Press

NCCF News Archive

NCCF Co-Director Speaks to NY Times
NCCF Co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn discusses how high quality, age appropriate screen media can have a positive effect on children in a recent New York Times article "Limiting, and Watching, What Children Watch," by Lisa Guernsey. (September 2008)

NCCF Co-Director interviewed on PBS Documentary, WHERE WE STAND: America's Schools in the 21st Century.
NCCF Co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan was interviewed on the PBS documentary, WHERE WE STAND: America's Schools in the 21st Century. The program looks at American public education through the prism of real schools, administrators, teachers and students, and seeks advice from a range of experts on how to fix problems such as low math and science literacy, unequal resource allocation and decreasing college graduation rates. View the program at www.pbs.org/wnet/wherewestand. Click here to view a press release with more details about the documentary. (September 2008)

NCCF Co-Director Joins the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education Task Force
NCCF Co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan has joined a new task force of national policy experts in launching the highly publicized “Broader, Bolder Approach to Education” campaign. The movement hopes to end the current cycle of reform efforts that have achieved little in the way of education and child development gains for those facing economic disadvantage and low student achievement. The Task Force’s framework points to the many flaws in the approach of the current No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Dr. Kagan is a member of the task force and helped to draft the campaign statement, both of which have caused great debate among the education policy community and received national recognition in the NY Times, the Washington Post and other media. View the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education website. (Fall 2008)

NCCF Co-director Edits Volume on Children and Electronic Media
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn recently co-edited an exciting new volume of The Future of Children journal entitled, “Children and Electronic Media,” published by The Brookings Institution and Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. This specific volume examines the best available evidence on whether and how exposure to different media forms is linked to child well-being. Click here to view the full publication with a forward written by Dr. Brooks-Gunn Brooke and another collaborator. Click here to view an executive summary presenting many of the key findings and implications of the research. (Spring 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Wins International Peace Scholarship NCCF graduate research fellow Alejandra Cortazar Valdes recently won the International Peace Scholarship on behalf of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) for selected women from other countries for graduate study in the United States and Canada. Members of P.E.O. believe that education is fundamental to world peace and understanding. (July 2008)

Mothers Don't Have the Monopoly
In a Newsday op-ed, Anne Martin, senior research scientist, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, NCCF co-director, discuss research showing that men can be capable and effective caregivers. Click here to read the article. (June 2008)

NCCF Spearheads Standards & Assessment Analysis in Pennsylvania
NCCF is involved in a very exciting project with the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning to conduct a path breaking analysis of the alignment of standards and assessments used in Pennsylvania's early childhood care and education settings. The goal of the project, led by NCCF co-director Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan in partnership with Catherine Scott-Little at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is to help Pennsylvania develop an early childhood accountability system that will improve the quality of programs offered to children from birth to age eight.

NCCF Presents at Jacobs Foundation Annual Conference
NCCF co-Director, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Dr. Anne Martin, NCCF Senior Research Scientist, recently participated in the renowned Jacobs Foundation Annual Conference at Marbach Castle in Germany. This year's conference focused on Early Childhood Development and Later Achievement.  Dr. Brooks-Gunn was an invited speaker and gave a presentation on "Reducing Racial & Income Gaps in School Readiness: Early Educational, Health, & Parenting Strategies." Dr. Anne Martin was an invited attendee and gave a poster presentation entitled "Do the effects of an infant/toddler educational intervention last longer for black children than white children?" Click here to learn more about the conference. (April 2008)

NCCF Co-directors featured in TC Today
NCCF co-directors, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan are featured in the Spring 2008 issue of TC Today, the magazine of Teachers College. "Team Pre-K," written by Jonathan Sapers, provides a detailed overview of Drs. Brooks-Gunn and Kagan's dedication to the early childhood field and highlights several NCCF projects and team members. Click here to read more about early childhood's "dynamic duo." (Spring 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Wins Head Start Research Scholarship
NCCF graduate research fellow Katherine A. Beckmann recently won the Edward Zigler Research Scholarship on behalf of the National Head Start Association. The Edward Zigler Scholarship was established in 2003 to honor Dr. Zigler, who helped create the Head Start Program in 1964, for his dedication to Head Start children and families. The highly competitive award recognizes Ph.D. students with an emphasis on psychology, public policy, or education research who have demonstrated a commitment to children and families. Ms. Beckmann is the first student from Teacher's College to receive this scholarship! (April 2008)

