School Readiness Research

 The National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education has two new fact sheets available. Readiness for School Involves an Array of Skills: Let’s Not Forget Fine Motor Development "Interest in children’s success as readers has existed for a long time. With...

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Secretary Arne Duncan on Early Learning

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says this about early childhood education. " It's easily the best investment we can make." Watch the video for more.

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A Fresh Start: Leveling the playing field before school begins

Governor Jim Hunt participated in NBC's Education Nation panel, A Fresh Start: Leveling the playing field before school begins. "I'm proud of Smart Start which begins at birth," the Governor emphasized! (We are too!) Education  Nation noted, "The Federal government invests...

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Studies Point to Importance of Education for NC's Early Childhood Teachers

Financial incentives provided to early childhood teachers in North Carolina are paying high dividends in the form of quality education for children, with more teachers pursuing advanced degrees across the state. The level of education an early childhood teacher...

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Promote quality infant-toddler child care

This just in from Zero to Three's eNewsletter, The Baby Monitor. The National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative at ZERO TO THREE recently published four new documents. Keys to High Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers: State and Territory...

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Study shows kindergarten learning affects adult success

New research from the National Science Foundation's Division of Social and Economic Sciences finds that children who learn more in kindergarten go on to earn more as adults and are more successful overall. Harvard University economist John Friedman explains in...

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Understanding Child Care Quality

Early care and education can prepare children for school, but while some preschool and child care programs do an excellent job, others are inadequate and some may even harm healthy development. This study focuses on child care center directors...

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What is Effective Early Childhood Professional Development?

What does research tell us about effective professional development of early childhood educators? According to a literature review prepared for the U.S. Department of Education, not as much as we would like. The authors of the report found that...

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Too Smart for Kindergarten?

Smart Start on the Radio: Listen now! RALEIGH, N.C. - As thousands of children across North Carolina start kindergarten this month and more children are attending pre-school every year, will some kids be too smart for kindergarten, already know too...

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Vocabulary Instruction in Early Childhood

Some children come to school knowing far fewer words than others. Researchers have found that even by age three, the gap is evident. Children from families with low incomes had 600 fewer words than their peers from families with...

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