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NCCF News Archive
NCCF Co-director Appointed to NAS Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics
Study Finds that Children’s Preschool Academic and Attention Skills Best Predict Elementary School Success
NCCF co-director, Jeanne Brooks Gunn, NCCF research scientist Pamela Klebanov and 11 co-authors analyzed data on close to 36,000 preschoolers to determine how accurately a child's social, behavioral and academic readiness in preschool and kindergarten predict their school achievement later in life. The study, published in Developmental Psychology and highlighted in the New York Times and Time Magazine, found that the best predictors of academic achievement in middle childhood are preschool math skills. Mastering early language and reading skills were next in predicting later achievement and attention-related skills also made a difference. Surprisingly, difficulty getting along with classmates, aggressive or disruptive behaviors, and sad or withdrawn behaviors did not detract from later learning. View the final article, "School Readiness and Later Achievement."
NCCF Staff Members Co-publish Book on Early Education Workforce
NCCF co-director, Sharon Lynn Kagan, former NCCF graduate fellow Kristie Kauerz and NCCF graduate fellow Kate Tarrant have published a new book, The Early Care and Education Teaching Workforce at the Fulcrum: An Agenda for Reform. Focusing on the more than 2 million individuals who care for and educate children under age 5, the book provides a rich synthesis of current research on the early care and education teaching workforce. The authors address frequently asked questions about teacher quality, teacher effectiveness, and the professional development necessary to achieve both, concluding with a call for bold changes that would transform the early care and education workforce. The book was published in November by Teachers College Press. Please click here for more information.
New Research on Parenting and Early Cognitive Development
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, senior research scientist Anne Martin and former NCCF graduate fellow Rebecca Ryan published a new article, "The Joint Influence of Mother and Father Parenting on Child Cognitive Outcomes at Age 5." Using a sample of low-income 2-parent homes, they find that the effect on preschoolers' cognitive development of having two supportive parents is double that of having only one supportive parent, regardless of that parent's sex. This study affirms the added value of an involved, supportive father for young children. The article appeared in a recent issue of Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Click here to read the full article.
Task Force Issues Recommendations to Help States Assess and Improve Early Education Programs
The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force, chaired by NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan, has released its final report and recommendations for developing a comprehensive assessment system for early education programs. Over the past four years, states have invested more than $1.9 billion in preschool to improve outcomes for children and enrich local economies, but few have successfully implemented a comprehensive assessment program to ensure that early education returns intended results. Supported through The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Foundation for Child Development, and The Joyce Foundation, the Task Force brings together leading experts in child development, early education, and state policy to help states design an approach to early childhood accountability that meets the demands of legislators and the needs of children, programs, and families. View the final report, Taking Stock: Assessing and Improving Early Childhood Learning and Program Quality. For more information, view the press release or visit the Pew Charitable Trusts Website.
It Takes a Community to Combat Childhood Obesity
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and senior research scientist Anne Martin discuss society's responsibility for childhood obesity in a Newsday op-ed article. Click here to read the article.
NCCF Awarded the Administration for Children and Families' Child Care Policy Research Grant In collaboration with the NYC Administration for Children's Services, NCCF senior research scientist Annie Georges, center co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and doctoral fellow Anna Johnson have received a grant from the Administration for Children and Families. The grant will support a research program to examine the relation between subsidy policies, preferences and perceptions of child-care quality, and child-care outcomes among low-income working parents in New York City. This research program focuses on three outcomes: duration of child care subsidy use, continuity of care, and the type of care selected.
Miriam Westheimer, Sasha Heinz, Aleksandra Holod, Rachel McKinnon, and Jodi Moss Join NCCF
NCCF is pleased to announce five distinguished additions to our research and support staff. Miriam Westheimer, a research scientist, was the founding executive director of HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters), and is currently the director of HIPPY's international network operating in eight countries. Sasha Heinz, a graduate fellow, previously worked with the Families and Work Institute in New York City. Aleksandra Holod, a graduate fellow, conducted policy analysis for a pre-k advocacy campaign in California and has been named an “emerging leader” in early care and education by the Children's Defense Fund. Administrative assistant Rachel McKinnon was a research assistant at the University of Maryland for Dr. Nathan Fox. Jodi Moss, communications director, was the marketing and public relations manager at Porter Novelli, a global public relations agency.
