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Evaluation of Early Childhood Programs and Child Development in Indiana, from 2021-2022

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State Preschool in a Mixed Delivery System

Preschool matters blog, envisioning, planning, and implementing better systems for dual language learners, potential inclusion of outdoor preschool in state funded programs, reaching every child: a call for inclusive early education policies, international journal of child care and education policy, states should and can do much more to support assistant teachers according to a new peer-reviewed article by gg weisenfeld and kate hodges and abby copeman petig of the center for the study of child care employment (cscce) at berkeley..

Qualifications and supports for teaching teams in state-funded preschool in the United States

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The International Journal of Childcare and Education Policy (IJCEP) is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal focusing on childcare and education policy research for young children.

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Partnership with New Jersey

New Jersey has a rich history of supporting early learning, evidenced by the state's Supreme Court decisions, legal regulations, financial investments, and committed state leadership. However, a pivotal turning point came with a landmark legal decision that sparked significant changes and laid the groundwork for progress over the last two decades.

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Canada-wide child care: It’s now less expensive, but finding it is more difficult

Kerry McCuaig , University of Toronto and Emis Akbari , University of Toronto

3 years after Canada’s landmark investment in child care, 3 priorities all levels of government should heed

Elizabeth Dhuey , University of Toronto

Changes are coming to Ontario’s kindergarten program — what parents and caregivers need to know

Kristy Timmons , Queen's University, Ontario

In most provinces, 4-year -olds aren’t at school — but it’s an economically smart way to create child-care  spaces

David Philpott , Memorial University of Newfoundland

How counting by 10 helps children learn about the meaning of numbers

Helena Osana , Concordia University ; Jairo A. Navarrete-Ulloa , Universidad de O’Higgins (Chile) , and Vera Wagner , Concordia University

A major new childcare report glosses over the issues educators face at work and why they leave

Marg Rogers , University of New England

The Productivity Commission wants all Australian kids to have access to 3 days of early learning and care a week

Peter Hurley , Victoria University and Melissa Tham , Victoria University

Ontario needs to remove barriers to child-care subsidies for low-income  families

Michal Perlman , University of Toronto ; Petr Varmuza , University of Toronto , and Samantha Burns , University of Toronto

Children’s early learning belongs in neighbourhood schools

We need more than police checks: how parents and educators can keep childcare services safe from abuse

David Bartlett , Griffith University ; Amanda L. Robertson , Griffith University , and Danielle Arlanda Harris , Griffith University

Young children’s words predict reading ability — 5 ways parents and caregivers can help grow them

Hetty Roessingh , University of Calgary

Toddlers can engage in complex games as they get to know each other over time

Zhangjing Luo , University of Toronto ; Hildy Ross , University of Waterloo ; Michal Perlman , University of Toronto , and Nina Howe , Concordia University

When kids like the box more than the toy: The benefits of playing with everyday objects

Ozlem Cankaya , MacEwan University

How Two-Eyed Seeing, ‘Etuaptmumk,’ is changing outdoor play in early childhood education

Louise Zimanyi , Royal Roads University and Albert D. Marshall

Newly linked data can reveal academic development from kindergarten to high school in 150,000 students

Jeanne Sinclair , Memorial University of Newfoundland ; Magdalena Janus , McMaster University , and Scott Davies , University of Toronto

‘Child care’ or education? Words matter in how we envision living well with children

Nicole Land , Toronto Metropolitan University and Kathleen Kummen , Capilano University

Help! My kid won’t read chapter books. What do I do?

Helen Harper , University of New England ; Bronwyn Parkin , University of Adelaide ; Pauline Jones , University of Wollongong , and Susan Feez , University of New England

Real dirt, no fake grass and low traffic – what to look for when choosing a childcare centre

Anne-Marie Morrissey , Deakin University and Deborah Moore , Monash University

What to look for in a high-quality ‘ pre-primary ’ or junior kindergarten program

Christine McLean , Mount Saint Vincent University and Jessie-Lee McIsaac , Mount Saint Vincent University

How caregivers can help build children’s emerging language skills

Audrey-Ann Deneault , University of Calgary ; Lorraine Reggin , University of Calgary ; Penny Pexman , University of Calgary ; Sheri Madigan , University of Calgary , and Susan Graham , University of Calgary

Related Topics

• Coronavirus
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• Early childhood learning
• Kindergarten

Top contributors

Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto

Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Associate Professor, Flinders University

Program Head of Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

Professor and Head of School, School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology

Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto

Assistant Researcher, Perlman Lab, Ontario Institute for the Studies of Education, University of Toronto

Assistant Program Head of Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University

Professor, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland

Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary

Former Education Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University

Professorial Fellow, Jumbunna IHL, University of Technology Sydney

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Early Intervention

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Most recent.

Spotlight on Young Children: Observation and Assessment, Volume 2

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When in Doubt, Reach Out: Teaming Strategies for Inclusive Early Childhood Settings

Spring 2021

Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Increasing Social Communication with Evidence-Based Practices

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Giving Thanks to Early Intervention Specialists this Thanksgiving

Ontario’s Early Learning–Kindergarten Program: A Transformative Early Childhood Education Initiative

CARA's Kit for Toddlers: Creating Adaptations for Routines and Activities

Every Child Belongs: Welcoming a Child with a Disability

5 Current Issues in the Field of Early Childhood Education

Learning Objectives

Objective 1: Identify current issues that impact stakeholders in early childhood care and education.

Objective 2: Describe strategies for understanding current issues as a professional in early childhood care and education.

Objective 3: Create an informed response to a current issue as a professional in early childhood care and education.

Current Issues in the Field—Part 1

There’s one thing you can be sure of in the field of early childhood: the fact that the field is always changing. We make plans for our classrooms based on the reality we and the children in our care are living in, and then, something happens in that external world, the place where “life happens,” and our reality changes. Or sometimes it’s a slow shift: you go to a training and hear about new research, you think it over, read a few articles, and over time you realize the activities you carefully planned are no longer truly relevant to the lives children are living today, or that you know new things that make you rethink whether your practice is really meeting the needs of every child.

This is guaranteed to happen at some point. Natural events might occur that affect your community, like forest fires or tornadoes, or like COVID-19, which closed far too many child care programs and left many other early educators struggling to figure out how to work with children online. Cultural and political changes happen, which affect your children’s lives, or perhaps your understanding of their lives, like the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that brought to light how much disparity and tension exist and persist in the United States. New information may come to light through research that allows us to understand human development very differently, like the advancements in neuroscience that help us understand how trauma affects children’s brains, and how we as early educators can counteract those affects and build resilience.

And guess what—all this change is a good thing! Read this paragraph slowly—it’s important!  Change is good because we as providers of early childhood care and education are working with much more than a set of academic skills that need to be imparted to children; we are working with the whole child, and preparing the child to live successfully in the world. So when history sticks its foot into our nice calm stream of practice, the waters get muddied. But the good news is that mud acts as a fertilizer so that we as educators and leaders in the field have the chance to learn and grow, to bloom into better educators for every child, and, let’s face it, to become better human beings!

The work of early childhood care and education is so full, so complex, so packed with details to track and respond to, from where Caiden left his socks, to whether Amelia’s parents are going to be receptive to considering evaluation for speech supports, and how to adapt the curriculum for the child who has never yet come to circle time. It might make you feel a little uneasy—or, let’s face it, even overwhelmed—to also consider how the course of history may cause you to deeply rethink what you do over time.

That’s normal. Thinking about the complexity of human history while pushing Keisha on the swings makes you completely normal! As leaders in the field, we must learn to expect that we will be called upon to change, maybe even dramatically, over time. 

Let me share a personal story with you: I had just become director of an established small center, and was working to sort out all the details that directing encompassed: scheduling, billing policies, and most of all, staffing frustrations about who got planning time, etc. But I was also called upon to substitute teach on an almost daily basis, so there was a lot of disruption to my carefully made daily plans to address the business end, or to work with teachers to seek collaborative solutions to long-standing conflict. I was frustrated by not having time to do the work I felt I needed to do, and felt there were new small crises each day. I couldn’t get comfortable with my new position, nor with the way my days were constantly shifting away from my plans. It was then that a co-worker shared a quote with me from Thomas F. Crum, who writes about how to thrive in difficult working conditions: “Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on a shifting carpet”.

Wow! That gave me a new vision, one where I wasn’t failing and flailing, but could become graceful in learning to be responsive to change big and small. I felt relieved to have a different way of looking at my progress through my days: I wasn’t flailing at all—I was dancing! Okay, it might be a clumsy dance, and I might bruise my knees, but that idea helped me respond to each day’s needs with courage and hope.

I especially like this image for those of us who work with young children. I imagine a child hopping around in the middle of a parachute, while the other children joyfully whip their corners up and down. The child in the center feels disoriented, exhilarated, surrounded by shifting color, sensation, and laughter. When I feel like there’s too much change happening, I try to see the world through that child’s eyes. It’s possible to find joy and possibility in the disorientation, and the swirl of thoughts and feelings, and new ways of seeing and being that come from change.

Key Takeaways

Our practices in the classroom and as leaders must constantly adapt to changes in our communities and our understanding of the world around us, which gives us the opportunity to continue to grow and develop.

You are a leader, and change is happening, and you are making decisions about how to move forward, and how to adapt thoughtfully. The good news is that when this change happens, our field has really amazing tools for adapting. We can develop a toolkit of trusted sources that we can turn to to provide us with information and strategies for ethical decision making.

If You’re Afraid of Falling…

One of the most important of these is the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, which expresses a commitment to core values for the field, and a set of principles for determining ethical behavior and decision-making. As we commit to the code, we commit to:

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle
• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn
• Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family
• Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture,* community, and society
• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)
• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues
• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect.

If someone asked us to make a list of beliefs we have about children and families, we might not have been able to come up with a list that looked just like this, but, most of us in the field are here because we share these values and show up every day with them in our hearts.

The Code of Ethical Conduct can help bring what’s in your heart into your head. It’s a complete tool to help you think carefully about a dilemma, a decision, or a plan, based on these values. Sometimes we don’t make the “right” decision and need to change our minds, but as long as we make a decision based on values about the importance of the well-being of all children and families, we won’t be making a decision that we will regret.

An Awfully Big Current Issue—Let’s Not Dance Around It

In the field of early childhood, issues of prejudice have long been important to research, and in this country, Head Start was developed more than 50 years ago with an eye toward dismantling disparity based on ethnicity or skin color (among other things). However, research shows that this gap has not closed. Particularly striking, in recent years, is research addressing perceptions of the behavior of children of color and the numbers of children who are asked to leave programs.

