elliot Regenstein, Foresight Law + Policy “A detailed and fascinating account of how distributive leadership, collaboration, and professional learning can greatly and positively influence teachers’ effective use of data.” —Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers
Download or read book Early Education and Care written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Disparities in School Readiness written by Alan Booth and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
