Press

NCCF News Archive

NCCF Research Fellow Wins APPAM Poster Award
NCCF graduate research fellow Anna Johnson won a "best poster" award at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference for her poster entitled, "Who uses child care subsidies? Comparing recipients to eligible non-recipients on family characteristics and child care preferences." Johnson, one of three best poster winners, presented detailed findings from one of her dissertation research questions. APPAM seeks to reward and encourage excellence in research by new/emerging scholars as represented among the poster sessions delivered at the conference. (November 2009)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Receives Child Care Research Scholar Grant
NCCF graduate research fellow Anna Johnson recently received the prestigious Child Care Research Scholar grant from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Child Care Bureau and Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation for her dissertation project, Child Care Subsidies: Who Uses Them and What Do They Buy Low-Income Families and Children? The grant aims to increase the number of doctoral students conducting dissertation research on child care policy issues and foster mentoring relationships between faculty and students pursuing doctoral-level projects in child care. (November 2009)

NCCF Co-director Elected to Institute of Medicine
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn has been elected into membership at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. The IOM is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to providing unbiased, evidence based information and advice to the nation on matters of biomedical science, medicine and health. Click here for more information. (October 2009)

NCCF Co-Director Contributes to FOC Policy Brief
NCCF Co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and colleagues Ron Haskins and Christina Paxson recently published a new Future of Children (FOC) Policy Brief entitled, Social Science Rising: A Tale of Evidence Shaping Public Policy. The brief discusses how policy makers are using social science evidence to identify and support successful public programs, specifically citing the Obama administration’s use of social science evaluations of home-visiting programs to improve parenting and reduce child maltreatment. (October 2009)

NCCF Co-Director Quoted in NY Times
NCCF Co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan discusses the administration's new $87 billion higher education bill in a recent New York Times article "Initiative Focuses on Early Learning Programs," by Sam Dillon. The article also makes reference to Dr. Kagan's recent paper about the history of the American early care and education (ECE) system and the role of the federal government in creating an equitable system. (September 2009)

NCCF Co-director Wins Research Award
NCCF Co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and two colleagues recently won the Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations for the best journal article published in 2008 to combine research and theory on the family. The winning article, "Stability and Change in Family Structure and Maternal Health Trajectories," was written by Sarah Meadows, Sara McLanahan, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and originally published in American Sociological Review. (August 2009)

NCCF Co-director Contributes to National Report on Preschool Math
NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan was part of a committee of academics who produced the recently released report, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood: Paths Towards Excellence and Equity. The report, released by the National Research Council, discusses the inadequate opportunities preschoolers have to learn math skills, particularly among economically disadvantaged children, and calls for a new national initiative to improve math education. Research shows that early success in math is linked to later academic success, particularly in math and reading. Intended as a guide for policy makers and practitioners, the report reveals the critical areas that should be addressed in preschool math education, explores the extent to which they are currently being incorporated in early childhood settings, and identifies the changes needed to improve the quality of mathematics experiences for young children. Click here for more information or to download a copy of the final report. (July 2009)

NCCF Co-director Testifies Before Ways & Means Committee
NCCF Co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, about evidence for the effectiveness of programs for young first time mothers. Dr. Brooks-Gunn's testimony focused on the impact of programs on the mother's themselves and their infants, toddlers and preschoolers, with an emphasis on vulnerable families—those who might be young, poor, unmarried, and/or have lower education levels. Click here to read a copy of Dr. Brooks-Gunn's written testimony. (June 2009)

NCCF Co-director receives Honorary Degree at Northwestern University
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn received an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the university's 151st annual commencement, recognizing her as one of the nation’s most distinguished and influential developmental psychologists. Dr. Brooks-Gunn was one of seven individuals honored by the university. She also gave the keynote speech at the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) convocation. “We all subscribe to the fundamental belief that investment in people is crucial,” she said in her speech. Click here for more information. (June 2009)

NCCF Co-director Works to Advance International Early Learning Standards
NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan has been working closely with UNICEF to advance international early learning and development standards (ELDS). ELDS are statements that specify what young children should know and be able to do, and are critical to promoting, supporting, and assessing young children’s development. Dr. Kagan has traveled in recent months to Malaysia and Nairobi to work with representatives from government, private sector, NGOs, and other international organizations to develop, validate, and implement ELDS for young children across the globe. (May 2009)

NCCF Receives Grant from FCD to Study PreK-3rd Classroom Quality
NCCF senior research scientist Anne Martin has been awarded a grant by the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) as part of the organization's PreK-3rd Research and Evaluation Small Grants Program. The study, entitled "The Effects of Classroom Quality Between Kindergarten and Third Grade on Third Grade Achievement," will use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). This study will examine whether children with less enriching home environments benefit as much as, or more than, other children from high-quality classrooms. (May 2009)