In fact, studies of expulsion from preschool showed that black children were twice as likely to be expelled as white preschoolers, and 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more suspensions. This is deeply concerning in and of itself, but the fact that preschool expulsion is predictive of later difficulties is even more so:

Starting as young as infancy and toddlerhood, children of color are at highest risk for being expelled from early childhood care and education programs. Early expulsions and suspensions lead to greater gaps in access to resources for young children and thus create increasing gaps in later achievement and well-being… Research indicates that early expulsions and suspensions predict later expulsions and suspensions, academic failure, school dropout, and an increased likelihood of later incarceration.

Why does this happen? It’s complicated. Studies on the K-12 system show that some of the reasons include:

• uneven or biased implementation of disciplinary policies
• discriminatory discipline practices
• school racial climate
• under resourced programs
• inadequate education and training for teachers on bias

In other words, educators need more support and help in reflecting on their own practices, but there are also policies and systems in place that contribute to unfair treatment of some groups of children.

Key Takeaway

So…we have a lot of research that continues to be eye opening and cause us to rethink our practices over time, plus a cultural event—in the form of the Black Lives Matter movement—that push the issue of disparity based on skin color directly in front of us. We are called to respond. You are called to respond.

How Will I Ever Learn the Steps?

Woah—how do I respond to something so big and so complex and so sensitive to so many different groups of people?

As someone drawn to early childhood care and education, you probably bring certain gifts and abilities to this work.

• You probably already feel compassion for every child and want every child to have opportunities to grow into happy, responsible adults who achieve their goals. Remember the statement above about respecting the dignity and worth of every individual? That in itself is a huge start to becoming a leader working as an advocate for social justice.
• You may have been to trainings that focus on anti-bias and being culturally responsive.
• You may have some great activities to promote respect for diversity, and be actively looking for more.
• You may be very intentional about including materials that reflect people with different racial identities, genders, family structures.
• You may make sure that each family is supported in their home language and that multilingualism is valued in your program.
• You may even have spent some time diving into your own internalized biases.

This list could become very long! These are extremely important aspects of addressing injustice in early education which you can do to alter your individual practice with children.

As a leader in the field, you are called to think beyond your own practice.  As a leader you have the opportunity—the responsibility!—to look beyond your own practices and become an advocate for change. Two important recommendations (of many) from the NAEYC Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement, another important tool:

Speak out against unfair policies or practices and challenge biased perspectives.  Work to embed fair and equitable approaches in all aspects of early childhood program delivery, including standards, assessments, curriculum, and personnel practices.

Look for ways to work collectively with others who are committed to equity.  Consider it a professional responsibility to help challenge and change policies, laws, systems, and institutional practices that keep social inequities in place.

One take away I want you to grab from those last sentences: You are not alone. This work can be, and must be, collective.

As a leader, your sphere of influence is bigger than just you. You can influence the practices of others in your program and outside of it. You can influence policies, rules, choices about the tools you use, and ultimately, you can even challenge laws that are not fair to every child.

Who’s on your team? I want you to think for a moment about the people who help you in times where you are facing change. These are the people you can turn to for an honest conversation, where you can show your confusion and fear, and they will be supportive and think alongside you. This might include your friends, your partner, some or all of your coworkers, a former teacher of your own, a counselor, a pastor. Make a quick list of people you can turn to when you need to do some deep digging and ground yourself in your values.

And now, your workplace team: who are your fellow advocates in your workplace? Who can you reach out to when you realize something might need to change within your program? 

Wonderful. You’ve got other people to lean on in times of change. More can be accomplished together than alone. Let’s consider what you can do:

What is your sphere of influence? What are some small ways you can create room for growth within your sphere of influence? What about that workplace team? Do their spheres of influence add to your own?

Try drawing your sphere of influence: Draw yourself in the middle of the page, and put another circle around yourself, another circle around that, and another around that. Fill your circles in:

• Consider the first circle your personal sphere. Brainstorm family and friends who you can talk to about issues that are part of your professional life. You can put down their names, draw them, or otherwise indicate who they might be!
• Next, those you influence in your daily work, such as the children in your care, their families, maybe your co-workers land here.
• Next, those who make decisions about the system you are in—maybe this is your director or board, or even a PTA. 
• Next, think about the early childhood care and education community you work within. What kind of influence could you have on this community? Do you have friends who work at other programs you can have important conversations with to spread ideas? Are you part of a local Association for the Education of Young Children (AEYC)? Could you speak to the organizers of a local conference about including certain topics for sessions?
• And finally, how about state (and even national) policies? Check out The Children’s Institute to learn about state bills that impact childcare. Do you know your local representatives? Could you write a letter to your senator? Maybe you have been frustrated with the slow reimbursement and low rates for Employment Related Day Care subsidies and can find a place to share your story. You can call your local Child Care Resource and Referral, your local or state AEYC chapter, or visit childinst.org to find out how you can increase your reach! It’s probably a lot farther than you think!

Break It Down: Systemic Racism

When you think about injustice and the kind of change you want to make, there’s an important distinction to understand in the ways injustice happens in education (or anywhere else). First, there’s personal bias and racism, and of course it’s crucial as an educator to examine ourselves and our practices and responses. We all have bias and addressing it is an act of courage that you can model for your colleagues.

In addition, there’s another kind of bias and racism, and it doesn’t live inside of individual people, but inside of the systems we have built. Systemic racism exists in the structures and processes that have come into place over time, which allow one group of people a greater chance of succeeding than other specific groups of people.

Key Takeaways (Sidebar)

Systemic racism is also called institutional racism, because it exists – sometimes unquestioned – within institutions themselves.

In early childhood care and education, there are many elements that were built with middle class white children in mind. Many of our standardized tests were made with middle class white children in mind. The curriculum we use, the assessments we use, the standards of behavior we have been taught; they may have all been developed with middle class white children in mind.

Therefore it is important to consider whether they adequately and fairly work for all of the children in your program community. Do they have relevance to all children’s lived experience, development, and abilities? Who is being left out?

Imagine a vocabulary assessment in which children are shown common household items including a lawn mower…common if you live in a house; they might well be unfamiliar to a three-year-old who lives in an apartment building, however. The child may end up receiving a lower score, though their vocabulary could be rich, full of words that do reflect the objects in their lived experience.

The test is at fault, not the child’s experience. Yet the results of that test can impact the way educators, parents, and the child see their ability and likelihood to succeed.

You Don’t Have to Invent the Steps: Using an Equity Lens

In addition to the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Equity Statement, another tool for addressing decision-making is an equity lens. To explain what an equity lens is, we first need to talk about equity. It’s a term you may have heard before, but sometimes people confuse it with equality. It’s a little different – equity is having the resources needed to be successful.

There’s a wonderful graphic of children looking over a fence at a baseball game. In one frame, each child stands at the fence; one is tall enough to see over the top; another stands tip-toe, straining to see; and another is simply too short. This is equality—everyone has the same chance, but not everyone is equally prepared. In the frame titled equity, each child stands on a stool just high enough so that they may all see over the fence. The stools are the supports they need to have an equitable outcome—being able to experience the same thing as their friend.

Seeking equity means considering who might not be able to see over the fence and figuring out how to build them a stool so that they have the same opportunity.

An equity lens, then, is a tool to help you look at decisions through a framework of equity. It’s a series of questions to ask yourself when making decisions. An equity lens is a process of asking a series of questions to better help you understand if something (a project, a curriculum, a parent meeting, a set of behavioral guidelines) is unfair to specific individuals or groups whose needs have been overlooked in the past. This lens might help you to identify the impact of your decisions on students of color, and you can also use the lens to consider the impact on students experiencing poverty, students in nontraditional families, students with differing abilities, students who are geographically isolated, students whose home language is other than English, etc.) The lens then helps you determine how to move past this unfairness by overcoming barriers and providing equitable opportunities to all children.

Some states have adopted a version of the equity lens for use in their early learning systems. Questions that are part of an equity lens might include:

• What decision is being made, and what kind of values or assumptions are affecting how we make the decision?
• Who is helping make the decision? Are there representatives of the affected group who get to have a voice in the process?
• Does the new activity, rule, etc. have the potential to make disparities worse? For instance, could it mean that families who don’t have a car miss out on a family night? Or will it make those disparities better?
• Who might be left out? How can we make sure they are included?
• Are there any potential unforeseen consequences of the decision that will impact specific groups? How can we try to make sure the impact will be positive?

You can use this lens for all kinds of decisions, in formal settings, like staff meetings, and you can also work to make them part of your everyday thinking. I have a sticky note on my desk that asks “Who am I leaving out”? This is an especially important question if the answer points to children who are people of color, or another group that is historically disadvantaged. If that’s the answer, you don’t have to scrap your idea entirely. Celebrate your awareness, and brainstorm about how you can do better for everyone—and then do it!

Embracing our Bruised Knees: Accepting Discomfort as We Grow

Inspirational author Brene Brown, who writes books, among other things, about being an ethical leader, said something that really walloped me: if we avoid the hard work of addressing unfairness (like talking about skin color at a time when our country is divided over it) we are prioritizing our discomfort over the pain of others. 

Imagine a parent who doesn’t think it’s appropriate to talk about skin color with young children, who tells you so with some anger in their voice. That’s uncomfortable, maybe even a little scary. But as you prioritize upholding the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, you can see that this is more important than trying to avoid discomfort. Changing your practice to avoid conflict with this parent means prioritizing your own momentary discomfort over the pain children of color in your program may experience over time.

We might feel vulnerable when we think about skin color, and we don’t want to have to have the difficult conversation. But if keeping ourselves safe from discomfort means that we might not be keeping children safe from very real and life-impacting racial disparity, we’re not making a choice that is based in our values.

Change is uncomfortable. It leaves us feeling vulnerable as we reexamine the ideas, strategies, even the deeply held beliefs that have served us so far. But as a leader, and with the call to support every child as they deserve, we can develop a sort of super power vision, where we can look unflinchingly around us and understand the hidden impacts of the structures we work within.

A Few Recent Dance Steps of My Own

You’re definitely not alone—researchers and thinkers in the field are doing this work alongside you, examining even our most cherished and important ideas about childhood and early education. For instance, a key phrase that we often use to underpin our decisions is developmentally appropriate practice, which NAEYC defines as “methods that promote each child’s optimal development and learning through a strengths-based, play-based approach to joyful, engaged learning.” The phrase is sometimes used to contrast against practices that might not be developmentally appropriate, like expecting three-year-olds to write their names or sit quietly in a 30 minute story time.

