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.
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…
According to DC’s Early Educator Equitable Compensation Task Force, “It is no secret that early childhood educators – particularly those serving infants and toddlers – are under-valued financially” (p. 6). This report on DC’s Pay Equity Fund focuses on compensation equity for early educators…
Are ECE workers more likely to be uninsured than teachers of older students? This study uses data from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education to examine the rate of uninsured ECE workers compared with teachers of older students. The authors find that “preschool and kindergarten…
What is the relationship between preschool quality and academic outcomes later in life? This study uses several national datasets to answer that question. The author finds a positive relationship between increased quality benchmarks and fourth-grade academic outcomes, specifically English…
Our understanding of child development and the importance of quality early care and education continues to grow and develop as the years go on. This study looks back in history to the first government preschool effort, the WWII Lanham Act Nursery Schools (LNS), to examine the effects of access…
This analysis looks at the long-term social mobility effects of the Perry Preschool Project (PPP) using newly collected data about the original participants and their children. The program resulted in long-term cognitive gains for the original participants through age 54. In addition, the…
How does the quality of education matter after attending a high-quality preschool program? This study from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University looks at whether the positive effects of high-quality early childhood education programs in North Carolina are greater in school districts with…
This study published by MDRC examines the long-term effects of the Making Pre-K Count and High 5s programs on third-grade math scores in New York City. When implemented on its own, the Making Pre-K Count program did not demonstrate statistically significant impacts. However, when combined with…
The number of regulated Family Child Care (FCC) programs in the United States has declined over the past 20 years. Using data from California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this report from the Erikson Institute addresses questions such as why FCC…
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect child care assistance policies in the United States? New funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act allowed states to make policy…
This paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City notes that in the United States, many women are out of the labor force because they are primarily responsible for their children’s care. The study examines whether maternal labor force participation increases when free pre-kindergarten…