Publications

Policy & Research Reports

This page provides links to recent policy related publications, as well as complete publications lists for NCCF co-directors Sharon Lynn Kagan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.

Policy and Research Publications by NCCF Co-Directors and Researchers:

• Child Care Subsidy Use Among Low-Income Working Families in New York City
• In collaboration with the NYC Administration for Children's Services, NCCF conducted a research program to examine the relation between subsidy policies, preferences and perceptions of child-care quality, and child-care outcomes among low-income working parents in New York City. This research program focused on three outcomes: duration of child care subsidy use, continuity of care, and the type of care selected. (July 2009)
• Brief. Child Care Subsidy Use - Children Aged 0-5
• Brief. Child Care Subsidy Use - Children Aged 6-13
  
  
• Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood: Paths Towards Excellence and Equity.
• Full Report. National Research Council of the National Academies. 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. (July 2009)
  
  
• Advancing ECE2 Policy: Early Childhood Education (ECE) and its Quest for Excellence, Coherence, and Equity (ECE).
• Full Report. Sharon Lynn Kagan, Jeanne Reid. A comprehensive analysis of Federal Early Education Policy for the new presidential administration, commissioned by the Center on Education Policy, Washington, D.C. for its project on Rethinking the Federal Role in Education. This paper 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. (February 2009)
  
  
• American Early Childhood Education: Preventing or Perpetuating Inequity?
• Full Report. Sharon Lynn Kagan. Paper presented at the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University's fourth annual Equity Symposium, “Comprehensive Educational Equity: Overcoming the Socioeconomic Barriers to School Success.” The paper discusses the successes and failures of the American early care and education system with a particular focus on the inequities within the system. The paper also includes a comprehensive overview of the history of the American education system. (November 2008)
  
  
• Order in the house! Associations among household chaos, the home literacy environment, maternal reading ability, and children's early reading.
• Research Article. The study examines whether associations exist between household chaos and children’s early reading skills. Results suggest that the degree of household order is significantly and positively associated with early reading skills among children whose mothers are of above-average reading ability. These results suggest the potential for new approaches to encouraging literacy development in the home. (October 2008)
  
  Full Article: Johnson, A., Martin, A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Petrill, S. (2008). Order in the house! Associations among household chaos, the home literacy environment, maternal reading ability, and children's early reading. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, October 2008, Vol. 54, No.4, pp. 445-472.
  
  
• Associations Between Feeding Behaviors During Infancy and Child Illness at Two Years
• Research Brief. Nina Philipsen Hetzner, Rachel Razza, Lizabeth M. Malone, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. This research brief, adapted from a forthcoming article in Maternal and Child Health Journal, analyzes three common infant feeding practices (breastfeeding, formula feeding and solid foods) in an attempt to explore how various combinations of these infant feeding practices are associated with illnesses such as asthma, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections and ear infections in toddlerhood. (September 2008)
  
  
• The Future of Children: “Children and Electronic Media"
• Full Report. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Elisabeth Hirschhorn Donahue, editors. Click here to view the full report. This volume examines the best available evidence on whether and how exposure to different media forms is linked to child well-being. Published by The Brookings Institution and Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. (Spring 2008)
• Executive Summary. Click here to view an executive summary presenting many of the key findings and implications of the research. (Spring 2008)
• Policy Brief. Click here to view a policy brief presenting an overview of the many of the key findings and implications of the research. (Spring 2008)
• Myth Busters. Click here for an overview of common myths about media use and appropriate research.
• Parenting in a Media Saturated World. The lives of American children are saturated with media. How does this overwhelming presence of media impact children’s well being? More importantly, what can parents do to exert some control over this media presence in their children’s lives? Click here for a brief overview with tips, suggestions and links to relevant articles.
• Future of Children Website. Click here to view the documents on the Future of Children website.
  