Let me tell you a story about how professional development is still causing me to stare change in the face! At the NAEYC conference in 2020, during a session in which Dr. Jie-Qi Chen presented on different perspectives on developmentally appropriate practice among early educators in China and the United States. She showed a video from a classroom in China to educators in both the US and in China. The video was of a circle time in which a child was retelling a story that the class knew well, and then the children were encouraged to offer feedback and rate how well the child had done. The children listened attentively, and then told the storytelling child how they had felt about his retelling, including identifying parts that had been left out, inaccuracies in the telling, and advice for speaking more clearly and loudly.

The educators were asked what the impact of the activity would be on the children and whether it was developmentally appropriate. The educators in the United States had deep concerns that the activity would be damaging to a child’s self esteem, and was therefore not developmentally appropriate. They also expressed concerns about the children being asked to sit for this amount of time. The educators in the classroom in China felt that it was developmentally appropriate and the children were learning not only storytelling skills but how to give and receive constructive criticism.

As I watched the video, I had the same thoughts as the educators from the US—I’m not used to children being encouraged to offer criticism rather than praise. But I also saw that the child in question had self-confidence and received the feedback positively. The children were very engaged and seemed to feel their feedback mattered.

What was most interesting to me here was the idea of self-esteem, and how important it is to us here in the United States, or rather, how much protecting we feel it needs. I realized that what educators were responding to weren’t questions of whether retelling a story was developmentally appropriate, or whether the critical thinking skills the children were being asked to display were developmentally appropriate, but rather whether the social scenario in which one child receives potentially negative feedback in front of their peers was developmentally appropriate, and that the responses were based in the different cultural ideas of self-esteem and individual vision versus collective success.

My point here is that even our big ideas, like developmentally appropriate practice, have an element of vulnerability to them. As courageous leaders, we need to turn our eyes even there to make sure that our cultural assumptions and biases aren’t affecting our ability to see clearly, that the reality of every child is honored within them, and that no one is being left out.  And that’s okay. It doesn’t mean we should scrap them. It’s not wrong to advocate for and use developmentally appropriate practice as a framework for our work—not at all! It just means we need to remember that it’s built from values that may be specific to our culture—and not everyone may have equal access to that culture. It means we should return to our big ideas with respect and bravery and sit with them and make sure they are still the ones that serve us best in the world we are living in right now, with the best knowledge we have right now.

You, Dancing With Courage

So…As a leader is early childhood, you will be called upon to be nimble, to make new decisions and reframe your practice when current events or new understanding disrupt your plans. When this happens, professional tools are available to you to help you make choices based on your ethical commitment to children.

Change makes us feel uncomfortable but we can embrace it to do the best by the children and families we work with. We can learn to develop our critical thinking skills so that we can examine our own beliefs and assumptions, both as individuals and as a leader.

Remember that person dancing on the shifting carpet? That child in the middle of the parachute? They might be a little dizzy, but with possibility. They might lose their footing, but in that uncertainty, in the middle of the billowing parachute, there is the sensation that the very instability provides the possibility of rising up like the fabric. And besides—there are hands to hold if they lose their balance—or if you do! And so can you rise when you allow yourself to accept change and adapt to all the new possibility of growth that it opens up!

Current Issues in the Field Part 2—Dance Lessons

Okay, sure—things are gonna change, and this change is going to affect the lives of the children and families you work with, and affect you, professionally and personally. So—you’re sold, in theory, that to do the best by each one of those children, you’re just going to have to do some fancy footwork, embrace the change, and think through how to best adapt to it.

But…how? Before we talk about the kind of change that’s about rethinking your program on a broad level, let’s talk about those times we face when change happens in the spur of the moment, and impacts the lives of the children in your program—those times when your job becomes helping children process their feelings and adapt to change. Sometimes this is a really big deal, like a natural disaster. Sometimes it’s something smaller like the personal story I share below…something small, cuddly, and very important to the children.

Learning the Steps: How do I help children respond to change?

I have a sad story to share. For many years, I was the lead teacher in a classroom in which we had a pet rabbit named Flopsy. Flopsy was litter-trained and so our licensing specialist allowed us to let him hop freely around the classroom. Flopsy was very social, and liked to interact with children. He liked to be held and petted and was also playful, suddenly zooming around the classroom, hopping over toys and nudging children. Flopsy was a big part of our community and of children’s experience in our classroom.

One day, I arrived at school to be told by my distraught director that Flopsy had died in the night and she had removed his body. I had about 15 minutes before children would be arriving, and I had to figure out how to address Flopsy’s loss.

I took a few minutes to collect myself, and considered the following questions:

Yes, absolutely. The children would notice immediately that Flopsy was missing and would comment on it. It was important that I not evade their questions.

Flopsy had died. His body had stopped working. His brain had stopped working. He would not ever come back to life. We would never see Flopsy again. I wrote these sentences on a sticky note. They were short but utterly important.

I would give children the opportunity to share their feelings, and talk about my own feelings. I would read children’s books that would express feelings they might not have words for yet. I would pay extra attention to children reaching out to me and offer opportunities to affirm children’s responses by writing them down.

Human beings encounter death. Children lose pets, grandparents, and sometimes parents or siblings. I wanted these children to experience death in a way that would give them a template when they experienced more intense loss. I wanted them to know it’s okay to be sad, and that the sadness grows less acute over time. That it’s okay to feel angry or scared, and that these feelings, too, though they might be really big, will become less immediate. And that it’s okay to feel happy as you remember the one you lost.

I knew it was important not to give children mistaken impressions about death. I was careful not to compare it to sleep, because I didn’t want them to think that maybe Flopsy would wake up again. I also didn’t want them to fear that when mama fell asleep it was the same thing as death. I also wanted to be factual but leave room for families to share their religious beliefs with their children.

I didn’t have time to do research. But I mentally gathered up some wisdom from a training I’d been to, where the trainer talked about how important it is that we don’t shy away from addressing death with children. Her words gave me courage. I also gathered up some children’s books about pet death from our library.

The first thing I did was text my husband. I was really sad. I had cared for this bunny for years and I loved him too. I didn’t have time for a phone call, but that text was an important way for me to acknowledge my own feelings of grief.

Then I talked to the other teachers. I asked for their quick advice, and shared my plan, since the news would travel to other classrooms as well.

During my prep time that day, I wrote a letter to families, letting them know Flopsy had died and some basic information about how we had spoken to children about it, some resources about talking to children about death, and some titles of books about the death of pets. I knew that news of Flopsy’s death would be carried home to many families, and that parents might want to share their own belief systems about death. I also knew many parents were uncomfortable discussing death with young children and that it might be helpful to see the way we had done so.

I had curriculum planned for that day which I partially scrapped. At our first gathering time I shared the news with the whole group: I shared my sticky note of information about death. I told the children I was sad. I asked if they had questions and I answered them honestly. I listened when they shared their own feelings. I also told them I had happy memories of FLopsy and we talked about our memories.

During the course of the day, and the next few days, I gave the children invitations (but not assignments) to reflect on Flopsy and their feelings. I sat on the floor with a notebook and the invitation for children to write a “story” about Flopsy. Almost every child wanted their words recorded. Responses ranged from “Goodbye bunny” to imagined stories about Flopsy’s adventures, to a description of feelings of sadness and loss. Writing down these words helped acknowledge the children’s feelings. Some of them hung their stories on the wall, and some asked them to be read aloud, or shared them themselves, at circle time.

I also made sure there were plenty of other opportunities in the classroom for children who didn’t want to engage in these ways, or who didn’t need to.

We read “Saying Goodbye to Lulu” and “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” in small groups; and while these books were a little bit above the developmental level of some children in the class, many children wanted to hear and discuss the books. When I became teary reading them, I didn’t try to hide it, but just said “I’m feeling sad, and it makes me cry a little bit. Everyone cries sometimes.”

This would be a good set of steps to address an event like a hurricane, wildfires, or an earthquake as well. First and foremost of course, make sure your children are safe and have their physical needs met! Remember your role as educator and caretaker; address their emotional needs, consider what you hope they will learn, gather the resources and your team, and make decisions that affirm the dignity of each child in your care.

• Does the issue affect children’s lived experiences? 
• How much and what kind of information is appropriate for their age?
• How can I best affirm their emotions?
• What do I hope they will learn?
• Could I accidentally be doing harm through my response?
• Which resources do I need and can I gather in a timely manner?
• How do I gather my team?
• How can I involve families?
• Now, I create and enact my plan…

Did your plan look any different for having used these questions? And did the process of making decisions as a leader look or feel different? How so?

You might not always walk yourself through a set of questions–but using an intentional tool is like counting out dance steps—there’s a lot of thinking it through at first, and maybe forgetting a step, and stumbling, and so forth. And then…somehow, you just know how to dance. And then you can learn to improvise. In other words, it is through practice that you will become adept at and confident in responding to change, and learn to move with grace on the shifting carpet of life.

Feeling the Rhythm: How do I help myself respond to change

—and grow through it.

Now, let’s address what it might look like to respond to a different kind of change, the kind in which you learn something new and realize you need to make some changes in who you are as an educator. This is hard, but there are steps you can take to make sure you keep moving forward:

• Work to understand your own feelings. Write about them. Talk them through with your teams—personal and/or professional.
• Take a look in the mirror, strive to see where you are at, and then be kind to yourself!
• Gather your tools! Get out that dog eared copy of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and look for other tools that are relevant to your situation. Root yourself in the values of early childhood care and education.
• Examine your own practices in light of this change.
• Examine the policies, structures, or systems that affect your program in light of this change.
• Ask yourself, where could change happen? Remember your spheres of influence.
• Who can you collaborate with? Who is on your team?
• How can you make sure the people being affected by this change help inform your response? Sometimes people use the phrase “Nothing for us without us” to help remember that we don’t want to make decisions that affect a group of people (even if we think we’re helping) without learning more from individuals in that group about what real support looks like).
• Make a plan, including a big vision and small steps, and start taking those small steps. Remember that when you are ready to bring others in, they will need to go through some of this process too, and you may need to be on their team as they look for a safe sounding board to explore their discomfort or fear.
• Realize that you are a courageous advocate for children. Give yourself a hug!

• Work to understand your own feelings. Write about them. Talk them through with your teams—personal and/or professional. 

This might be a good time to freewrite about your feelings—just put your pencil to paper and start writing. Maybe you feel guilty because you’re afraid that too many children of color have been asked to leave your program. Maybe you feel angry about the injustice. Maybe you feel scared that this topic is politicized and people aren’t going to want to hear about it. Maybe you feel scared to even face the idea that bias could have affected children while in your care. All these feelings are okay! Maybe you talk to your partner or your friends about your fears before you’re ready to get started even thinking about taking action.

• Take a look in the mirror, strive to see where you are at, and then be kind to yourself! Tell that person looking back at you: “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”

Yep. You love children and you did what you believed was best for the children in your program. Maybe now you can do even better by them! You are being really really brave by investigating!