NCCF Co-Director in Kazakhstan to Collaborate on Child Development
NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan is working with the government of Kazakhstan to help that nation promote healthy child development. Kagan's work is part of the NCCF's international project, "Going Global With Indicators of Child Development," a joint project with UNICEF that helps countries
identify and establish nationally accepted indicators of early child development.
Kimberly Howard, Katherine Beckmann, Jondou Chen and Jeanne Reid Join NCCF NCCF is pleased to announce four distinguished additions to our research staff. Kimberly Howard, a research scientist, is also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College. Graduate Fellow Katherine Beckmann joins NCCF from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, where she was a U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Emerging Leaders Fellow. Jondou Chen, a Graduate Fellow, is a research assistant on several NCCF projects, including Fragile Families and the Early Head Start Follow-Up Study. Jeanne Reid is a Graduate Fellow and doctoral student in the early childhood policy program.
NCCF Awarded Grant for Research on Behalf of Campaign for Educational Equity
NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, together with research scientists Jodie Roth and Margo Garner, have received a $10,000 grant from Teachers College to research and write a literature review on after-school activities on behalf of the TC's Campaign for Educational Equity.
Sharon Lynn Kagan, Kristie Kauerz and Kate Tarrant Co-Publish Book on Early Education Workforce
The Early Care and Education Workforce: At the Fulcrum, forthcoming from Teachers College Press in November, is a new volume focused on the early education workforce, co-authored by NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan and researchers Kristie Kauerz and Kate Tarrant. This publication will be an extension of the initiative sponsored by Cornerstones for Kids .
Dr. Kagan Serves on American Workforce Commission, Early Childhood Task Force
Dr. Kagan has also recently served on the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a panel created by the National Center on Education and the Economy. The commission's final report, entitled Tough Choices or Tough Times , was released on December 14, 2006, and calls for a restructuring of educational priorities and a new vision for the future of American education. The executive summary of the report can be viewed here: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/4204_FinalExecutiveSum1127.pdf .
In addition, Dr. Kagan is currently serving as the chair of The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force (supported through The Foundation for Child Development , The Joyce Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts), the goal of which is to assist states in setting standards for early childhood programs. On the international level, she has continued her work with UNICEF on the Going Global project, traveling most recently to the Republic of Georgia to tackle issues on standards and assessment for early childhood education in that country.
Closer to home, Dr. Kagan has also been teaching the Federal Policy Institute course at Teachers College, Columbia University. This course includes a special week-long trip to Washington , D.C. , where students have the opportunity to hear leaders in the educational policy realm speak about their experiences.
Anne Martin and Kristie Kauerz Named Coordinators at NCCF
Senior Research Scientist Anne Martin, Dr.PH and Graduate Fellow Kristie Kauerz were named Coordinators at the National Center for Children and Families. In addition to their ongoing research activities, Martin and Kauerz will help ensure that all NCCF researchers have access to training in both research and policy, and that all staff members have comparable opportunities for mentorship and growth. In addition, they will assist NCCF's Co-Directors to better integrate the programmatic and administrative activities of the organization's two "sister" offices at Teachers College. Congratulations, Anne and Kristie!
NCCF Researcher Jodie Roth Published on Benefits of After-School Activities
The latest edition of Social Policy Report, a publication of the Society for Research in Child Development, focuses on issues surrounding extra-curricular activities, including articles challenging the notion that today's children are "over-scheduled" and stressed as a result.
In her article, "Next Steps: Considering Patterns of Participation," NCCF Research Scientist Jodie Roth discusses the positive outcomes associated with after-school participation in organized activities, and the developmental benefits of longer-term engagement in those activties. NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is Associate Editor of Social Policy Report. To see the latest issue, including Roth's article, click here. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn Co-Authors New Study on Effects of Reading to the Young
Very young children whose mothers read to them develop greater language comprehension, vocabulary, and cognitive development by two years of age, according to a study published in the July/August issue of Child Development (Vol. 77, No. 4). The study looked at the effects of maternal bookreading for young children in low-income families. NCCF C0-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D., was a co-author of the study. To see the article, click here.
