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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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Ever wonder what libraries around the country are doing to engage families? Learn the answer to this question and others through HFRP and PLA’s national survey of family engagement in public libraries—– the results of which are presented here.
Harvard Family Research Project (August 16, 2016) Research Report
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.
Anairis Hinojosa and M. Elena Lopez (October 29, 2015) Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
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.
Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report
The transition to school is a process—not just a one-time event—and begins during children’s preschool years and continues into and on through the early elementary grades. Find out four important things research tells us about the transition.
Margaret Caspe, M. Elena Lopez, and Chalatwan Chattrabhuti (March 19, 2015) Research Report
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.
Tara Chklovski (March 19, 2015) Research Report
What is the evidence base to support family engagement in the transition to school? You can check out the articles in this bibliography to read about why transition to school matters for children, families, and communities.
Harvard Family Research Project (March 19, 2015) Research Report
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.
Nathan Driskell (December 11, 2014) Research Report
Through innovative and engaging family activities, the Maryland Library Partnership is playing a crucial community role by promoting learning anywhere, anytime and reaching out to parents to help them with their children’s learning, improve literacy, and close the vocabulary gap between low-income learners and their peers.
Nathan Driskell (June 9, 2014) Research Report
This teaching case explores the complex issues surrounding the transition to kindergarten and the importance of family engagement in the process. Three expert commentaries and discussion questions are included. An interactive version is also available.
Margaret Caspe (2014) Research Report
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.
Deborah J. Brown (September 17, 2013) Research Report
Sonia Gómez-Banrey, Director of Countdown to Kindergarten (CDtoK) for Boston Public Schools (BPS), and Katherine (Kacy) Hughes, Senior Project Manager for Early Childhood and Family Learning at Boston Children’s Museum, highlight key components of the collaboration between BPS and the Museum as part of the CDtoK program to help BPS families better prepare their children for kindergarten.
Sonia Gómez-Banrey , Katherine Hughes (February 7, 2013) Research Report
In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Senior Research Analyst, Heidi Rosenberg, looks at the ways in which schools, programs, and other community institutions can help facilitate continuous family engagement to help children succeed.
Heidi Rosenberg (September 20, 2012) Research Report
Because early social performance and academic achievement are predictors of later school success, ensuring that children get off to a good start in kindergarten is critical. This brief, by Harvard Family Research Project's Christine Patton and Justina Wang, examines important elements of high-quality kindergarten transition strategies and profiles promising practices from six states that take an integrated and collaborative approach to helping kindergartners enter school ready for success.
Christine Patton , Justina Wang (September 20, 2012) Research Report
Ken Smythe-Leistico is the director of Ready Freddy: Pathways to Kindergarten Success at the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development. In this profile, Ken discusses the Ready Freddy program—created in collaboration with Pittsburgh Public Schools, families, and community partners to increase the likelihood that children will have a successful kindergarten year.
Ken Smythe-Leistico (March 15, 2012) Research Report
This annotated bibliography provides a selected listing of journal articles, research briefs, and reports that focus on early childhood transitions and school readiness. They cover a variety of topics central to the issue of early childhood transitions, including family engagement and home–school and program–school partnerships. Because the Head Start program is one of the most frequently studied early childhood initiatives, many of the resources focus on the transition from Head Start to preschool/kindergarten.
Harvard Family Research Project , Briana Chan (April 2011, updated September 2011) Bibliography
This paper by the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, a new center formed by HFRP and Brazelton Center at Children's Hospital Boston and other partners for the Office of Head Start, focuses on child assessment data as a tool for parent and family engagement in the early childhood arena. It is the first in a series that will help early childhood care and education programs identify ways that they can share information in order to strengthen partnerships and work toward common goals.
National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (March 2011) Research Report
The need for home–-school collaboration begins even before a child’s the first day of school. Researcher Amy Schulting shares data from a recent evaluation study to describe how one home visiting project eases children's transition to kindergarten.
Amy Schulting (January 2009) Research Report
Amy Schulting from Duke University explores the role of teacher outreach to families during the transition to kindergarten.
Amy B. Schulting, M.Ed., M.A. (Spring 2008) Evaluation Exchange Article
This research brief synthesizes the latest research that demonstrates how family involvement contributes to young children's learning and development. The brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement—specifically, the research studies that link family involvement in early childhood to outcomes and programs that have been evaluated to show what works.
Heather B. Weiss , Margaret Caspe and M. Elena Lopez (Spring 2006) Research Report
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Published by Harvard Family Research Project