• Gather your tools! Get out that dog-eared copy of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and look for other tools that are relevant to your situation.

Okay! This would be an excellent time to bring out the equity lens and your other tools. Read them over. Use them.

Do your practices affirm the dignity of every child and family? Ask yourself these hard questions while focusing on, in this case, how you look at behavior of children of color. Do the choices you make affirm the dignity of each unique child? Use your tools—you can pull out the equity lens here! Are you acknowledging the home realities of each child when you are having conversations that are meant to build social-emotional skills? Are you considering the needs of each child during difficult transitions? Do you provide alternative ways for children to engage if they have difficulty sitting in circle times?

And…Do your policies and structures affirm the dignity of every child and family? Use those tools! Look at your behavioral guidance policies—are you expecting children to come into your program with certain skills that may not be valued by certain cultures? What about your policies on sending children home or asking a family to leave your program? Could these policies be unfair to certain groups? In fact—given that you now know how extremely impactful expulsion is for preschoolers, could you take it off the table entirely?

Let’s say you’re a teacher, and you can look back and see that over the years you’ve been at your center, a disproportionately high number of children of color have been excluded from the program. Your director makes policy decisions—can you bring this information to him or her? Could you talk to your coworkers about how to bring it up? Maybe your sphere of influence could get even wider—could you share this information with other early educators in your community? Maybe even write a letter to your local representatives!

• Who can you collaborate with? Who is on your team? 

Maybe other educators? Maybe parents? Maybe your director? Maybe an old teacher of your own? Can you bring this up at a staff meeting? Or in informal conversations?

• How can you make sure the people being affected by this change help inform your response?

Let’s say your director is convinced that your policies need to change in light of this new information. You want to make sure that parent voice—and especially that of parents of color—is heard! You could suggest a parent meeting on the topic; or maybe do “listening sessions” with parents of color, where you ask them open-ended questions and listen and record their responses—without adding much of your own response; maybe you could invite parents to be part of a group who looks over and works on the policies. This can feel a little scary to people in charge (see decentered leadership?)

Maybe this plan is made along with your director and includes those parent meetings, and a timeline for having revised policies, and some training for the staff. Or—let’s back it up—maybe you’re not quite to that point yet, and your plan is how you are going to approach your director, especially since they might feel criticized. Then your plan might be sharing information, communicating enthusiasm about moving forward and making positive change, and clearly stating your thoughts on where change is needed! (Also some chocolate to reward yourself for being a courageous advocate for every child.)

And, as I may have mentioned, some chocolate. You are a leader and an advocate, and a person whose action mirrors their values. You are worth admiring!

Maybe you haven’t had your mind blown with new information lately, but I’ll bet there’s something you’ve thought about that you haven’t quite acted on yet…maybe it’s about individualizing lesson plans for children with differing abilities. Maybe it’s about addressing diversity of gender in the classroom. Maybe it’s about celebrating linguistic diversity, inviting children and parents to share their home languages in the classroom, and finding authentic ways to include print in these languages.

Whatever it is—we all have room to grow.

Make a Plan!

Dancing Your Dance: Rocking Leadership in Times of Change

There will never be a time when we as educators are not having to examine and respond to “Current Issues in the Field.” Working with children means working with children in a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of community, knowledge, and personal experience. It’s really cool that we get to do this, walk beside small human beings as they learn to traverse the big wacky world with all its potholes…and it means we get to keep getting better and better at circling around, leaping over, and, yep, dancing around or even through those very potholes.

In conclusion, all dancers feel unsteady sometimes. All dancers bruise their knees along the way. All educators make mistakes and experience discomfort.  All dancers wonder if this dance just isn’t for them.  All dancers think that maybe this one is just too hard and want to quit sometimes. All educators second guess their career choices. But all dancers also discover their own innate grace and their inborn ability to both learn and to change; our very muscles are made to stretch, our cells replace themselves, and we quite simply cannot stand still. All educators have the capacity to grow into compassionate, courageous leaders!

Your heart, your brain, and your antsy feet have led you to become a professional in early childhood care and education, and they will all demand that you jump into the uncertainty of leadership in times of change, and learn to dance for the sake of the children in your care. This, truly, is your call to action, and your pressing invitation to join the dance!

Brown, B. (2018).  Dare to lead . Vermilion.

Broughton, A., Castro, D. and Chen, J.  (2020).  Three International Perspectives on Culturally Embraced Pedagogical Approaches to Early Teaching and Learning.  [Conference presentation].  NAEYC Annual Conference.

Crum, T.  (1987).  The Magic of Conflict: Turning a Life of Work into a Work of Art.  Touchstone.

Meek, S. and Gilliam, W. (2016).  Expulsion and Suspension in Early Education as Matters of Social Justice and Health Equity.  Perspectives: Expert Voices in Health & Health Care.

Scott, K., Looby, A., Hipp, J. and Frost, N. (2017).  “Applying an Equity Lens to the Child Care Setting.”  The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 45 (S1), 77-81.

Online Resources for Current Issues in the Field

Resources for opening yourself to personal growth, change, and courageous leadership:

• Brown, Brenee. Daring Classrooms. https://brenebrown.com/daringclassrooms
• Chang, R. (March 25, 2019).  What Growth Mindset Means for Kids [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66yaYmUNOx4

Resources for Thinking About Responding to Current Issues in Education

• Flanagan, N. (July 31, 2020).  How School Should Respond to Covid-19 [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSkUHHH4nb8
• Harris, N.B.. (February 217, 015). How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime [Video] .  TED Conferences.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk
• Simmons, D. (August 28, 2020). 6 Ways to be an Anti Racist Educator [Video] . Edutopia.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM3Lfk751cg&t=3s

Leadership in Early Care and Education Copyright © 2022 by Dr. Tammy Marino; Dr. Maidie Rosengarden; Dr. Sally Gunyon; and Taya Noland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research Topics & Ideas: Education

170+ Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring education-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas , including examples from actual dissertations and theses..

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Education Research Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• List of 50+ education-related research topics/ideas
• List of 120+ level-specific research topics 
• Examples of actual dissertation topics in education
• Tips to fast-track your topic ideation (video)
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

Education-Related Research Topics & Ideas

Below you’ll find a list of education-related research topics and idea kickstarters. These are fairly broad and flexible to various contexts, so keep in mind that you will need to refine them a little. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

• The impact of school funding on student achievement
• The effects of social and emotional learning on student well-being
• The effects of parental involvement on student behaviour
• The impact of teacher training on student learning
• The impact of classroom design on student learning
• The impact of poverty on education
• The use of student data to inform instruction
• The role of parental involvement in education
• The effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom
• The use of technology in the classroom
• The role of critical thinking in education
• The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom
• The use of differentiated instruction in the classroom
• The use of gamification in education
• The effects of teacher burnout on student learning
• The impact of school leadership on student achievement
• The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
• The role of teacher collaboration in improving student outcomes
• The implementation of blended and online learning
• The effects of teacher accountability on student achievement
• The effects of standardized testing on student learning
• The effects of classroom management on student behaviour
• The effects of school culture on student achievement
• The use of student-centred learning in the classroom
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on student outcomes
• The achievement gap in minority and low-income students
• The use of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom
• The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
• The use of project-based learning in the classroom
• The effects of teacher expectations on student achievement
• The use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom
• The impact of teacher turnover on student learning
• The effects of teacher recruitment and retention on student learning
• The impact of early childhood education on later academic success
• The impact of parental involvement on student engagement
• The use of positive reinforcement in education
• The impact of school climate on student engagement
• The role of STEM education in preparing students for the workforce
• The effects of school choice on student achievement
• The use of technology in the form of online tutoring

Level-Specific Research Topics

Looking for research topics for a specific level of education? We’ve got you covered. Below you can find research topic ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary-level education contexts. Click the relevant level to view the respective list.

Research Topics: Pick An Education Level

Primary education.

• Investigating the effects of peer tutoring on academic achievement in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of mindfulness practices in primary school classrooms
• Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on primary school students’ problem-solving skills
• The use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in primary school literacy instruction
• The role of cultural diversity in promoting tolerance and understanding in primary schools
• The impact of character education programs on moral development in primary school students
• Investigating the use of technology in enhancing primary school mathematics education
• The impact of inclusive curriculum on promoting equity and diversity in primary schools
• The impact of outdoor education programs on environmental awareness in primary school students
• The influence of school climate on student motivation and engagement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of early literacy interventions on reading comprehension in primary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student achievement in primary schools
• Exploring the benefits of inclusive education for students with special needs in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of teacher-student feedback on academic motivation in primary schools
• The role of technology in developing digital literacy skills in primary school students
• Effective strategies for fostering a growth mindset in primary school students
• Investigating the role of parental support in reducing academic stress in primary school children
• The role of arts education in fostering creativity and self-expression in primary school students
• Examining the effects of early childhood education programs on primary school readiness
• Examining the effects of homework on primary school students’ academic performance
• The role of formative assessment in improving learning outcomes in primary school classrooms
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on academic outcomes in primary school
• Investigating the effects of classroom environment on student behavior and learning outcomes in primary schools
• Investigating the role of creativity and imagination in primary school curriculum
• The impact of nutrition and healthy eating programs on academic performance in primary schools
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on primary school students’ well-being and academic performance
• The role of parental involvement in academic achievement of primary school children
• Examining the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior in primary school
• The role of school leadership in creating a positive school climate Exploring the benefits of bilingual education in primary schools
• The effectiveness of project-based learning in developing critical thinking skills in primary school students
• The role of inquiry-based learning in fostering curiosity and critical thinking in primary school students
• The effects of class size on student engagement and achievement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of recess and physical activity breaks on attention and learning in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of outdoor play in developing gross motor skills in primary school children
• The effects of educational field trips on knowledge retention in primary school students
• Examining the effects of inclusive classroom practices on students’ attitudes towards diversity in primary schools
• The impact of parental involvement in homework on primary school students’ academic achievement
• Investigating the effectiveness of different assessment methods in primary school classrooms
• The influence of physical activity and exercise on cognitive development in primary school children
• Exploring the benefits of cooperative learning in promoting social skills in primary school students

