We demonstrate the social efficiency of investing in high-quality early childhood education using newly collected data from the HighScope Perry Preschool Project. The data analyzed are the longest follow-up of any randomized early childhood education program. Annual observations of participant outcomes up to midlife allow us to provide a…

Background: Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of parent training programs when offered universally in U.S. elementary schools in disadvantaged urban communities. Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a universal school-based implementation study of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP). Methods: CPP was offered universally from…

This study examines the efficacy, cost, and implementation of an integrated science and literacy curriculum for kindergarten. The study was conducted in a large urban district and included 1,589 students in 71 classrooms in 21 schools. The research includes a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial and mixed-methods cost and implementation…

Children from low-income families face many social and economic disadvantages, and high-quality preschool can help to alleviate some of them. Is "preschool for all" the best way to extend preschool subsidies to unserved disadvantaged children? Fully funding such a policy would be costly, and it is likely that a significant minority of…

"The Upstart Great Plains TASK Force: Taking All to Success in Kindergarten" was a five-year Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) expansion grant (U411A180001) funded through the US Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Four research studies were conducted during the grant period of 2018 to 2023: a…

In recent years, there has been considerable investment at the European Union level in expanding early childhood education and care (ECEC) facilities. In line with this quantitative substantial initiative, research and social policies are increasingly focusing on the quality of such facilities. High quality depends, among other things, on…

Despite growing evidence about the significance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs, public investment has been relatively low, resulting in slower expansion of evidence-based ECD programs. This dissertation consists of three essays on conducting and using economic evaluation methods to scale up early childhood education and development…

This paper describes the research protocol for the Educational and Developmental Gains in Early Childhood (EDGE) Study, which will examine the implementation of two years of funded kindergarten prior to the first year of school in Victoria, Australia. EDGE will examine whether children's language, cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioural…

Purpose: This paper focuses on analysis of the incorporation of a Lesson Study cycle within the university training proposal, as a teaching strategy in initial training in the Infant Education Degree. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted through a case study methodology. Findings: Proposing training strategies based on…

This paper presents new benefit-cost estimates for the Tulsa universal preschool program. These calculations are based on estimated effects from previous papers of Tulsa pre-K on high school graduation rates and college attendance rates of students who were enrolled in kindergarten in Tulsa Public Schools in the fall of 2006. In this paper,…

One way to assess the value of preschool education programs is to compare their upfront costs with the economic benefits they produce, measured by such outcomes as less need for special education services, improved high school graduation rates, higher earnings and less criminal activity in adulthood, and so on. What do such benefit-cost analyses…

Food neophobia, defined as an unwillingness to consume novel and unfamiliar foods, is common in young children. Assessment of neophobia can be a challenge with this audience. With the increase in nutrition interventions focused on the young child, valid and reliable measures to assess willingness to try new foods that can be administered in groups…

A wealth of new research and political developments around the country support the position that pre-K must be accessible to all children at age three as a core part of their right to a free public education. This brief offers the case for establishing a right to universal pre-K in three parts: (1) The rationale: A review of the evidence showing…

In this paper, benefits and costs are estimated for a universal pre-K program, provided by Tulsa Public Schools. Benefits are derived from estimated effects of Tulsa pre-K on retention by grade 9. Retention effects are projected to dollar benefits from future earnings increases and crime reductions. Based on these estimates, Tulsa pre-K has…

Efforts of Ghanaian Universities and Colleges of Education in training pre-school teachers have been found inadequate and unable to meet their training needs. As a result, other private and non-governmental organisations have been contributing to the education of early childhood practitioners, although on pilot basis. Currently, most pre-school…