Ellen Peisner-Feinberg

This research team will explore malleable factors in early education from preschool through third grade that are believed to promote early learning and development for children. The researchers will focus on rural North Carolina, which is an important context because of the large achievement gaps related to race and income in the rural Southeast.

The National Research Council's Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics concluded that while virtually all young children have the capability to learn and acquire core competencies in math, most do not realize their full potential. The Committee attributed this to children's limited opportunities to learn math in either early childhood education programs or through every day experiences at home.