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…
This report includes a list of resources curated for researchers and Child Care and Development Fund Administrators who analyze administrative data. These resources explain how to acquire, use, manage, link, and analyze data regarding children, families, and ECE providers.
This study looks at the factors associated with ECE staff turnover rates in child care centers. The findings indicate that some factors, such as higher pay, are associated with lower turnover rates. Turnover is significantly lower in state-funded preschool programs than for centers where parents…
This guide offers guidance, frameworks, and examples from Child Care and Development Fund program grantees. It can be useful to decisionmakers who are intent on supporting children’s social-emotional wellness.
This study examines the physical activity environments in child care centers and FCC homes in both rural and urban areas. The study found that centers score higher than FCC homes in physical activity best practices. In urban areas, centers and FCC homes reported higher scores than those in rural…
This study examines the factors that predict ECE teachers’ work engagement. The study investigates teachers from Head Start, center-based, and licensed home-based programs. Findings suggest that providing ECE teachers with personal and professional resources may improve workplace engagement.
This literature review provides a comprehensive look at factors that may contribute to the decline of regulated family child care in the United States. It offers a conceptual model, findings from the literature, and potential supports for family child care providers.
This study examined how student-teacher relationship quality impacted parenting. Findings demonstrated that close student-teacher relationships is associated with lower parental stress. This research shines a light on the importance of communication with families and the importance of positive…
Early childhood education programs [e.g., prekindergarten (pre-K)]-characterized by stimulating and supportive teacher-child interactions in enriched classroom settings-promote children's learning and school readiness (1- 3). But in the United States, most children, particularly those from low-…
To better understand the value and effectiveness of out-of-school time (OST) programs, RAND researchers examined programs through the lenses of content, dosage (the hours of content provided), and outcomes measured, focusing on rigorous (i.e., experimental or quasi-experimental) large-scale…