NCCF Drafts Analysis of Education Policy for Obama Administration
NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan and NCCF graduate research fellow Jeanne Reid recently wrote a comprehensive analysis of Federal Early Education Policy for the new presidential administration. The paper, "Advancing ECE2 Policy: Early Childhood Education (ECE) and its Quest for Excellence, Coherence, and Equity (ECE)," was commissioned by the Center on Education Policy, Washington, D.C. for its project on Rethinking the Federal Role in Education and is the major early childhood education policy paper written for the new administration outside of the transition team. Advancing ECE2 Policy examines the historical context of early education policy in America, providing a review of various federal policies and programs relating to education, with specific recommendations for how the Obama administration can use its leadership to create Excellence, Coherence, and Equity in early education programs for the nation's children. Click here to view the full publication. (February 2009)

NCCF Co-director Collaborates to Advance Post-Secondary Education
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is working with The Ounce of Prevention Fund and Lindsay Chase-Lansdale of Northwestern University to advance the Educare Post-Secondary Education Project. The project, which recently received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will identify and analyze existing supports and barriers to post-secondary educational attainment among young, low–income parents in Chicago, Denver and Miami. In addition, the project will design a pilot intervention program that uses high-quality, early childhood education centers as a vehicle for supporting parents’ continuing educational development. The Educare project is part of the Gates Foundation’s new initiative to double the number of low-income students in the United States who earn post-secondary degrees by age 26. (February 2009)

NCCF Researchers Win Policy Scholarships
Anna Johnson and Kate Tarrant, two NCCF graduate research fellows, have both won Teachers College Office of Policy and Research Fellowships. Highly competitive, the fellowships are awarded to doctoral students whose work shows significant promise of impacting research and policy. (January 2009)

Study Links Household Order to Children's Early Reading Abilities
A new study on the effects of the home environment on early reading growth has found evidence of a link between the reading abilities of 5 and 6 year old children, and the orderliness of their homes. The study, from researchers at NCCF and the Ohio State University, appears in the October 2008 issue of Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. These results are important in exploring the potential for new approaches to encouraging literacy development in the home. Click here for more information. (November 2008)

NCCF Receives Grants to Expand International Reach
NCCF has recently been awarded two grants from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation to explore international research and projects focused on children and families. The first project, Social Equity and Diversity, will discern lessons from international initiatives for young children with a special focus on those that have most effectively advanced social inclusion and shown a special respect for diversity and tolerance, to consider how a global social equity and diversity agenda in early childhood might best be advanced. The second project, Standards in an International Context, will synthesize lessons learned from various countries experiences with the standards effort. Click on the links above to learn more about these exciting projects. (November 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Receives Child Care Research Scholar Grant
NCCF graduate research fellow Kate Tarrant recently received the Child Care Research Scholar grant from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Child Care Bureau and Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. This grants support dissertation research on child care policy issues in partnership with State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) lead agencies. The Child Care Research Scholar grants aims to increase the number of doctoral students conducting dissertation research on child care policy issues and foster mentoring relationships between faculty and students pursuing doctoral-level projects in child care. Ms. Tarrant was one of three applicants to receive this highly competitive award. (November 2008)

NCCF Co-Director interviewed on NPR
NCCF co-director, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn was interviewed on NPR's: On Point about literature for young girls such as Gossip Girl and Beacon Street Girls, and what effects these various types of literature may have on a child's development. Listen to the interview: "Girls, Girls, Girls: Targeting the hearts and minds of America’s teenage girls." (October 2008)

NCCF Co-Director Speaks to NY Times
NCCF Co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn discusses how high quality, age appropriate screen media can have a positive effect on children in a recent New York Times article "Limiting, and Watching, What Children Watch," by Lisa Guernsey. (September 2008)

NCCF Co-Director interviewed on PBS Documentary, WHERE WE STAND: America's Schools in the 21st Century.
NCCF Co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan was interviewed on the PBS documentary, WHERE WE STAND: America's Schools in the 21st Century. The program looks at American public education through the prism of real schools, administrators, teachers and students, and seeks advice from a range of experts on how to fix problems such as low math and science literacy, unequal resource allocation and decreasing college graduation rates. View the program at www.pbs.org/wnet/wherewestand. Click here to view a press release with more details about the documentary. (September 2008)

NCCF Co-Director Joins the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education Task Force
NCCF Co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan has joined a new task force of national policy experts in launching the highly publicized “Broader, Bolder Approach to Education” campaign. The movement hopes to end the current cycle of reform efforts that have achieved little in the way of education and child development gains for those facing economic disadvantage and low student achievement. The Task Force’s framework points to the many flaws in the approach of the current No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Dr. Kagan is a member of the task force and helped to draft the campaign statement, both of which have caused great debate among the education policy community and received national recognition in the NY Times, the Washington Post and other media. View the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education website. (Fall 2008)