Office
of Policy and Research Announces Fellowships
Awards
Cover a Broad Rand of Investigative Research/Policy Initiatives
New York, NY (June 27, 2006)
- Twenty-four Teachers College students have been awarded
$6,000 each in this year's round of Policy and Research Fellowships,
marking a significant expansion from last year's total of
nine. The Fellowship program, sponsored by TC's Office of
Policy and Research (OPR), was launched in 2005 under the
direction of Sharon Lynn Kagan, Associate Dean for Policy
Research.
“We are
thrilled to award fellowships to a greater number of students
this year, all of whom deserve support for their unique
research and policy work,” said Kagan. “The OPR intends
to keep building momentum for research and policy studies
at TC, and to offer students an opportunity to contribute
to their field of study.”
In
addition to the expanded number of awards available for
2006, students were able to pursue fellowships in either
research or policy, depending on the nature of his or
her studies (the 2005 fellowships were in a single category
of “policy/research”).
Students applying for policy fellowships had to show that
their research held “promise of hastening the improvement
of educational policy at the local, state, federal, or
international levels,” according to the OPR, while applicants
for research fellowships, similarly, should be engaged
in studies that held the promise of “advancing the research
domain.” The selection process was highly competitive,
with the number of applications far exceeding the number
of available fellowships.
Faculty
panels from TC's Policy Advisory Committee or the Research
Advisory Committee judged each application. “Faculty who
reviewed the applications for research fellowships were
impressed with the high quality and breadth of interests
among applicants. The research topics underline the value
TC students are adding to the fields of education, psychology,
and health all around the world,” said Victoria Marsick,
co-director of the J.M. Huber Institute for Learning in
Organizations at TC and member of the Research Advisory
Committee.
Among
the twenty-four Fellows, sixteen are current TC students,
and eight are incoming, scheduled to begin their studies
at TC in September. Three
graduate Fellows at the National Center for Children and
Families received three of the Fellowships - one in policy,
two in research. They are:
Kristie
Kauerz (Policy)
is an Ed.D candidate in early childhood education policy,
in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching. Her research
interests include re-forming public education for children
from birth though third grade, and the role of kindergarten
as a link between early learning and elementary school.
Kauerz recently defended her dissertation proposal, “From
Birth to Third Grade: Constructing a Theory of P-3
for State-Level Policy Reform.” Kauerz is the former
program director of early learning at the Education
Commission of the States (ECS), based in Denver, CO.
Lizabeth
M. Malone (Research)
is a Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology in
the Department of Human Development. During the 2006 – 2007
term, she will be developing her dissertation plan,
which will examine the potential of extracurricular
activities (arts, sports, clubs) during the early childhood
years to influence academic achievement from kindergarten
through fifth grade.
Nitika
Tolani (Research)
is a Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology, in
the Department of Human Development. Ms. Tolani's dissertation, "Social
Contexts and Adolescent Achievement: The Interrelated
Effects of Families, Peers, and Schools on Disadvantaged
Youth in OECD Countries," draws upon the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA), an innovative,
cross-national study implemented by the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Ms.
Tolani will examine the unique and combined effects
of financial, human, and social capital available to
disadvantaged students both at home and at school on
adolescent literacy and mathematics achievement.
National
Center for Children and Families Co-Hosts Strategic
Conference on Early Care and Education
New
York, NY (June 8, 2006) - Now that most state legislatures
recognize the positive cost/benefit associated with high
quality early learning, how can they best invest limited
public dollars? Or choose where the money should go? What
constitutes quality early care and education (ECE), and
how can state policymakers help sustain ECE systems today,
and into the future?
These were some of the issues presented to The State Legislative
Leaders Conference (Teachers College, June 8 –11), a gathering
of legislators from 38 states, invited business executives,
and researchers from Teachers College, the School of Social
Work at Columbia University, the University of North Carolina
(Greensboro), and several non-governmental organizations,
including the Federal Reserve Bank. The conference, “Capitalizing
on the Investment: Making the Most of Your Early Care and
Education Dollars,” was co-hosted by TC's National Center
for Children and Families (NCCF), and the State
Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF) of Centerville, MA. State lawmakers
in attendance included the majority and/or minority party
leaders of each state represented.
