Dr. Caroline Ebanks
(202) 219-1410
Caroline.Ebanks@ed.gov

Through its Early Childhood Programs and Policies (Early Childhood) research program, the Institute intends to contribute to improvement of school readiness skills (e.g., pre-reading, language, vocabulary, early science and mathematics knowledge, social skills) of prekindergarten children (i.e., three- to five-year-olds) by: (1) exploring malleable factors¹ (e.g., children's skills, instructional practices, policies) that are associated with better child outcomes, as well as mediators and moderators of the relations between these factors and child outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention; (2) developing innovative early childhood curricula, instructional practices, programs, and policies for improving school readiness; (3) evaluating fully developed early childhood curricula, instructional practices, programs, and policies for improving school readiness through efficacy or replication trials; (4) evaluating the impact of early childhood curricula, instructional practices, programs, and policies that are implemented at scale; and (5) developing and validating assessments for use in early childhood instructional settings.

The long-term outcome of this program will be an array of tools and strategies (e.g., assessments, instructional approaches, programs, and policies) that have been documented to be effective for improving school readiness skills for prekindergarten (three- to five-year-old) children in center-based prekindergarten settings.