NCCF Wins NAEYC Grant on the Early Childhood Workforce and Models of Individual Professional Certification
NCCF recently won a grant from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to research issues of the early childhood education workforce and models of professional certification. As part of the grant, NCCF is profiling the current early care and education workforce; examining existing public and private sector models that certify early childhood education personnel; evaluating various models of professional certification that could serve as examples for a new early childhood national certification program; and researching the managerial, legal and fiscal implications of implementing a credentialing program. Led by NCCF co-director Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan, the center will produce a final briefing paper with a comprehensive review of these workforce issues. NCCF’s project goal is to challenge the existing workforce conventions and to synthesize research and learning from the experiences of early childhood education professionals and other fields to help inform NAEYC’s deliberations about what workforce initiatives are most promising for the association’s future efforts. (April 2008)

NCCF Co-director Interviewed on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
NCCF co-director, Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn was interviewed on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet about designer babies—children conceived with advanced reproductive technologies that allow parents to modify or choose specific characteristics of their child. Dr. Brooks-Gunn discusses why creating the perfect baby using DNA is causing controversy, and the impact this can have on these children. The program is broadcast live from the FOX studios in New York. Click here to see Dr. Brooks-Gunn's television segment. (February 2008)

NCCF Graduate Research Fellow Honored by SRA
NCCF graduate research fellow R. Gabriela Barajas was selected to be a junior mentor for the 2008 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Young Scholars Program. In this role, Ms. Barajas will mentor, encourage, and support junior and senior undergraduate students from underrepresented ethnic minority groups as they pursue graduate work and careers in adolescent development. Click here to learn more about the SRA Young Scholars Program.  (January 2008)

NCCF Co-director Appointed to NAS Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics
NCCF co-director, Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan was appointed a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel on Early Childhood Mathematics.  The committee is analyzing the extant literature and research on early childhood mathematics to provide policy and practice recommendations for increasing mathematics learning in young children. Click here to learn more about the Early Childhood Mathematics project.

Study Finds that Children’s Preschool Academic and Attention Skills Best Predict Elementary School Success
NCCF co-director, Jeanne Brooks Gunn, NCCF research scientist Pamela Klebanov and 11 co-authors analyzed data on close to 36,000 preschoolers to determine how accurately a child's social, behavioral and academic readiness in preschool and kindergarten predict their school achievement later in life. The study, published in Developmental Psychology and highlighted in the New York Times and Time Magazine, found that the best predictors of academic achievement in middle childhood are preschool math skills. Mastering early language and reading skills were next in predicting later achievement and attention-related skills also made a difference. Surprisingly, difficulty getting along with classmates, aggressive or disruptive behaviors, and sad or withdrawn behaviors did not detract from later learning. View the final article, "School Readiness and Later Achievement." (November 2007)

NCCF Staff Members Co-publish Book on Early Education Workforce
NCCF co-director, Sharon Lynn Kagan, former NCCF graduate fellow Kristie Kauerz and NCCF graduate fellow Kate Tarrant have published a new book, The Early Care and Education Teaching Workforce at the Fulcrum: An Agenda for Reform. Focusing on the more than 2 million individuals who care for and educate children under age 5, the book provides a rich synthesis of current research on the early care and education teaching workforce. The authors address frequently asked questions about teacher quality, teacher effectiveness, and the professional development necessary to achieve both, concluding with a call for bold changes that would transform the early care and education workforce. The book was published in November by Teachers College Press. Please click here for more information. (November 2007)

New Research on Parenting and Early Cognitive Development
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, senior research scientist Anne Martin and former NCCF graduate fellow Rebecca Ryan published a new article, "The Joint Influence of Mother and Father Parenting on Child Cognitive Outcomes at Age 5." Using a sample of low-income 2-parent homes, they find that the effect on preschoolers' cognitive development of having two supportive parents is double that of having only one supportive parent, regardless of that parent's sex. This study affirms the added value of an involved, supportive father for young children. The article appeared in a recent issue of Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Click here to read the full article.