The conference brought ECE experts together with policymakers
and investors, providing them with a forum to learn, to question,
and to bring up issues that weigh heavily on the decision-making
process.
The meeting opened with remarks by outgoing TC president
Arthur Levine who told the legislators that they have the
power to protect education from the shifting winds of public
priorities, and noted that “one dollar spent on ECE pays
seven dollars later in life.” This long-term view was reinforced
by Arthur Rolnick, senior vice president and director of
research at the Federal Reserve Bank (Minneapolis, MN), who
said that the successful preschool programs measured over
time – i.e., Perry/High Scope and Abecedarian – have, in
monetary terms, a sixteen percent rate of return (adjusted
for inflation). Rolnick endorsed the idea of creating a $1.5
billion national endowment to fund either federal or state
ECE programs, together with scholarships for preschoolers.
Sharon
Lynn Kagan, co-director of the NCCF and the Virginia
and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family
Policy at TC, provided the attendees with an overview of
ECE in America . Kagan described effective ECE as a holistic
system, and called for greater teacher supports and incentives
to help secure the future of early child programs. She told
the legislators that the three major challenges facing the
implementation of good ECE programs are inequity of access,
quality vs. quantity, and the challenge of infrastructure.
She noted that only twenty percent of kindergarten students
from poor families were likely to have attended center-based
child care, which researchers have found provides a better
learning experience, compared to sixty-five percent of kindergarteners
from upper-income families.
Overall, the U.S. provides less public support for ECE compared
to “peer nations,” primarily other developed countries in
Western Europe, said Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University
professor of Social Work. Waldfogel told the audience that
the cost of quality preschool programs cost “about the same
as a year of school,” or $8,800 per child annually for a
full-day program.
Additional highlights of the conference include a panel
discussion moderated by PBS education correspondent and producer
John Merrow, looking at the structure and governance of early
care and education systems, and a session on standard-based
accountability systems for early education led by Dr. Catherine
Scott-Little, assistant professor at University of North
Carolina (Greensboro), and Dr. Jacqueline Jones, former director
of early childhood research and development at Educational
Testing Service.
The assessment issue was further explored by Dr.
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early
Childhood and Education at TC, who co-directs the National
Center for Children and Families. Her presentation, “How
Are You Doing? A Guide to Assessment at the State Level,” advised
state policymakers on understanding ECE data they are likely
to receive, particularly with respect to “targeting” resources
at disadvantaged families. She advised the lawmakers to look
at data accumulated over time, ideally in the beginning,
middle, and end of the school year, for indicators such as
attendance, staff turnover, and quality, to gain a better
understanding of how well programs are working.
The conference keynote speaker
was James
B. Hunt, Jr., the
four-term Governor of North Carolina, who implemented many
groundbreaking education policies across his sixteen years
as Governor, including the “Smart Start” preschool initiative.
While his efforts led many to call him “The Education Governor,” Hunt
addressed the group speaking as a politician and lawmaker.
He spoke of the competition America is facing from emerging
nations – particularly China and India – and spoke about
education being a necessary component to help the U.S. create
more jobs and prosperity. “All states are having a tough
time keeping the kinds of jobs that provide for families,” Hunt
said. “If we're going to have those jobs, we've got to develop
a citizenry that is educated, innovative, and will come up
with the products and services that we can sell to the rest
of the world.” Hunt credited his wife, a former school teacher,
with helping him to understand much about teaching and learning,
including early brain development and the importance of early
education, especially for disadvantaged children.
The two-day event concluded with a roundtable discussion
on the political climate around ECE, “The Politics of Early
Care and Education,” led by Thom Little, Director of Curriculum
Development and Research at the State Legislative Leaders
Foundation, and co-host of the conference.
Early
Education Shown to Provide Long-Term Benefits for Group
of Low Birth Weight Infants
18-Year
Study Tracks the Academic and Social Outcomes of Low
Birth Weight Children
New
York, NY (March 6, 2006) – Early education
programs for low birth weight children (2001- 2500
grams) in the first 3 years of life produce positive
outcomes through age 18, according to newly published
findings in the March 2006 issue of Pediatrics .
