Pre-K

It’s a struggle: Transitioning children into kindergarten

A recent questionnaire surveying kindergarten teachers found that a majority (72%) said children had difficulty in the transition to kindergarten, with boys and children with IEPs more likely to have difficulty. This white paper shares research about children's kindergarten transitions and key recommendations for policymakers, researchers and practitioners.

ProPELL: Promoting Preschoolers’ Early Language Learning

The Crane Center's Promoting Preschoolers’ Early Language Learning (ProPELL) project is an IES-funded project designed to investigate preschoolers’ early language learning. This project is done in partnership with colleagues from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: Using head-mounted cameras to understand preschoolers’ classroom conflict

This Crane study used head-mounted cameras to examine preschool peer conflicts, as well as how and when teachers intervene. Read more about the study’s findings and what it could mean for teacher approaches to interventions.

Childhood-related policy hopes for 2021

Our policy team shares four things that they will be paying attention to in 2021 regarding early childhood policy. They are careful to note, these are not* predictions (after what 2020 taught us about making predictions for the year).

BrightStart!

The BrightStart! project involves a collaboration with the Nemours Children’s Health System, Columbus’ Ready4Success initiative, and local early childhood programs to examine the efficacy of the Nemours® BrightStart! program through a 5-year randomized controlled trial funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: 7 different pathways to kindergarten

With only a few studies on the pathways that children take from birth to kindergarten, this OSU study shows the variety of pathways children take to reach kindergarten.

Striving Readers

Crane and Schoenbaum Centers, in partnership with Greene County Educational Service Center and Madison-Champaign Educational Service Center received a Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant to form the Ohio State Research Foundation Consortium which aimed to improve literacy outcomes for Ohio children birth to age five.

Ohio Families Struggle during COVID-19 Pandemic

Recognizing the potential growing crisis for Ohio families from the coronavirus pandemic, our researchers designed a rapid-response study of family conditions during COVID-19. This white paper shares their preliminary findings offer valuable information about the social, economic, and psychosocial impacts.

Steps to Sustainability: Fundamental Reforms to Our Systems of Child Care and Early-Learning Programs

Our Broken Child Care System and How to Fix It, Part 3: The final segment of this series examines how the many systems that make up U.S. child care are failing. Fixes that are both sweeping enough and realistic aren’t obvious, so Dr. Laura Justice turns to three experts to weigh in.

Rebuilding the Early Child Care and Education System

Our country’s early care and education system was fractured and in crisis, even before COVID-19. The abrupt closure of many child care centers, new requirements upon opening, and challenges facing families make it even more pressing that our “rebuilding” efforts work toward a more sustainable and equitable child care system.