Secondary Education

• Investigating the effects of school discipline policies on student behavior and academic success in secondary education
• The role of social media in enhancing communication and collaboration among secondary school students
• The impact of school leadership on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of technology integration on teaching and learning in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in promoting critical thinking skills in secondary schools
• The impact of arts education on creativity and self-expression in secondary school students
• The effectiveness of flipped classrooms in promoting student learning in secondary education
• The role of career guidance programs in preparing secondary school students for future employment
• Investigating the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student autonomy and academic success in secondary schools
• The impact of socio-economic factors on educational attainment in secondary education
• Investigating the impact of project-based learning on student engagement and academic achievement in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of multicultural education on cultural understanding and tolerance in secondary schools
• The influence of standardized testing on teaching practices and student learning in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior and academic engagement in secondary education
• The influence of teacher professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of extracurricular activities in promoting holistic development and well-roundedness in secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models on student engagement and achievement in secondary education
• The role of physical education in promoting physical health and well-being among secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of gender on academic achievement and career aspirations in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of multicultural literature in promoting cultural awareness and empathy among secondary school students
• The impact of school counseling services on student mental health and well-being in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of vocational education and training in preparing secondary school students for the workforce
• The role of digital literacy in preparing secondary school students for the digital age
• The influence of parental involvement on academic success and well-being of secondary school students
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on secondary school students’ well-being and academic success
• The role of character education in fostering ethical and responsible behavior in secondary school students
• Examining the effects of digital citizenship education on responsible and ethical technology use among secondary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of educational technology in promoting personalized learning experiences in secondary schools
• The impact of inclusive education on the social and academic outcomes of students with disabilities in secondary schools
• The influence of parental support on academic motivation and achievement in secondary education
• The role of school climate in promoting positive behavior and well-being among secondary school students
• Examining the effects of peer mentoring programs on academic achievement and social-emotional development in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and achievement in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement among secondary school students
• The impact of educational policies on educational equity and access in secondary education
• Examining the effects of homework on academic achievement and student well-being in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of different assessment methods on student performance in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of single-sex education on academic performance and gender stereotypes in secondary schools
• The role of mentoring programs in supporting the transition from secondary to post-secondary education

Tertiary Education

• The role of student support services in promoting academic success and well-being in higher education
• The impact of internationalization initiatives on students’ intercultural competence and global perspectives in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of active learning classrooms and learning spaces on student engagement and learning outcomes in tertiary education
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning experiences in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility in higher education
• The influence of learning communities and collaborative learning environments on student academic and social integration in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of undergraduate research experiences in fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills
• Investigating the effects of academic advising and mentoring on student retention and degree completion in higher education
• The role of student engagement and involvement in co-curricular activities on holistic student development in higher education
• The impact of multicultural education on fostering cultural competence and diversity appreciation in higher education
• The role of internships and work-integrated learning experiences in enhancing students’ employability and career outcomes
• Examining the effects of assessment and feedback practices on student learning and academic achievement in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty-student relationships on student success and well-being in tertiary education
• The impact of college transition programs on students’ academic and social adjustment to higher education
• The impact of online learning platforms on student learning outcomes in higher education
• The impact of financial aid and scholarships on access and persistence in higher education
• The influence of student leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities on personal development and campus engagement
• Exploring the benefits of competency-based education in developing job-specific skills in tertiary students
• Examining the effects of flipped classroom models on student learning and retention in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of online collaboration and virtual team projects in developing teamwork skills in tertiary students
• Investigating the effects of diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus climate and student experiences in tertiary education
• The influence of study abroad programs on intercultural competence and global perspectives of college students
• Investigating the effects of peer mentoring and tutoring programs on student retention and academic performance in tertiary education
• Investigating the effectiveness of active learning strategies in promoting student engagement and achievement in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models and hybrid courses on student learning and satisfaction in higher education
• The role of digital literacy and information literacy skills in supporting student success in the digital age
• Investigating the effects of experiential learning opportunities on career readiness and employability of college students
• The impact of e-portfolios on student reflection, self-assessment, and showcasing of learning in higher education
• The role of technology in enhancing collaborative learning experiences in tertiary classrooms
• The impact of research opportunities on undergraduate student engagement and pursuit of advanced degrees
• Examining the effects of competency-based assessment on measuring student learning and achievement in tertiary education
• Examining the effects of interdisciplinary programs and courses on critical thinking and problem-solving skills in college students
• The role of inclusive education and accessibility in promoting equitable learning experiences for diverse student populations
• The role of career counseling and guidance in supporting students’ career decision-making in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty diversity and representation on student success and inclusive learning environments in higher education

Education-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in education, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses in the education space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of education-related research projects to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• From Rural to Urban: Education Conditions of Migrant Children in China (Wang, 2019)
• Energy Renovation While Learning English: A Guidebook for Elementary ESL Teachers (Yang, 2019)
• A Reanalyses of Intercorrelational Matrices of Visual and Verbal Learners’ Abilities, Cognitive Styles, and Learning Preferences (Fox, 2020)
• A study of the elementary math program utilized by a mid-Missouri school district (Barabas, 2020)
• Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective (Burcks, 2019)
• Higher education students services: a qualitative study of two mid-size universities’ direct exchange programs (Kinde, 2020)
• Exploring editorial leadership : a qualitative study of scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri secondary schools (Lewis, 2020)
• Selling the virtual university: a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning (Ludwig, 2020)
• Advocacy and accountability in school counselling: assessing the use of data as related to professional self-efficacy (Matthews, 2020)
• The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district (Scarbrough, 2020)
• Core values driving sustained elite performance cultures (Beiner, 2020)
• Educative features of upper elementary Eureka math curriculum (Dwiggins, 2020)
• How female principals nurture adult learning opportunities in successful high schools with challenging student demographics (Woodward, 2020)
• The disproportionality of Black Males in Special Education: A Case Study Analysis of Educator Perceptions in a Southeastern Urban High School (McCrae, 2021)

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

Get 1-On-1 Help

If you’re still unsure about how to find a quality research topic within education, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic.

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64 Comments

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I am a graduate with two masters. 1) Master of arts in religious studies and 2) Master in education in foundations of education. I intend to do a Ph.D. on my second master’s, however, I need to bring both masters together through my Ph.D. research. can I do something like, ” The contribution of Philosophy of education for a quality religion education in Kenya”? kindly, assist and be free to suggest a similar topic that will bring together the two masters. thanks in advance

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Review shows mixed results on long-term effectiveness of early education programs

UC Irvine, other researchers find that children do initially benefit from preschool

Irvine, Calif., May 9, 2024 – A new study including University of California, Irvine School of Education researchers has yielded varied results on the impact of publicly funded U.S. preschool programs on student performance beyond early childhood.

A study detailing the findings was published this month in Science .

“It’s settled that early childhood education is an essential component of any nation’s public policy; children are learning well before kindergarten, and parents are working. What is less settled, however, is how much we should expect preschool to be shaping achievement and well-being later in life,” said study co-author Jade Jenkins, UC Irvine associate professor of education.

In addition to her, investigators associated with the UC Irvine School of Education were Professor Drew Bailey; Distinguished Professor Greg Duncan; alumnus Tyler Watts, who earned a Ph.D. in 2017 and is now an assistant professor at Columbia University; and alumna Anamarie Whitaker, who earned a Ph.D. in 2014 and is now an assistant professor at the University of Delaware. The work was led by senior author Margaret Burchinal of the University of Virginia and included Emma Hart of Columbia University.

The scholars examined evaluations of the Head Start program and public prekindergarten initiatives in Boston and Tennessee, discovering that while children saw academic benefits immediately after preschool, the long-term effects varied. The findings highlight that not all early education programs guarantee favorable results, the authors say, stressing the need for more research on effective preschool interventions.

Two key studies in the 1960s and 1970s, the Perry Preschool and Abecedarian projects, respectively, have shaped common beliefs about early childhood education – and sparked significant interest in funding. They showed that early education led to better scholastic outcomes, income levels, employment rates and health, while reducing criminal behavior. However, the Science investigators note, these studies focused on projects more than five decades old, and current preschool initiatives should undergo modern assessments.

“The proven long-term success of early programs like Perry Preschool showed what’s possible with very intensive preschool programs. But policymakers need to know if lessons from Perry hold for today’s programs. Recent research shows that the answer appears to be ‘yes’ in some, but not all, cases,” Duncan said.

Given these mixed findings, he and his fellow authors recommend follow-up evaluations of existing random-assignment and lottery studies to learn whether early education programs correlate to successful outcomes in adulthood.

“The good news for society is that we have invested dramatically more over the past 50 years in programs designed to help young children and families,” Bailey said. “But with such improvements come practical challenges of balancing necessary redundancies in the system with unique opportunities for early education programs to support children’s development.”

The team proposes further research to uncover the essential components of preschool success, with a focus on identifying cognitive and socioemotional skills that yield enduring benefits. The scholars maintain that future efforts should include K-12 test scores and behavior records as well as surveys of teachers and students to shed light on classroom experiences and child development.

They also encourage policymakers and researchers to prioritize rigorous evidence around early childhood education programs in hopes of propelling their evolution and implementation.

UC Irvine’s Brilliant Future campaign: Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for the university. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UC Irvine seeks to reach new heights of excellence in student success, health and wellness, research and more. The School of Education plays a vital role in the success of the campaign. Learn more at https://brilliantfuture.uci.edu/school-of-education .

About the University of California, Irvine:  Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by  U.S. News & World Report . The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit  www.uci.edu .

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu . Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists .

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Advances in Early Math Education: Critical Issues in Policy and Practice

by The DREME Network

The Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME) Network, in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, hosted a conference on May 3, 2024, celebrating the progress made in the last decade in research and practice around early math teaching and learning.

The Development and Research in Early Mathematics Education (DREME) Network hosted a free day-long conference on early math education in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Early Childhood on Friday, May 3, 2024, from 9 am to 5pm, at the Li Ka Shing Learning and Knowledge Center on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA. 

Panels and exhibits highlighted the latest research on strategies for supporting early math learning at school and at home. Panels featured state and district policymakers and teacher and parent educators who discussed policies and practices needed to ensure young children’s equitable access to research-based opportunities to learn math. Conference attendees included early childhood educators, community members, researchers, policymakers, and philanthropic stakeholders, who had the opportunity to ask questions to panelists and engage with the exhibits in a day of learning, collaboration, and connection.

We were delighted and inspired by the fantastic turnout and enthusiasm for the field of early math education. We are especially grateful to our engaging and compelling panelists and exhibitors. View the detailed agenda and learn more about the exhibits .

Access the recordings of each session below. 

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• Early Childhood Research Summit helps connect research, practice, policy

08 May 2024     By Chuck Green, CYFS

Creating connections among early childhood research, practice and policy — and how each can enhance the lives of young children and their families — provided the central theme of the 202 4 CYFS Early Childhood Research Summit .      

Almost 200 attendees, including researchers from across the University of Nebraska system, practitioners, administrators, community partners and policymakers, gathered April 2 3 at Nebraska Innovation Campus for the daylong, s eventh biennial summit, which highlighted the latest research to advance early childhood education and development , and implications for practice and policy .      