The report
describes the 18-year follow-up to the Infant Health and
Development Program (IHDP), a national research project
involving low birth weight, pre-term infants in 8 cities
across the U.S. The program provided educational intervention
for a randomly assigned group of low birth weight infants,
and has tracked the results since the 1980s. The study
found that the heaviest low birth weight children who received
early preschool tended to have higher math and reading
scores, and engage in less risky behavior, than those who
did not participate in the program. The findings point
to the efficacy of providing educational and social intervention
services to low birth weight infants, who are more likely
to experience academic and behavioral problems than their
normal-weight peers. The researchers also found that the
effects were not uniform across the 18-year span; among
the lightest low birth weight children (= 2000 grams),
the benefits of the program faded out by age 5.
In terms
of public health priorities, the results strengthen the
case for greater investment in early education for pre-term
infants. “This study shows that providing preschool to
low birth weight infants is a smart use of public resources,
and in the long term, there are thousands of children who
would reap the benefits,” said Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D.,
one of the principal investigators of the IHDP study, and
a co-author of the Pediatrics article. Brooks-Gunn
is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development
and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University,
and co-director of the National Center for Children and
Families at the College.
The study
began with a group of 985 low birth weight pre-term newborns,
followed up at ages 3, 5, and 8 years of age prior to the
18-year findings, which involved 636 of the original group.
The infants were randomly assigned into two groups: one
that received the intervention during their first three
years, and a second that did not. The intervention for
the first group consisted of home visits each week for
the first year of life, and every other week at two and
three years, as well as daily center-based education for
the children from 12 months through 36 months, with parent
support groups. All children received regular pediatric
care and referrals to community services if needed.
Differences
by Birth Weight Open New Grounds for Research
Researchers
looked at lighter and heavier low birth weight pre-term
infants and found that, as the years progressed, the heavier
birth weight group appeared to sustain the positive effects
of the intervention longer than the lighter-weight infants.
Further research is needed on the reasons why the positive
effects were not sustained among lighter-weight infants.
(Note: in this study, the lighter weight pre-term infants
weighed less than 2001 grams at birth; the heavier birth
weight group weighed 2001 – 2500 grams.) In the heavier
birth weight group, children who received the intervention
continued to score higher than those who did not receive
the intervention on academic achievement tests at age 18,
some 15 years after the intervention ended.
The researchers
also found that the outcomes for heavier birth weight pre-term
infants closely mirror the results of early education interventions
for normal-weight poor children. The eight sites involved
in the study are: Little Rock, AR; Boston, MA; Bronx, NY;
Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, TX; Miami, FL; Seattle, WA, and
New Haven, CT.
In addition
to Brooks-Gunn, Marie C. McCormick, MD, ScD. of the Harvard
School of Public Health was a principal investigator for
this study. At the National Center for Children and Families,
Anne Martin, DrPH, served as a site director and was a member
of the data analysis team.
The IHDP
study is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
at www.rwjf.org . You
may view an abstract of the report here; to
see a full-text copy of this article, click here.
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn a Panelist at Inaugural Symposium of
New Pritzker Consortium
NCCF Co-Director Jeanne
Brooks-Gunn spoke at "Economics of Childhood: When to
Invest?" a symposia held at the launch of the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood
Development in Chicago, IL. The Consortium, launched on May 9th, is designed
to bring together the world's leading experts to identify the best ways to invest
in the children five and under, so as to realize the largest gains to society.
Dr. Brooks-Gunn is a member of the Consortium.
Brooks-Gunn
Keynotes "The Future of Children" Conference
NCCF
Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn was the
keynote
speaker at "The Future of Children", an event sponsored by Rhode
Island KIDS COUNT at Brown University (Providence, RI). Over 100 early
childhood and K-12 policymakers and practioners from New England attended the
March 8th forum, convened to discuss findings from The
Future of Children: School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethinic Gaps (Volume
15, Number 1 - Spring 2005). Brooks-Gunn was co-editor of the volume, and
co-authored "The
Contribution of Parenting to Ethnic and Racial Gaps in School Readiness" with
Lisa B. Markman of Princeton University. The
Future of Children is published by Princeton University and The Brookings
Institution.
For News
Items dating before 2006, see the NCCF
News Archive 2005.
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