Research Supports the Case for Early Care and Education

Links

Research on early childhood education outcomes.

The Abecedarian project was a carefully controlled scientific study of the potential benefits of early childhood education for poor children. Four cohorts of individuals, born between 1972 and 1977, were randomly assigned as infants to either the early educational intervention group or the control group.

The Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program in Chicago

The Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS; Reynolds, 1991, 1999; Reynolds, Bezruczko, Hagemann, 1997) investigates the educational and social development of a same-age cohort of 1,539 low-income, minority children (93% African American) who grew up in high-poverty neighborhoods in central-city Chicago and attended government-funded kindergarten programs in the Chicago Public Schools in 1985-1986.

HighScope Perry Preschool Study

Lifetime Effects: The HighScope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40; 2005. This study — perhaps the most well-known of all HighScope research efforts — examines the lives of 123 African Americans born in poverty and at high-risk of failing in school.

Downloads

The State of Preschool: 2008 State Preschool Yearbook (PDF), W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., Kenneth B. Robin, Psy.M., Jason T. Hustedt, Ph.D., and Karen L. Schulman, M.P.P., National Institute for Early Education Research

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Universally-Accessible Pre-Kindergarten Education in Texas. The Bush School of Government & Public Policy, Texas A&M University; Elisa Aguirre, Thomas Gleeson, Amanda McCutchen, Leticia Mendiola, Katherine Rich, Rick Schroder, Megan Stephenson, Orie Varner and Dr. Lori Taylor, Faculty Advisor; May 2006.

Quasi-Structural Estimation of a Model of Child Care Choices and Child Cognitive Production, Working paper; Raquel Bernal and Michael Keane; 2005

Pre-kindergarten: Four Selected States Expanded Access by Relying on Schools and Existing Providers of Early Education and Care to Provide Services (PDF), Government Accountability Office; September 2004

Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development (PDF), Robert G. Lynch, Economic Policy Institute; October 2004

Child Care and Early Education Coordination in the States: A Statutory Overview (PDF), Scott Groginsky, Program Manager, National Conference of State Legislatures; April 2002

Long-term effects of an Early Childhood Intervention on Educational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest - A 15-Year Follow-up of Low-Income Children in Public Schools, Arthur J. Reynolds, Ph.D., Judy A. Temple, Ph.D., Dylan L. Robertson, Emily A. Mann, M.S.S.W; Journal of the American Medical Association; Reprinted May 9, 2001.

Real Boys^® Voices: Creating Healthy Connections, William S. Pollack, PhD; Getting Behind the Mask: Breaking the "Boy Code;" 2008

Books Available

From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development
Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips, Editors; Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, Board on Children, Youth, and Families, 2000

Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers
Barbara T. Bowman, M. Suzanne Donovan, and M. Susan Burns, Editors; Committee on Early Child Pedagogy, National Research Council, 2000

From Nobel Laureate, Dr. James Heckman

A friend and advisor to Collaborative for Children, Dr. James Heckman is an economist and renowned authority on investments in early education.
Download more from Dr. Heckman below:

More about Dr. Heckman
The Economics of Human Development
The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Children
Dr. Heckman's 2007 Presentation to Collaborative for Children