NCCF Co-director Edits Volume on Children and Electronic Media
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn recently co-edited an exciting new volume of The Future of Children journal entitled, “Children and Electronic Media,” published by The Brookings Institution and Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. This specific volume examines the best available evidence on whether and how exposure to different media forms is linked to child well-being. Click here to view the full publication with a forward written by Dr. Brooks-Gunn Brooke and another collaborator. Click here to view an executive summary presenting many of the key findings and implications of the research. (Spring 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Wins International Peace Scholarship NCCF graduate research fellow Alejandra Cortazar Valdes recently won the International Peace Scholarship on behalf of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) for selected women from other countries for graduate study in the United States and Canada. Members of P.E.O. believe that education is fundamental to world peace and understanding. (July 2008)

Mothers Don't Have the Monopoly
In a Newsday op-ed, Anne Martin, senior research scientist, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, NCCF co-director, discuss research showing that men can be capable and effective caregivers. Click here to read the article. (June 2008)

NCCF Spearheads Standards & Assessment Analysis in Pennsylvania
NCCF is involved in a very exciting project with the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning to conduct a path breaking analysis of the alignment of standards and assessments used in Pennsylvania's early childhood care and education settings. The goal of the project, led by NCCF co-director Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan in partnership with Catherine Scott-Little at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is to help Pennsylvania develop an early childhood accountability system that will improve the quality of programs offered to children from birth to age eight.

NCCF Presents at Jacobs Foundation Annual Conference
NCCF co-Director, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Dr. Anne Martin, NCCF Senior Research Scientist, recently participated in the renowned Jacobs Foundation Annual Conference at Marbach Castle in Germany. This year's conference focused on Early Childhood Development and Later Achievement.  Dr. Brooks-Gunn was an invited speaker and gave a presentation on "Reducing Racial & Income Gaps in School Readiness: Early Educational, Health, & Parenting Strategies." Dr. Anne Martin was an invited attendee and gave a poster presentation entitled "Do the effects of an infant/toddler educational intervention last longer for black children than white children?" Click here to learn more about the conference. (April 2008)

NCCF Co-directors featured in TC Today
NCCF co-directors, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan are featured in the Spring 2008 issue of TC Today, the magazine of Teachers College. "Team Pre-K," written by Jonathan Sapers, provides a detailed overview of Drs. Brooks-Gunn and Kagan's dedication to the early childhood field and highlights several NCCF projects and team members. Click here to read more about early childhood's "dynamic duo." (Spring 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Wins Head Start Research Scholarship
NCCF graduate research fellow Katherine A. Beckmann recently won the Edward Zigler Research Scholarship on behalf of the National Head Start Association. The Edward Zigler Scholarship was established in 2003 to honor Dr. Zigler, who helped create the Head Start Program in 1964, for his dedication to Head Start children and families. The highly competitive award recognizes Ph.D. students with an emphasis on psychology, public policy, or education research who have demonstrated a commitment to children and families. Ms. Beckmann is the first student from Teacher's College to receive this scholarship! (April 2008)

NCCF Wins NAEYC Grant on the Early Childhood Workforce and Models of Individual Professional Certification
NCCF recently won a grant from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to research issues of the early childhood education workforce and models of professional certification. As part of the grant, NCCF is profiling the current early care and education workforce; examining existing public and private sector models that certify early childhood education personnel; evaluating various models of professional certification that could serve as examples for a new early childhood national certification program; and researching the managerial, legal and fiscal implications of implementing a credentialing program. Led by NCCF co-director Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan, the center will produce a final briefing paper with a comprehensive review of these workforce issues. NCCF’s project goal is to challenge the existing workforce conventions and to synthesize research and learning from the experiences of early childhood education professionals and other fields to help inform NAEYC’s deliberations about what workforce initiatives are most promising for the association’s future efforts. (April 2008)

NCCF Co-director Interviewed on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
NCCF co-director, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn was interviewed on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet about designer babies—children conceived with advanced reproductive technologies that allow parents to modify or choose specific characteristics of their child. Dr. Brooks-Gunn discusses why creating the perfect baby using DNA is causing controversy, and the impact this can have on these children. The program is broadcast live from the FOX studios in New York. Click here to see Dr. Brooks-Gunn's television segment. (February 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Honored by SRA
NCCF graduate research fellow R. Gabriela Barajas was selected to be a junior mentor for the 2008 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Young Scholars Program. In this role, Ms. Barajas will mentor, encourage, and support junior and senior undergraduate students from underrepresented ethnic minority groups as they pursue graduate work and careers in adolescent development. Click here to learn more about the SRA Young Scholars Program.  (January 2008)

NCCF Co-director Appointed to NAS Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics
NCCF co-director, Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan was appointed a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel on Early Childhood Mathematics.  The committee is analyzing the extant literature and research on early childhood mathematics to provide policy and practice recommendations for increasing mathematics learning in young children. Click here to learn more about the Early Childhood Mathematics project.

For News items dating between 2006-2007, see NCCF News Archive 2006-2007.
For News items dating before 2006, see NCCF News Archive 2005.