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Expertise Area

Early Childhood Education

RFA is engaged in a variety of research, evaluation, and policy analyses focused on issues related to child care and early childhood education. Children’s early experiences provide a foundation for learning both socially and academically throughout their lives. Through our research, we hope to improve early childhood programs and systems for children, families, and the early childhood workforce.

Some projects we have worked on include assessing the feasibility of a National Lead Teacher Certification for Early Childhood Educators; understanding the cost of quality child care and examining that status of non-traditional child care in Pennsylvania; and evaluating Children’s Literacy Initiative’s pre-k curriculum and coaching model, Blueprint for Early Learning. To learn more about our early childhood education projects visit the projects and publications below.

Related Projects

Please Touch Museum Kindergarten Readiness Experience

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Assessing the Feasibility of a National Lead Teacher Certification for Early Childhood Educators

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Evaluation Planning and Technical Assistance for the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Learning’s Preschool Development Grant

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Evaluation to Measure Impact of Detroit Wolf Trap’s Early Learning through the Arts on Teacher Growth in Instructional Ability

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Examining the Status of Non-Traditional Child Care in Pennsylvania

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Evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s Curriculum and Professional Development Model for Kindergarten Readiness

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A Detroit-Area Early Childhood Education Workforce Study to Support Head Start Agencies in Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers

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Detroit-Area Early Childhood Workforce Report

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Examining Cross-Sector Collaboration in Pittsburgh: A Mixed-Delivery System for Pre-K Education

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Early Literacy Instruction and Pre-K Curriculum in Philadelphia

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Examining Child Care Funding and Finance in Pennsylvania

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An Evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s Blueprint for Early Literacy

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Improving Early Literacy: An Evaluation of Early Reading Matters

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An Evaluation of Science All Around Us: Please Touch Museum

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Related Publications

Publication

Boosting Children’s Language and Literacy Skills Through Blueprint: An Evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s Blueprint for Early Literacy 2017 – 2019

RFA’s three-year mixed methods evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s language and literacy supports found positive impacts despite higher-than-typical teacher turnover. In pre-K centers receiving CLI supports, teachers were more able to implement effective instructional practices…

Publication

Making It Work: Bibliography and Technical Appendix

A bibliography and suggestions for further reading, as well as the technical appendix to accompany Making It Work: Examining the Status of Non-Traditional Child Care in Pennsylvania.

Publication

Making It Work: Examining the Status of Non-Traditional Child Care in Pennsylvania

As the number of jobs that require non-traditional work schedules (evenings, weekends, and overnight) increases, families’ need for child care during non-traditional hours has also grown. An estimated more than 150,000 Pennsylvania families with young…

Publication

Detroit-Area Early Childhood Workforce Study

Research shows that process quality in early childhood education (ECE) programs—specifically teacher–child interactions—is the strongest predictor of children’s gains in learning and development. Due to a number of factors associated with the city’s early childhood…

Publication

Case Study: Montgomery Early Learning Centers

Efforts underway to expand access to high-quality child care and pre-K programs in Pennsyl­vania are aimed at improving school readiness for low-income children and mitigating the wide achievement gaps plaguing them in the later grades.…

Publication

Case Study: Bullfrogs and Butterflies

Efforts underway to expand access to high-quality child care and pre-K programs in Pennsyl­vania are aimed at improving school readiness for low-income children and mitigating the wide achievement gaps plaguing them in the later grades.…

Publication

Case Study: Children’s Village

Efforts underway to expand access to high-quality child care and pre-K programs in Pennsyl­vania are aimed at improving school readiness for low-income children and mitigating the wide achievement gaps plaguing them in the later grades.…

Publication

Case Study: Seton Center

Efforts underway to expand access to high-quality child care and pre-K programs in Pennsyl­vania are aimed at improving school readiness for low-income children and mitigating the wide achievement gaps plaguing them in the later grades.…

Publication

Home to School: Numeracy Practices and Mathematical Identities

Drawing on a perspective of mathematics as situated social practice, we focus on 4 children in an urban preschool classroom and follow those children between home and school sites to shed light on urban children’s…
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