The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Select a category below to narrow the list of publications about early childhood education. For the definition of each category, click here. If you are looking for a specific document, topic, or author, visit our Publications & Resources section to conduct an advanced search.
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Math Is Everywhere, When We Know What to Look For
Learning mathematics starts in infancy and happens anywhere, anytime. In this commentary, Taniesha Woods explores what young children need to know about math, what environments rich in mathematics learning look like, and how families can support children’s math development.
Putting an Equity Lens on Family Engagement in Oregon
Creating high-quality early childhood systems necessitates a strong focus on family engagement. Check out how Oregon is adopting an equity lens and building a strong foundation to engage families by leveraging federal funds, community leadership, and philanthropic investments.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Maya Warren, Kindergartner
We begin the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case by meeting Maya Warren. Maya is a fun-loving 5-year-old girl who, despite success in preschool, is having a difficult transition to kindergarten.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Nicole Warren, Maya’s Mother
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Nicole Warren, Maya’s mother. Nicole reflects on her daughter’s difficult transition to kindergarten and thinks about what she might do to improve the situation.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Teresa Guzman, Preschool Teacher
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Maya’s former preschool teacher, Teresa Guzman. Teresa considers the role of early childhood programs in preparing children and families for kindergarten.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Tanya Robinson, Kindergarten Teacher
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Tanya Robinson, Maya’s kindergarten teacher. Tanya is concerned that children and families are not kindergarten ready.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Esther Lasher, Head Start Educational Director
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Esther Lasher, the educational director of the Grant Head Start Program. Esther works to smooth the transition to kindergarten by planning with multiple community and school representatives.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Supporting Data
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we examine some school-level data to develop a better understanding of the factors influencing Maya’s difficult transition to school.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Piecing It All Together
In the final section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we piece it all together. We think about the principles guiding smooth transitions to school, assumptions people in the case make, and how difficult issues might be resolved.
Engaging Families in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Project-Based Learning
To be successful, children need a strong science, technology, engineering, and math foundation. Learn how Iridescent, a project funded in part by the National Science Foundation, connects families, engineers, and children to develop these skills early on in school.
Five Professional Development Resources That Promote Family Engagement
When organizations invest in developing the competencies of its professionals to engage families everyone benefits. To help accomplish this we share five of our favorite resources on professional development in family engagement along with tips on why they work.
50 Years of Family Engagement in Head Start
With Head Start’s 50th anniversary right around the corner, Kiersten Beigel from the Office of Head Start shares the vision for family engagement and ways that different federal agencies can join together to realize it.
A Strong Start for Family Engagement in Massachusetts
Through its Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge funds, Massachusetts has created strategic partnerships with museums and libraries, public television, family and community programs, community nonprofits, and public transportation to build a robust and growing statewide family engagement system.
Exploring the Parent, Family, Community Engagement Simulation: A Conversation With Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richard
What you say to families and do with them matters! In this Q & A with Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richards, we learn about how the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Simulation can be used as a professional development tool in Head Start/Early Head Start programs and beyond.
A Click Away: A Q&A With Chip Donohue About the Benefits of Online Distance Learning for In-Service Teachers
In this Q&A, Chip Donohue talks with HFRP about early childhood educators’ participation in online distance education courses and discusses how the topic of family engagement is being integrated into these classes.
Embracing the Use of Data for Continuous Program Improvement
In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Heidi Rosenberg discusses how continuous improvement processes can strengthen family engagement strategies, and outlines the mindset and key practices that organizations need to adopt in order to use data to understand and improve upon their work.
Continuous Improvement: Being Responsive When There is Need for Change
Deborah J. Brown, external evaluator for Save the Children, discusses how continuous improvement processes have helped strengthen one of Save the Children’s language development and pre-literacy programs, Early Steps to School Success.
Helping Head Start and Early Head Start Programs Create a Culture That Embraces Data
A new interactive online learning module, Data in Head Start and Early Head Start: Creating a Culture that Embraces Data, developed by the National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations, helps Head Start/Early Head Start leaders understand how to use data to inform their decision making.
Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework: Promoting Family Engagement and School Readiness from Prenatal to Age 8
This framework is a vital tool for early childhood education and care providers seeking to build effective family engagement strategies. It was developed by the Office of Head Start with the assistance of the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement for the Office of Head Start
Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student Achievement
Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA® have teamed up to bring you the third brief in our ground-breaking series about family engagement policy, highlighting the need for teacher education programs to prepare teachers to better work with families.
Evaluating a Professional Development “Cascade”: From Facilitators to University Faculty to Early Childhood Providers
Caroline Wilkinson and Shelley Billig from RMC Research Corporation describe their evaluation of the New England Professional Development Initiative's cascade approach to professional development in early childhood education.
Examining the Efficacy of Two Models of Preschool Professional Development in Language and Literacy
Nancy Clark-Chiarelli from Education Development Center, Inc. describes an evaluation of two approaches to early literacy professional development—one with a traditional face-to-face mode of delivery and one with a technology-enhanced component.
Understanding Family Involvement in the Preparation of Graduate Students: Measuring Family-Centered Beliefs, Skills, Systems, and Practices
Family-centered practices by professionals serving families and their young children with disabilities have become a cornerstone of personnel preparation programs in early childhood intervention (ECI) and early childhood education. Our research project sought to develop a measure to examine the family-centered beliefs, skills, work systems, and work practices of ECI and ECE graduate students.
Families, Schools, and Community Resources
Analyzing family, school, and community resources and needs as related to the family life cycle, examining child welfare and education and ecological approach, and exploration of careers related to children and families. Strategies to improve communication and collaboration are emphasized with a focus on family types, cultures, economic conditions, school systems, community services, political forces, advocacy groups, and other factors that impact young children and their families.