Curriculum & Teaching

Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy; Co-director, National Center for Children and Families.

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Educational Background

B.A., University of Michigan (English); M.A., Johns Hopkins University (Liberal Arts); Ed.D., Teachers College (Curriculum and Teaching).

Scholarly Interests

Application of child and parent development research to the formation and implementation of public policies; the impact of institutions  on the development of low-income children.

Selected Publications

Volumes and Editorships

In press

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (in press). Building Early Childhood Systems. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kagan, S. L., & Tarrant, K. (in press). Transitions in the Early Years: Creating a System of Continuity. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

2008

Kagan, S.L., Kauerz, K., Tarrant, K. (2008). The early care and education teaching workforce at the fulcrum: An agenda for reform. New York : Teachers College Press.

2005

Kagan, S. L., & Stewart, V. (Eds.). (2005). A new world view: Learning from education in other countries [Special issue]. Phi Delta Kappan.

2004

Kagan, S. L., & Stewart, V. (Eds.). (2004). Putting the “World” in “World-Class Education” [Special issue]. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(3).

1997

Kagan, S. L., & Bowman, B. T. (Eds.). (1997). Leadership in early care and education . Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Kagan, S. L., & Cohen, N. E. (1997). Not by chance: Creating an early care and education system . New Haven: Yale University Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy.

1996

Kagan, S. L., & Cohen, N. E. (Eds.). (1996). Reinventing early care and education: A vision for a quality system. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Zigler, E., Kagan, S. L., & Hall, N. (Eds.). (1996). Children, families, and government: Preparing for the 21st century . New York: Cambridge University Press.

1995

Kagan, S. L., Goffin, S. G., Golub, S. A., & Pritchard, E. (1995). Toward systemic reform: Service integration for young children and their families . Falls Church, VA: National Center for Service Integration.

1994

Kagan, S. L. (Ed.). (1994). Early care and education: Coming of age [Special issue]. Phi Delta Kappan , 76(3).

Kagan, S. L., & Weissbourd, B. (Eds.). (1994). Putting families first: America's family support movement and the challenge of change . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

1993

Kagan, S. L. (with Neville, P. R.). (1993). Integrating services for children and families: Understanding the past to shape the future . New Haven: Yale University Press.

1991

Kagan, S. L. (Ed.). (1991). The care and education of America's young children: Obstacles and opportunities. National Society for the Study of Education, 90th Yearbook . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Kagan, S. L. (1991). United we stand: Collaboration for child care and early education services. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kagan, S. L., & Garcia, E. (Eds.). (1991). Educating linguistically and culturally diverse preschoolers [Special issue]. Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 6(3).

1989

Kagan, S. L. (Ed.). (1989). Early care and education: Reflecting on options and opportunities [Special issue]. Phi Delta Kappan , 71(2).

1987

Kagan, S. L., Powell, D., Weissbourd, B., & Zigler, E. (Eds.). (1987). America's family support programs: Perspectives and prospects . New Haven: Yale University Press.

Kagan, S. L., & Zigler, E. F. (Eds.). (1987). Early schooling: The national debate . New Haven: Yale University Press.

1983

Zigler, E., Kagan, S. L., & Klugman, E. (Eds.). (1983). Children, families and government: Perspectives on American social policy . New York: Cambridge

Articles, Chapters, and Commissioned Papers 

2009

Kagan, S.L, Scott-Little, C., & Frelow V.S. (2009). Linking play to early learning and Development guidelines: Possibility or polemic? Zero to Three, 30(1), 18-24.

Kagan, S.L., & Reid, J. (2009). Invest in early childhood education. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(8), 572-576.

Kagan, S. L., & Reid, J. (2009). ECE2: A call for excellence, coherence, and equity in federal early childhood education policy. Washington DC: Center on Education Policy.

Kagan, S.L., Scott-Little, C., Frelow, V. S., & Reid, J. (2009). Infant-Toddler Learning Guidelines: The content states have addressed and implications for programs serving children with disabilities. Infants and Young Children, 22(2), 87-99.

2008

Kagan, S. L., Brooks-Gunn, J., Westheimer, M., Tarrant, K., Cortazar, A., Johnson, A., Philipsen, N., & Pressman, A. (2008). New York City early care and education unified performance measurement system: A pilot study. New York: National Center for Children and Families.

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K., (2008). Governing American early care and education: Shifting from government to governance and from form to function. In S. Feeney A. Galper, & C. Seefeldt (Eds.), Continuing issues in early childhood education (3rd ed., pp. 12-32). Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

Kagan, S. L., Scott-Little, C., Reid, J., & Greenberg, E. (2008). Pennsylvania’s early learning standards alignment studies: Proposed alignment analysis protocol. New York: National Center for Children and Families.

Kagan, S. L., Scott-Little, C., Reid, J., & Greenberg, E. (2008). Pennsylvania’s early learning standards alignment studies: A working memo on short-term vertical alignment data analyses and observations. New York: National Center for Children and Families.

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., Frelow, V. S., & Reid, J. (2008). Inside the content of infant-toddler early learning guidelines: Results from analyses, issues to consider, and recommendations. Greensboro, NC: University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Tarrant, K., Greenberg, E. H., Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (2008). The early childhood workforce. In S. Feeney (Ed.), Continuing issues in early childhood education (3rd ed., pp. 134-157). Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

2007

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (2007). Reaching for the whole: Integration and alignment in early education policy. In R. C. Pianta, M. J. Cox, & K. Snow (Eds.), School readiness and the transition to kindergarten in the era of accountability (pp. 11- 30). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Kagan, S. L., Tarrant, K., Carson, A., & Kauerz, K. (2007). The early care and education workforce: At the fulcrum. Houston, TX: Cornerstones for Kids.