“ Collaboration and partnership are essential to our ability to make positive impacts in the lives of young children and their families — and in the communities in which they live , ” said Sue Sheridan , CYFS director , as she welcomed summit participants. “ M y hope is that each of you — whether you are a researcher, practitioner, administrator, community partner or policymaker — leaves today having forged new connections and strengthen ing existing ones .”    

Keynote speaker  Chrishana Lloyd , research scholar at Child Trends , discussed the relationship between research, policy and practice in early care and education , highlighting innovative approaches and strategies to advance field.        

Lloyd outlined a research project on which she was involved that focused on a historical exploration of early care and education compensation, policy and solutions , particularly among Native American and Black women. The study explored the level to which the groups were minoritized and marginalized , and how the resulting systemic racism continues to have significant effects on the child care workforce .     

Lloyd also discussed the work of her National Early Care and Education Workforce Center, and its future goals. One feature, the Grow Your Own campaign, draws from within communities to support a diverse, qualified and well-compensated early care and education workforce.    

Grow Your Own helps launch signature services such as campaign webinars, technical assistance , facilitating connections among local innovators to build research capacity .     

“ What works tends to happen locally, ” she said.    

Lloyd emphasized the i mportance of flexibility in early childhood research , practice and policy.    

“ Turnover is a natural thing; nobody stays in one job forever, ” she said. “ We learn and grow and progress. When you do this work, you have to be ope n to growth and change. ”    

Throughout the day ’ s breakout sessions and panel discussions, research topics spanned children ’ s school readiness, parent engagement, special education, health and nutrition, STEM , social-emotional development, and workforce development .      

Jason Prokop, director of First Five Nebraska , and Walter Gilliam , executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute , also shared their thoughts with the attending educators, researchers and policymakers.    

Gilliam stressed the importance of Nebraska’s policy, practice and research communities acting together to ensure positive impacts for children and their families.    

“All three elements work together to positively impact lives, ” he said. “ We have to make sure we communicate and collaborate to ensure that the work we ’ re doing is translating into meaningful change for children and their families. ”    

Jason Ball, president of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, spoke during lunch, assuring attendees that the Chamber views early childhood research and development as an integral part of Lincoln ’ s economic growth and future workforce development.    

“ We are involved in the public policy that is essential to shaping the future, collectively as a state, that will serve our families and children better, ” he said.  

Nick Pace , interim dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences , shared closing thoughts, noting how early childhood research drives future success. He thanked researchers for their work and collaboration in aligning research, practice and policy.     

“ Working together is crucial to generating the best outcomes — and to ensuring that high-quality early childhood research continues to flourish and thrive in Nebraska ,” Pace said. “I know everyone here will benefit from the research information shared today , and will develop a deeper understanding of our strengths, progress and dedication to early childhood research at the University of Nebraska. ”      

The event concluded with a poster session that featured more than 20 graduate students showcasing their early childhood research and answering questions about their work.      

The summit was presented by CYFS in partnership with the Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research (NAECR). Sponsors included the College of Education and Human Sciences ; the Buffett Early Childhood Institute ; and First Five Nebraska .      

View summit videos, research presentations and posters    

View summit photo gallery    

View #ECSummit2 4 Twitter posts    

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204 Early Childhood Education Research Topics & Essay Examples

📝 early childhood education research papers examples, 🎓 simple research topics about early childhood education, 👍 good early childhood education essay topics to write about, ⭐ interesting topics to write about early childhood education, ✅ easy early childhood education topics for an essay, 🏆 best early childhood education essay titles, ✍️ early childhood education essay topics for college, ❓ early childhood education research questions.