  
  
• Inside the Content of Infant-Toddler Early Learning Guidelines: Results from Analyses, Issues to Consider, and Recommendations
• Full Report. Catherine Scott-Little, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Victoria Stebbins Frelow, Jeanne Reid. This report analyzes the content of Early Learning Guidelines from 21 states to determine what areas of development and learning have been addressed, presents issues to consider, and provides recommendations for improving Early Learning Guidelines. (February 2008)

• Inside the Content of Infant-Toddler Early Learning Guidelines: Results from Analyses, Issues to Consider, and Recommendations
  • Research Brief. Catherine Scott-Little, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Victoria Stebbins Frelow, Jeanne Reid. This brief is a summary of the full report detailed above. (February 2008)
    
    
• Taking Stock: Assessing and Improving Early Childhood Learning and Program Quality
  • Full Report. A report from The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force that details their final set of recommendations for state early childhood accountability systems, and for linking such efforts to standards-based assessment efforts in kindergarten and the primary grades. NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan was Task Force Chair. For more information, view the press release or visit the Pew Charitable Trusts Website. (October 2007)

• Using Assessment to Improve School Readiness and Head Start Program Quality
  
  • Research Brief. National Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University. (September 2007)

• Ladders of Learning: Fighting Fade-Out by Advancing PK-3 Alignment
  • Article. Kristie Kauerz examines issues surrounding curricular alignment of prekindergarten, kindergarten and early elementary education through third grade. Published by the New America Foundation (January 2006).

• Education in a Global Era
  • Phi Delta Kappan International, Vol. 87 - Number 3. (November 2005). Guest editors Sharon Lynn Kagan and Vivien Stewart and the contributors they've assembled explore the impact of globalization in this special section of Phi Delta Kappan International on education in a global era.

• Cause for Celebration? Sustained Effects of Early Childhood Education
  Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. NHSA Dialog, 8, No. 1, pp. 1-4 (July 2005)

• Questions and Answers: A Conversation with Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
  • Issue Topic. Evaluating Family Involvement Programs, The Evaluation Exchange, Vol. X, No. 4 (Winter 2004/2005), The Harvard Family Research Project .

• Child Care Quality: Centers and Home Settings That Serve Poor Families
  • Article. Sharon Lynn Kagan, Bruce Fuller, Yueh-Wen Chang, Susanna Loeb. Reprinted from Early Childhood Research Quarterly 19 (2004), a journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, published by Elsivier/Science Direct.

• Do You Believe in Magic? What We Can Expect from Early Childhood Interventions
  • Article. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Social Policy Report, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2003) , a quarterly publication of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).

• Policy Matters: Setting and Measuring Benchmarks for State Policies
  Improving the Readiness of Children for School: Recommendations for State Policy
• Discussion Paper, Policy Matters Project. Sharon Lynn Kagan, Elizabeth Rigby. National Center For Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University. Published by Center for the Study of Social Policy, February 2003.

• State Policies That Work: Improving The Readiness Of Children for School
  
  • Brief No. 2, Policy Matters Project. Sharon Lynn Kagan, Elizabeth Rigby. National Center For Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University. Published by the Center for the Study of Social Policy, February 2003.

• Standards For Preschool Children's Learning and Development: Who Has Standards, How Were They Developed, And How Are They Used?
  • Full Report. Catherine Scott-Little, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Victoria Stebbins Frelow. Published by SERVE, in Association with the School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2003.
    

Related Publications and Reports

• Full-Day Kindergarten: A Study of State Policies in the United States
  Kristie Kauerz. Education Commission of the States, June 2005.

• No Child Left Behind Policy Brief: Implications for the Early Learning Field
  Kristie Kauerz, Jessica McMaken. Education Commission of the States, June 2004.
  

Also see:

Publications of Sharon Lynn Kagan
Selected Publications of Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Complete Publications of Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

To order or inquire about a specific publication listed in the above publications links, please see: How To Request NCCF Publications.