Kagan, S. L., & Weissbourd, B. (2007). Family support: A force for change. In J. L. Aber, S. J. Bishop-Josef, S. M. Jones, K. T. McLearn, & D. A. Phillips (Eds.), Child development and social policy: Knowledge for action (pp. 249-264).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

2006

Kagan, S. L. (2006). American early childhood education: Preventing or perpetuating inequity? (Research Review No. 1). New York: Teachers College, Campaign for Educational Equity.

Kagan, S. L., Carroll, J., Comer, J., & Scott-Little, C. (2006). Alignment: A missing link in early childhood transitions? Young Children , 61 (5), 26-32.

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (2006). Making the most of kindergarten: Trends and policy issues. In D. Gullo (Ed.), Teaching and learning in the kindergarten year (pp. 161-170). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Kagan, S. L., & Kauerz, K. (2006). Preschool programs: Effective curricula. In R. E. Tremblay, R. G. Barr, & R. DeV. Peters (Eds.), Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. Montreal, Quebec: Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. Available: http://www.excellence-earlychil dhood.ca/documents/Kagan -KauerzANGxp.pdf .

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., & Frelow, V. (2006). Conceptualization of readiness and the content of early learning standards: The intersection of policy and research? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 153-173.

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., & Frelow, V. S. (2006). State standards for children's learning: What do they mean for child care providers? Child Care Information Exchange , 168 , 27-34.

2005

Kagan, S. L., & Lowenstein, A. (2005). Parenting education: Cultural accelerator or reflector? In L. Harrison & J. Kagan (Eds.), Developing cultures: Essays on cultural change . Oxford, UK: Routledge Press.

Kagan, S. L., & Britto, P. R. (2005). Going global with indicators of child development. UNICEF Final Report. New York, NY: UNICEF.

Kagan, S. L., Britto, P. R., Kauerz, K., & Tarrant, K. (2005). Washington State early learning and development benchmarks . Olympia, WA: Office of the Governor and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., & Frelow, V. S. (2005). Inside the content: The breadth and depth of early learning standards. Creating the conditions for success with early learning standards . Greensboro, NC: University of North Carolina, SERVE.

2004

Kagan, S. L. (2004). A conversation with Sharon Lynn Kagan. In M. R. Jalongo & J. P. Isenberg (Eds.), Exploring your role: A practitioner's introduction to early childhood education . Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Kagan, S. L. (2004). Improving urban student achievement through early childhood reform: What state policymakers can do . Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Kagan, S. L., & Lowenstein, A. E. (2004). School readiness and children's play: Contemporary oxymoron or compatible option? In E. F. Zigler, D. G. Singer, & S. J. Bishop-Josef (Eds.), Children's play: The roots of reading (pp. 59-76). Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE Press.

Kagan, S. L., & Scott-Little, C. (2004). Early learning standards: Changing the parlance and practice of early childhood education. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(5), 388-396.

Britto, P. R., & Kagan, S. L. (2004). Going global with indicators of child well-being: using the standards approach. UNICEF Technical Report. New York, NY: UNICEF.

Carroll, J., Ochshorn, S., Kagan, S. L., & Fuller, B. (2004). Effective investments in early care and education: What can we learn from research? (Child Care and Early Education Research and Policy Series Report No. 1). Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.

Fuller, B., Kagan, S., Loeb, S., & Chang, Y. (2004). Child care quality: Centers and home settings that serve poor families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 19, 505-527.

Loeb, S., Fuller, B., Kagan, S. L., Carrol, B., & Carroll, J. (2004). Child care in poor communities: Early learning effects of type, quality, and stability. Child Development , 75(1), 47-65.

Lowenstein, A. E., Ochshorn, S., Kagan, S. L., & Fuller, B. (2004). T he effects of professional development efforts and compensation on quality of early care and education services . (Child Care and Early Education Research and Policy Series Report No. 2). Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.

Ochshorn, S., Kagan, S. L, Carroll, J., Lowenstein, A. E., & Fuller, B. (2004). The effects of regulation on the quality of early care and education (Child Care and Early Education Research and Policy Series Report No. 3).Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.

Rigby, E., Kagan, S. L., Ochshorn, S., & Fuller, B. (2004). I nfant and toddler care: Meeting the needs of families with options that work . (Child Care and Early Education Research and Policy Series Report No. 4). Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.

2003

Kagan, S.L. (2003). Advancing child abuse and neglect protective factors: The Role of the early care and education infrastructure . Center for the Study of Social Policy.

Kagan, S. L., & Neuman, M. J. (2003). Back to basics: Building an early care and education system. In F. Jacobs, D. Wertlieb, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of applied developmental science: Vol. 2. Enhancing the life chances of youth and families. Contributions of programs, policies, and service systems (pp. 329-345) . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kagan, S. L., & Neuman, M. J. (2003). Integrating early care and education. Educational Leadership, 60 (7), 58-64.

Kagan, S. L., & Rigby, E. (2003). Policy matters: Setting and measuring benchmarks for state policies . Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Social Policy.

Kagan, S. L., & Rigby, E. (2003). State policies that work: A series of policy briefs from the Policy Matters project . Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Social Policy.

Kagan, S. L., Scott-Little, C., Frelow, V. S. (2003). Early learning standards for young children: A survey of the states. Young Children. 58(4), 58-76.

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., Clifford, R. M. (2003). Assessing the state of state assessments: Perspectives on assessing young children . Greensboro, North Carolina: University of North Carolina, SERVE.

Scott-Little, C., Kagan, S. L., Frelow, V. S. (2003). Standards for preschool children's learning and development: Who has the standards, how were they developed, and how were they used? Greensboro, North Carolina: University of North Carolina, SERVE.

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