Task Force Issues Recommendations to Help States Assess and Improve Early Education Programs
The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force, chaired by NCCF co-director Sharon Lynn Kagan, has released its final report and recommendations for developing a comprehensive assessment system for early education programs. Over the past four years, states have invested more than $1.9 billion in preschool to improve outcomes for children and enrich local economies, but few have successfully implemented a comprehensive assessment program to ensure that early education returns intended results. Supported through The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Foundation for Child Development, and The Joyce Foundation, the Task Force brings together leading experts in child development, early education, and state policy to help states design an approach to early childhood accountability that meets the demands of legislators and the needs of children, programs, and families. View the final report, Taking Stock: Assessing and Improving Early Childhood Learning and Program Quality. For more information, view the press release or visit the Pew Charitable Trusts Website. (October 2007)

It Takes a Community to Combat Childhood Obesity
NCCF co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and senior research scientist Anne Martin discuss society's responsibility for childhood obesity in a Newsday op-ed article. Click here to read the article. (October 2007)

NCCF Awarded the Administration for Children and Families' Child Care Policy Research Grant
In collaboration with the NYC Administration for Children's Services, NCCF senior research scientist Annie Georges, center co-director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and doctoral fellow Anna Johnson have received a grant from the Administration for Children and Families. The grant will support a research program to examine the relation between subsidy policies, preferences and perceptions of child-care quality, and child-care outcomes among low-income working parents in New York City. This research program focuses on three outcomes: duration of child care subsidy use, continuity of care, and the type of care selected.

Miriam Westheimer, Sasha Heinz, Aleksandra Holod, Rachel McKinnon, and Jodi Moss Join NCCF
NCCF is pleased to announce five distinguished additions to our research and support staff. Miriam Westheimer, a research scientist, was the founding executive director of HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters), and is currently the director of HIPPY's international network operating in eight countries. Sasha Heinz, a graduate fellow, previously worked with the Families and Work Institute in New York City. Aleksandra Holod, a graduate fellow, conducted policy analysis for a pre-k advocacy campaign in California and has been named an “emerging leader” in early care and education by the Children's Defense Fund. Administrative assistant Rachel McKinnon was a research assistant at the University of Maryland for Dr. Nathan Fox. Jodi Moss, communications director, was the marketing and public relations manager at Porter Novelli, a global public relations agency.

NCCF Co-Director in Kazakhstan to Collaborate on Child Development
NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan is working with the government of Kazakhstan to help that nation promote healthy child development. Kagan's work is part of the NCCF's international project, "Going Global With Indicators of Child Development," a joint project with UNICEF that helps countries identify and establish nationally accepted indicators of early child development.

Kimberly Howard, Katherine Beckmann, Jondou Chen and Jeanne Reid Join NCCF
NCCF is pleased to announce four distinguished additions to our research staff. Kimberly Howard, a research scientist, is also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College. Graduate Fellow Katherine Beckmann joins NCCF from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, where she was a U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Emerging Leaders Fellow. Jondou Chen, a Graduate Fellow, is a research assistant on several NCCF projects, including Fragile Families and the Early Head Start Follow-Up Study. Jeanne Reid is a Graduate Fellow and doctoral student in the early childhood policy program.

NCCF Awarded Grant for Research on Behalf of Campaign for Educational Equity
NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, together with research scientists Jodie Roth and Margo Garner, have received a $10,000 grant from Teachers College to research and write a literature review on after-school activities on behalf of the TC's Campaign for Educational Equity.

Sharon Lynn Kagan, Kristie Kauerz and Kate Tarrant Co-Publish Book on Early Education Workforce
The Early Care and Education Workforce: At the Fulcrum, forthcoming from Teachers College Press in November, is a new volume focused on the early education workforce, co-authored by NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan and researchers Kristie Kauerz and Kate Tarrant. This publication will be an extension of the initiative sponsored by Cornerstones for Kids .

Dr. Kagan Serves on American Workforce Commission, Early Childhood Task Force
Dr. Kagan has also recently served on the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a panel created by the National Center on Education and the Economy.  The commission's final report, entitled Tough Choices or Tough Times , was released on December 14, 2006, and calls for a restructuring of educational priorities and a new vision for the future of American education.  The executive summary of the report can be viewed here: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/i/a/4204_FinalExecutiveSum1127.pdf .  

In addition, Dr. