Early Childhood and Child Development

Preschool kids eating applesResearch shows that children are more successful in school and beyond if they are given a strong foundation in the earliest years of their lives. We work with early childhood service providers and policymakers nationwide to find solutions to practical challenges in early childhood education and care. We address major questions in the early childhood field, such as:

  • How can the quality of early educator practices and early education and care programs be improved?
  • How do early learning experiences and school readiness approaches affect young children’s language, literacy, early mathematics, and social-emotional skills?
  • What types of professional development best support teachers’ and caregivers’ needs?
  • Do kindergarten entry assessments measure children’s school readiness in intended domains?
Our Work

Early Childhood brochureOur work includes technical assistance, measurement and data collection, and research and evaluation where we work closely with clients, states, and school districts to define key policy areas, build content understanding, translate research to practice, and identify opportunities for technical support and growth. We also work with clients across the entire range of study planning, implementation, and interpreting data.  

AIR offers a range of services:

Research and Evaluation

  • Experimental and quasi-experimental impact studies
  • Formative and implementation evaluation
  • Policy analysis
  • Literature reviews and meta-analysis
  • Cost analyses and cost estimates

Technical Assistance

  • Translation of research to practice
  • Strategic planning
  • Training facilitation
  • Program standards articulation and alignment
  • Support child-serving agencies

Measurement and Data Collection

  • Integration of existing data sources
  • Development of child assessments
  • Validation of quality rating systems and child assessments
  • Large-scale data collection, including classroom observations and child assessments

Latest Work

19 Jun 2018
Q & A

In Conversation: Insights on Early Childhood Care Costs and Choices

The annual Condition of Education 2018 provides new insight into the costs and availability of child care options. Spotlight author Jijun Zhang, AIR senior psychometrician and statistician, recently discussed the findings with Susan Muenchow, AIR principal researcher in early learning and care.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood and Child Development, Early Childhood
25 May 2018
Infographic

Condition of Education 2018: Early Childhood Care Costs

Between 2001 and 2016, the cost of child care rose by nearly 50 percent or more for children under 6 years old who were not yet enrolled in kindergarten, according to The Condition of Education 2018. This infographic depicts the rising cost of center-based care, the most expensive childcare arrangement.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
22 May 2018
Brief

The Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s Experiences by Socioeconomic Characteristics

This Statistics in Brief analyzes student's participation in summer activities compared by two socioeconomic characteristics - household poverty status and parents' highest level of education. Data for socioeconomic characteristics was gathered from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 while data related to summer activity participation was collected from interviews with parents or guardians in the fall of 2011.
Topic: 
Education, Equity in Education, Longitudinal Education Studies, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
18 Apr 2018
Q & A

Transitional Kindergarten Q&A with Karen Manship

Created in 2010 by the Kindergarten Readiness Act, transitional kindergarten (TK) offers younger children in California additional time to prepare for school. AIR undertook a five-year evaluation study of the TK program in 2012. In light of conversations across the country about increasing access to high-quality early childhood education, AIR’s Karen Manship answered a few questions about the TK study and its findings.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood and Child Development
1 Mar 2018
Report

Findings From the Fourth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal study from the National Center for Education Statistics follows students who were kindergartners in 2011. This report provides information on select child and family characteristics including poverty status, parental education, family type, and primary home language as well as children's knowledge in reading, math, and science.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
29 Dec 2017
Spotlight

Year in Review: Highlights from 2017

From India and Laos to school districts in California, our research, resources, and multimedia provide insight into a wide array of topics across the U.S. and around the world. Explore highlights from our 2017 work.
Topic: 
Workforce, Higher Education and Career Readiness, Education, Health, Families, Communities, and Social Systems, International, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
1 Oct 2017
Report

The Effects of Mainstreaming Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Under BRAC’s MNCH Programme

To combat malnutrition, BRAC Bangladesh has implemented Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health programming focused on nutrition and early childhood development. This programming is designed to combat malnutrition in pregnant-lactating women and young children, as well as to implement multiple strategiesto establish better practices for breastfeeding and child feeding, build capacity for community health workers, and create nutrition service deliveries within communities.
Topic: 
Education, International, International Early Childhood and Child Development, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
30 Jun 2017
Video

Transitional Kindergarten: Growing Children’s Early Academic Skills

Transitional kindergarten is a universal, age-based early childhood program in California that is intended to prepare five-year-olds for kindergarten. Karen Manship explains how student outcomes compare between those who attend transitional kindergarten and those who do not and how the program helps ensure children receive a strong start to their educational careers.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
28 Jun 2017
Report

The Impact of Transitional Kindergarten on California Students

California’s Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 established transitional kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for students affected by the change in the birthdate cutoff for entry into kindergarten from December 2 to September 1. This final report from the program’s evaluation focuses on results from a five-year study. The study used a rigorous regression discontinuity design to examine whether TK, as a new approach to prekindergarten education for age-eligible students, leads to positive outcomes, for which students, and under what conditions.
Topic: 
Education, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
28 Jun 2017
Spotlight

How Transitional Kindergarten Helps Younger Children Prepare for School

Created in 2010 by the Kindergarten Readiness Act, transitional kindergarten offers younger children in California additional time to prepare for school. Transitional kindergarten provides an additional year of early education to approximately 120,000 children each year, with the goal of promoting their school readiness. Explore resources that show what we’ve learned about transitional kindergarten so far.
Topic: 
Social and Emotional Learning, Education, Early Childhood, Early Childhood and Child Development
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