• Environment in Early Childhood Education The paper reviews the history of early education and argues that the context and environment is the key strategy applied to the modern education of young children.
• Early Education Learning Theory The paper describes the learning theory of early education and its importance, effective teacher and learning environment and characteristics.
• Curricular Issues in Early Childhood Education In the unit, “Curricular Issues,” Paciorek asserts that teachers have a role to inspire, encourage and influence children in the learning process.
• Early Childhood Studies: Current Issues and Trends The changing demographics in early childhood have increased the complexity of childhood professional practice, owing to the need to fulfill the demands for cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Early Childhood Education Standards and Practices The purpose of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education is to address the issues of individual ways of children's development.
• Children’s Early Learning and Development The traditional approach to early childhood learning and development entails teachers’ typical use of themes to plan and generate the curriculum.
• Early Childhood Education: Studies Review Studies on early childhood education have been conducted in various countries. This paper reviews three studies that were conducted in Germany, Netherlands and the USA.
• Teaching Philosophy in Early Childhood Development The five domains of early childhood development constitute the early development instrument perspective, from which an important aspect of teaching philosophy can be explored.
• Early Childhood Profession in Australia This report analyses the state of early childhood profession in Australia. Numerous features characterise early childhood profession.
• Little Steps Early Childhood Care Center's Practices The essay investigates how Little Steps Early Childhood Care Center's practices are aligned with the National Association for the Education of Young Children Principles.
• Educational Leadership for Children's Needs The present issues in early childhood education management and leadership prove that educational leaders need to pay more attention to the quality of leadership.
• Intervention for Young Children with Learning Disabilities This paper discusses strategies that teachers could use to educate children with learning disabilities and how the Response to Intervention could support their educational outcomes.
• American Special Education and Early Intervention Early remedial intervention might be used to address speech problems resulting from a hearing loss. Early special education interventions have many salient features.
• Bilingual Education and Preschoolers' Development There are several theories in child development that directly or indirectly discuss the implications of bilingual education and show the importance of bilingual education.
• Maria Montessori and Her Three Education Theories Maria Montessori transformed early childhood education through her theories of early childhood education. Scholars consider Montessori to be among the earliest educators.
• Quality Early Childhood Program Comprehensive services are the component that improves the care given to the children within the educational facility.
• Early Childhood Education: Leadership and Management Being a teacher means taking on a number of diverse roles. A teacher is a leader who should have the ability to manage children's talents and capabilities.
• Engaging the Learner in the Early Years of Schooling The following project report is preparation of education plans for five- year-old Indonesian children who are now growing up in the alien lands of Sydney in Australia.
• Developmentally Appropriate Activities for Toddlers The study sample includes a book aimed at developing toddlers’ cognitive skills and gross motor behavior, a go-get interactive game, and a video on learning colors.
• Early Childhood Political and Pedagogical Landscape In New Zealand the government fails to hire qualified teachers in pre-school centres and child minding facilities. This condition can affect the quality of education for children.
• Sloth Sky Preschool: Curriculum Context Sloth Sky Preschool offers center-based care for preschool/kindergarten children as a part of a school. Based on the location, the school is near Penguin Ocean Primary School.
• Language and Literacy in Early Childhood Literacy is a powerful tool for dealing with problems in society. Parents should invest in the intellectual development of their children and provide access to books at home.
• The Educational Process in Early Childhood The use of a method including all types of indicators will signify the precise results of the conducted study and contribute to the development of educational strategies.
• Ethical Dilemmas in Early Childhood Education One of the core ideas of ethics in early childhood education is that both a child's and a family's interests are essential in children's development.
• Special Education for Children of Kindergarten and Third-Grade Levels Special education is designed to address the needs of students with specific disabilities in a very individual manner.
• Literacy Development for Preschoolers The article focuses on the importance of early literacy development in preschoolers and methods that will help teachers in this.
• Childcare Facilities Analysis All childcare facilities should adhere to safety measures and have staff that is sufficiently trained to handle children as well as respond to unexpected childcare situations.
• An Ethical Dilemma With a Child in a Preschool Classroom An ethical dilemma with a child in a preschool classroom stemming from a situation when a child does not want to comply with a particular EC institution’s standard schedule.
• The Child Assessment Cycle in Education The purpose of this paper is to describe the child assessment cycle and related teacher responsibilities and explain how the child assessment cycle benefits students.
• Early Childhood Safety Considerations Ensuring a young child’s safety is of utmost importance, especially when this task is entrusted to an early childhood specialist; caring for children is a great responsibility.
• Early Childhood Education Children growing in proper care and correct guidance in their childhood education are more successful in their interactions with others, popular and more at ease in life.
• Early Interventions in Rocking Behaviours of Children With Autism This paper provides an insight of the available behavioral interventions of improving learning outcomes of children with rocking behaviors.
• Quality Early Childhood Education Program The educators, supervisors and caregivers involved into work with children are to be properly trained and master the practice of teaching including all techniques and methods.
• Child Development From Birth to Three Years and the Role of Adults The period between 0 and 3 years is one of the most influential times for a child’s growth, development, and understanding of life basics.
• The Aspects of Purposeful Preschool Program The article argues class management is one of the key components of teaching practice as it can ensure the proper development and academic achievement of preschool children.
• Literacy Development for Children Birth in 3rd Grade Early childhood is characterized by the rapid development of human mental abilities, enabling individuals to acquire all fundamental literacy skills by eight years
• Preschool Teacher Practice Rotation Experience Preschool experience plays a pivotal role in a person’s development, as it lays the foundation for their character
• The United Arab Emirates Early Education Policy The UAE Early Education Policy will help to update the educational system so that students could acquire the necessary skills in a more efficient manner.
• Social Inclusion Policy in Early Years Education It is crucial to promote the quality of the inclusion policy and increase coordination between families, communities, and schools.
• Play-Based Philosophy for Early Childhood Education Play-based educational programs use games as a context for learning, where preschoolers can explore, discover, solve problems, and experiment in playful and imaginative ways.
• Overcoming Stereotypes in Early Childhood Education Overcoming stereotypes in early childhood education is essential for raising children who would recognize all people around them as equals and treat them with respect.
• The Meaning of Early Childhood Educator Encouraging early childhood development is vital for assisting a child in gaining the knowledge and skills appropriate for their age at a later stage of their life.
• Using Data in Preschools: Data Collection Data drives every aspect of teaching, especially when there is a need to teach young children. Teachers need to see where the kids are thriving and the gaps that need to be filled.
• Attachment and Its Role in Child Development Rapid brain development occurs during the first three years of life, and a child’s attachment to the caregiver or parent significantly affects this domain.
• College of Early Childhood Educators and Its Aims College of Early Childhood Educators protects the public and controls accountability of the profession, the ones who use the professional position of Early Childhood Educator.
• Preschooler Education Overview The article "Preschoolers (3-5 years of age)" describes preschoolers' development milestones aged between 3 to 5 and suggests some positive parenting tips.
• "Teaching Strategies for Preschool Educators" Analysis The article focuses on the main teaching strategies used in preschool education. The first strategy is the promotion of early literacy.
• Preschoolers Education and Activities for Children The activities for children should be appropriate for everyone within the class. Preschoolers must be encouraged to play and learn.
• Early Childhood Educator: Pedagogical Mission and Approach An early childhood educator is an important figure in a child’s life. Aside from providing knowledge, one should facilitate child's socialization and transmit universal values.
• Early Education in California The outcome of the assessment has a direct influence on the development of programs, their financing, and overall continuation.
• Language Acquisition in Toddlers and Infants Language acquisition in toddlers starts from their communication with the environment. A friendly environment and proper materials allow for simplifying the language learning process
• Strategies for Including Children with Special Needs in Early Childhood Settings This book seems to be a useful guide to understand not only the approach to Exceptional Student Education but also adapting children’s daily activities and working in a team.
• Early Childhood Facility Planning The paper states that there is a wide variety of aspects that should be taken into consideration during early childhood facility construction.
• EarlyON Centers Using Emergent Curriculum Theory According to the theory of emergent curriculum, the main purpose of the support provided via EarlyON centers is to strengthen the existing childhood programs.
• Multicultural Considerations in Early Learning This paper suggests that the implementation of multicultural practices in early education may improve student performance.
• Preparing Early Special Education Teachers to Partner With Families The research investigated the types of experiences that teachers of Early Childhood Special Education students had in their training programs related to partnering with families.
• The Early Childhood Education Early Childhood Education is an internationally recognized research and professional institute for children's development.
• Leadership in the Context of Early Childhood Education The teacher played a leadership role in motivating and coordinating a team of colleagues, acquiring information about the community, and researching children's educational needs.
• Illinois Early Learning Project The Illinois Early Learning Project is anchored on the ability of children to be alert to sights, sounds, abstract objects, and concepts that make children explorers.
• Assessments in Early Childhood Education This essay provides insight into various assessments and methods required to focus on the whole child. The classroom assessments should be organized.
• Enhancing Vocabulary in Childhood: Article Summary This summary is based on the literature review article “Closing the Vocabulary Gap? A Review of Research on Early Childhood Vocabulary Practices” by Christ and Wang.
• Infant and Toddler Development and Programming The set of materials presented in this essay provides a beneficial learning process for babies and toddlers because their usage is organized around educational principles of belonging.
• Three-Dimensional Art Activities Use in Class The paper states that 3-dimensional art activities are very important for the improvement of children’s imagination and spatial awareness and gives several examples of activities.
• How Children Learn Language The paper describes using child-directed speech or baby talk to develop associative connections and shapes the baby’s language capability.
• Number Sense and Learning Centers in Preschool To improve Number Sense in preschool, the educator will have to adopt new learning strategies. The expectations of the learning outcomes are shaped by curriculum.
• Childhood Education: The Montessori Approach and the Reggio Emilia Theory This research paper examines the problem of childhood education, using the Montessori approach and the Reggio Emilia theory.
• The Quality of Learning Programs in Preschool Establishments The paper research and summarizes the article "Quality 101: Identifying the core components of a high-quality early childhood program" about high-quality child care programs.
• Understanding the Early Childhood Development Understanding the underlying intricacies and specificities of early child development is crucially relevant for these young individuals education.
• Visiting a Preschool Class as Reflective Practice This report provides a detailed reflection of the activities, environment, and knowledge obtained during a visit to a preschool class in one of the local public schools.
• Play Influence on Child’s Development, Learning, and School Readiness This paper aims to discuss various theories and philosophical approaches that outline some advantages of providing children with adequate playtime.
• Strive Preschool: Using Information Systems in a Preschool The school should start by establishing the necessary roles and activities and using IT budget to buy, maintain, and update software and hardware.
• Promoting Early Development through Parent-Teacher Collaboration and Student Engagement Early childhood education plays a major role in building the skill set that allows a child to develop at a reasonably fast pace and acquire the needed abilities in due time.
• The Osmo Genius Starter Kit: Turkish Early Childhood Education Curriculum The Osmo Genius starter kit is a learning system that integrates physical play with the digital world. This tool is manufactured for elementary school-aged children.
• A Fire Safety Class Held in a Preschool The paper states that the case illustrates a fire safety class held in a preschool. Children were taught the basics of emergency case information.
• Concept Formation in Early Years of Education Early childhood education requires a systemic model of teaching by having a planned assessment and tools that necessitate the conceptualization of key elements for learners.
• Personal Code of Ethics for Early Childhood Educator A code of ethics is important for people not only as individuals but as professionals as well. It represents moral, religious, and cultural upbringing.
• Planning and Teaching in a Preschool Setting The teacher's job is to plan learning activities that begin with the development of learning objectives and continue through implementation and evaluation in a preschool setting.
• Physical Development in Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program The observed Pre-K program had an emphasis on physical development, which incorporated elements of math, reading, music, and arts.
• Reggio Emilia’s Approaches to Children’s Education The task of educating infants and toddlers is a complex initiative that requires adopting appropriate frameworks for better results.
• Diversity in Early Childhood Education The increasing diversity in early childhood education settings requires teachers to become competent in inclusive teaching practice, and challenge biases to promote social justice.
• Creating a Personal Philosophy of Early Childhood Education The role of a preschool teacher is to provide intellectual and moral development and encouragement of children’s ideas to reveal potential talents and abilities.
• Early Education (NAEYC) Accreditation Process NAEYC accreditation is beneficial for early childhood education centers because it provides staff’s enhanced commitment to the work and parental satisfaction.
• Lesson Plans for Preschool and Second Grade During the math lesson, it is necessary to observe whether children show increased use of part-whole skills, and division of things into smaller objects.
• Creating Early Years Learning Environments The purpose of the paper is to investigate the principles of stimulating children's curiosity, as well as creating the proper context as part of the learning environment.
• Early Child Education: Developing Effective Learning Methods The paper describes how to develop strong relationships with young learners. It shows how teachers should develop relationships through shared experiences.
• Preschool Education in China and Japan Preschool education in China serves several purposes, from child care to educational preparation. Meanwhile, the Japanese preschool system is more directed toward socialization.
• Diversity in Early Childhood School Setting In today's multicultural society, classrooms all over the globe are becoming diverse. This means that schools now admit increased numbers of children from diverse cultures.
• Early Childhood Educators' Influence on Society This paper is a reflection on Early Childhood educators regarding their societal role, standing, and their influence in society.
• The Qualities of the Perfect Candidate to Work in the Field of Early Care and Education This paper discusses several concepts essential for working in Early Care and Education and becoming a professional in helping children realize their potential.
• History of Inclusion in Early Childhood Education Creating schools with special needs was the first step to their inclusion into society, followed by integration: allowing them to visit a regular school.
• Play in Early Childhood Special Education Although children with disabilities might need additional educators’ guidance, they should not be excluded from playing, as it provides them with developmental opportunities.
• Early Children’s Development and Learning: Philosophy Statement This paper contains a brief description of the philosophy statement regarding early children’s development and learning.
• The College of Early Childhood Educators The importance of the early childhood educator's involvement in the well-being, learning, and development of children cannot be overstated.
• Trends in Pre-K Education in North Carolina The current essay will cover the curriculum of the preschool programs and also analyze the current state of the pre-K movement in North Carolina.
• Standards of High-Quality Early Childhood Classroom The markers and standards of a high-quality early childhood classroom include educational materials, facilities, health practices, and staff professionalism, among others.
• Stress in Early Childhood Education Early childhood education is crucial to the child's mental development, and the movie "No Small Matter" reveals curious insights into the topic.
• The Preschool Program's Design Analysis This paper aims to design a preschool daycare program for children aged three to five and discuss the activities to enhance their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills.
• Characteristics of Effective Early Childhood Teachers “Twelve Characteristics of Effective Early Childhood Teachers” explains the phenomenological attributes of each quality, ranging from passion to a sense of humor.
• Praise and Encouragement in Early Childhood Education The article discusses approaching the children in school-based activities in class, which includes giving credit where it deserves by improving a child's potential.
• A Lesson Concept in the Early Education Importantly, children of kindergarten and early school age already have nascent preferences and views on visual art.
• Early Childhood Education in India Today's preschool education system in India is designed so that parents can rest assured of their children who have been trained in such groups.
• Social-Emotional Skills Program for Preschoolers During the early 21st century, it was reported that the ability to regulate behaviors and emotions could be seen as the fundamental skills showcasing a child’s school readiness.
• Comparison of the Two Early Childhood Educational Institutions in Hong Kong This paper examines the educational and administrative management aspects of two kindergartens in Hong Kong: HKYWCA Athena and The Salvation Army Shui Chuen O Kindergarten.
• Importance of Early Childhood Study Early childhood is a great determiner of a person's future character and behavior, as children learn a lot because they can easily understand each other through games.
• Research in the Field of Childhood Literacy This paper contains an annotated bibliography of the two articles devoted to the topics of childhood literacy and education.
• Social-Emotional Skill Program to Enhance Learning in Preschoolers This research studies the relationship between three variables, the learners' socio-emotional skills and their academic and behavioral outcomes in pre-schoolers.
• Me and Others: Observation of Preschool Children This paper analyzes the video “Me and others”, which shows an experiment on suggestibility performed with preschool children (5 years old).
• Best Practices in Early Childhood Education This paper discusses best practices in the field of early childhood education, which are based on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP).
• “The Kindergarten Program”: Visible Learning in Early Childhood Education Visible learning is particularly significant since children learn from experience and should be exposed to real-life situations.
• How Fun and Playing Helps Kids Learn The topic of childhood development via playing will be examined in depth in this study, which will cover various aspects of the topic.
• Early Childhood Education Programs Comparison Relying on the two videos on Early Childhood Education Programs, this paper compares various programs that are critical for the proper development of children.
• The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act has attracted a lot of attention due to its bold statements and declarations.
• Preschool Activity: Introducing Multicultural Awareness The world is a place of many cultures and nations, which is why it is essential to introduce multicultural awareness to children.
• The Lingua Globe Educational Toy The Lingua Globe toy represents a globe that features multiple buttons corresponding to different countries. The toy addresses primarily the linguistic aspect of development.
• Early Childhood Education: Pedagogical Skills Understanding each child as a unique individual with their own psychological characteristics and structure of thinking seems to be a necessary competence of any children's teacher.
• Positive Behaviour Support Framework in Preschool The School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support framework promotes acceptable behavior expectations for children in schools to facilitate a safe learning culture.
• Family-Centered Programs in Early Childhood Classroom Family-centered programs for early childhood education have become popular across the United States due to their inherent benefits.
• Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework Community-level indigenous governments have participated in framework development, resulting in the identification of service gaps these communities find important.
• Daycare Facilities: Establishment and Management Daycare facilities have been essential in equipping children with knowledge by providing a conducive environment for the caregiver to interact with the children and guide them.
• The Montessori Method and Its Benefits The Montessori Method of education is an influential teaching method to ensure that students are equipped with the best practical skills in the learning process.
• Early Years Learner: Lyla’s Case Study Lyla’s mother claims that the girl likes to talk about anything. She also likes to read, colour, draw, dance and spend time with her dog.
• Expanding Existing Programs and Services in Preschool The expansion of the existing program and service in preschool is a good project which needs to be implemented in the West Bronx neighborhood.
• Language Rationale: Montessori Education Curriculum An analysis of the language rationale in the Montessori education curriculum shows that learning occurs through spoken language, writing, and reading.
• An Inquiry Into Form and Its Importance in Early Childhood Education The creative process uses various tools to help students better understand the world around them and how they perceive it.
• Early Childhood Education Aspects Early childhood is considered the most crucial time of child development because it is a period of fast physical and mental development.
• Family Partnerships to Help Needy Preschooler Students Family and parent partnerships are essential to ensuring that students build strong relationships that can help in boosting their success.
• Educational Components of Child Care Programs The given discussion on teacher support and guideline implementation will focus on four key aspects of education.
• Nurturing Early Childhood Teachers This essay focuses on nurturing childhood teachers in sectors of effective professional development, implementing a reflective practice model, and learning from past experiences.
• Outdoor Learning Influence on Young Children Outdoor learning and the incorporation of more open approaches to early education are highly beneficial to the development of young children.
• Early Childhood Education: Teaching Methods Early childhood educators rely on different teaching methods and solutions to delivering learning instructions, some of which might not produce the best results.
• Should Pre-K Be Made Available to All Children? Preparing children for elementary school can benefit them because preschool improves their cognitive abilities and gets them used to a regimented schedule.
• A Description of the Student Observation The paper includes a description of the setting, including one's first impressions, suitability for children, and the school environment and atmosphere.
• Student Behaviour in Early Childhood Settings In the development of children, problems often occur in the form of deviations from generally accepted social age expectations.
• Early Childhood Education and Childcare
• Education for Sustainability Within Early Childhood Education
• Aboriginal Children and Early Childhood Education and Care
• Technology Benefits in Early Childhood Education Despite the doubts about the use of technology in early education, it should be integrated into the curriculum to provide young students with more opportunities to learn easily.
• Early Childhood Education: Vision, Mission, and Philosophy
• Comprehensive Analysis for the Development of an Early Childhood Education Program
• Early Childhood Education: Development of Manipulative Skills
• Infancy and Early Childhood Development Early childhood is a very important stage and proper care should be taken to establish a good foundation for the child.
• China Early Child Development: Early Childhood Education in Yunnan
• Early Childhood Education Philosophy
• Sex Roles and Gender Bias in Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education Theorists and Their Theories
• Language Learning Motivation in Chinese Primary Schools The study will focus on public international primary schools in China since that is the right age bracket to start learning a new language.
• Observing and Assessing Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education China vs US
• The Dichotomy and the Development of the Early Childhood Education and Care Services in Australia
• Early Childhood Education Sets the Stage for Future Academic
• Twenty-First Century Early Childhood Education Personal Philosophy
• Early Childhood Education: Impact on Cognitive and Social Development
• Professional Development Plan for Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education Programs and the Involvement of Fathers and Males
• The Personal and Public Benefits of Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education Past and Present
• Factors That Influence Early Childhood Education Programs
• Creative Curriculum Early Childhood Education
• Multicultural Education and the Early Childhood Education
• Factors Militating Against the Implementation of Early Childhood Education as a Grass Root for Sustainable Peace in Nigeria
• Early Childhood Education and Social Inequalities
• Social Work and Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education and Developmental Delays
• Primary Caregiving for Toddlers in Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education: Raising Children the Right Way
• Music and Movement Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education for English Language Learners
• Montessori Educational Approach and Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education and Economic Growth
• Helpful Hints for Developing Fine Motor Skills in Early Childhood Education
• Playful Learning and Pedagogies Within Early Childhood Education
• Economics and Early Childhood Education
• Autonomy Within the Early Childhood Education Field
• Early Childhood Education Science Curriculum
• Brain Development and Early Childhood Education
• Early Childhood Education Howard Gardner and Jean Piaget
• What Are the New Directions and Early Childhood Education of Mexican Children?
• How Does Good Early Childhood Education Affect Racism?
• Does the Turkish Early Childhood Education Program Is Cultural?
• What Is Quality Early Childhood Education?
• What Are the Benefits From Early Childhood Education?
• How the Prevailing National Political Situation Is Affecting Early Childhood Education?
• What Is the Impact of Demographic Fluctuations on Early Childhood Education in Iran?
• What Are the Famous Early Childhood Education Programs?
• What Are the Three Indicators of Quality-Related to Early Childhood Education?
• Who Bears the Cost of Early Childhood Education and How Does It Affect Enrolment?
• Fending off Fadeout: How Do We Sustain the Gains of Early Childhood Education?
• What Is the Impact of John Dewey on Early Childhood Education?
• What Is the Impact of Early Childhood Education on Technology?
• What Is the Impact of Multicultural Literature on Early Childhood Education?
• What Are Piaget’s Theories in Early Childhood Education?
• Why is Early Childhood Education Is Important?
• What Communication Skills Are Needed for Early Childhood Education?
• What Are the Early Childhood Education Standards as the Learning Objectives of the Curriculum?
• What Are the Main Concepts in Early Childhood Education?
• How Is the Integration of Art Into Early Childhood Education?
• What Are the Current Problems and Trends in Evaluation in Early Childhood Education?
• How Does Education in Early Childhood Influence Life?
• Early Childhood Education: What Activities in the Curriculum Will Extend?
• What Are Jean Rousseau’s Views on Early Childhood Education?
• What Is the Importance of the Family in Preschool Education?
• What Are the Areas of Early Childhood Education?
• What Is Kindergarten Theory in Early Childhood Education?
• What Is the Impact and Use of Mobile Media in Early Childhood Education?

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ChalkyPapers . "204 Early Childhood Education Research Topics & Essay Examples." May 10, 2024. https://chalkypapers.com/topics/early-childhood-education-research-topics/.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Education for the Future: Learning and Teaching for Sustainable Development in Education

Blending Pedagogy: Equipping Student Teachers to Foster Transversal Competencies in Future-oriented Education Provisionally Accepted

• 1 Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Blended teaching and learning, combining online and face-to-face instruction, and shared reflection are gaining in popularity worldwide and present evolving challenges in the field of teacher training and education. There is also a growing need to focus on transversal competencies such as critical thinking and collaboration. This study is positioned at the intersection of blended education and transversal competencies in the context of a blended ECEC teacher-training program (1000+) at the University of Helsinki. Blended education is a novel approach to training teachers, and there is a desire to explore how such an approach supports the acquisition of transversal competencies and whether the associated methods offer something essential for the development of teacher training. The aim is to explore what transversal competencies this teacher-training program supports for future teachers, and how students reflect on their learning experiences. The data consist of documents from teacher-education curricula and essays from the students on the 1000+ program. They were content-analyzed from a scoping perspective. Students' experiences of studying enhanced the achievement of generic goals in teacher education, such as to develop critical and reflective thinking, interaction competence, collaboration skills, and independent and collective expertise. We highlight the importance of teacher development in preparing for education in the future during the teacher training. Emphasizing professional development, we challenge the conventional teaching paradigm by introducing a holistic approach.

Keywords: blended teacher training, Transversal competencies, future of education, Teacher Education, early childhood education

Received: 19 Jan 2024; Accepted: 15 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Niemi, Kangas and Köngäs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Laura H. Niemi, Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Uusimaa, Finland

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• May 8, 2024

Lt. Howie Morales highlights early childcare education for national research group

An annual report shows that the number of four-year-old children in New Mexico attending pre-K has increased since 2019. The National Institute for Early Education Research, which researches and advocates for early childcare education policy, highlighted New Mexico’s early childcare investments by inviting Lt. Gov. Howie Morales to speak Tuesday during a virtual press conference […]

• Susan Dunlap

An annual report shows that the number of four-year-old children in New Mexico attending pre-K has increased since 2019.

The National Institute for Early Education Research, which researches and advocates for early childcare education policy, highlighted New Mexico’s early childcare investments by inviting Lt. Gov. Howie Morales to speak Tuesday during a virtual press conference about the state’s efforts.

The NIEER, based out of New Jersey, produces an annual report ranking states on things such as universal early childcare education and quality early childcare education. This year’s report showed that while fewer four-year-old children attended pre-K in 2022 than in 2019 nationally, New Mexico bucked that trend and the rate of four-year-old children in the state enrolled in pre-K is higher than it was in 2019.

Related: New Mexico is making strides toward universal pre-K, national report finds

NIEER highlighted New Mexico’s gains in early childcare education during a separate press call on Tuesday. The group invited Morales to share with other policy makers and advocates some of what New Mexico has done to improve its overall numbers. 

Morales said policy makers were hearing from advocates that there needed to be a state agency to oversee early childcare education. He said early childcare was spread out over five different state agencies. He introduced a bill to create such a department in 2018, when he was a state senator, but said it “didn’t gain traction.” 

Morales said one thing that stood out to him during his years in the state senate was the need to consider education more holistically, rather than as competing funding pipelines. In the beginning of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s tenure in office, she appointed Morales in 2019 to act as cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Public Education Department. But there was “an idea that what we really needed was to have an agency that focused on the most critical stages of a child’s life,” he said. 

In 2019, the state enacted a law creating the Early Childcare Education and Care Department. The agency officially began its work in July 2020 with Secretary Elizabeth Groginsky to lead it. 

Morales said one of the biggest hurdles the state had to overcome was how to better compensate early childcare educators even though they work in the private sector. 

The NIEER report found that New Mexico meets 9 out of the 10 benchmarks for quality pre-K programs. The benchmark it didn’t meet was in early childcare educators who have BA degrees.

Morales said the state is providing pathways for education and credentialing through help with student loans. He mentioned that the state has incentivized early childcare centers to pay its employees at least $15 an hour and lead teachers to make up to $20 an hour.

Morales also highlighted the fact that the state makes early childcare free to families who make around 400 percent of the federal poverty level. He also credited the additional distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund, which increased the Early Childcare Education and Care Department’s budget by 68 percent for Fiscal Year 2024.

Related: Land Grant Permanent Fund constitutional amendment is years in the making

Morales said that early childcare education “really is an investment” and he predicted the state would see a “return on investment” in the future in the form of lower populations in corrections facilities and lower rates of health disparities. When asked by the moderator about New Mexico’s future in early childcare, Morales said the state has “put itself in the position, regardless of the turn of the political wheel, to create sustainable programming.”

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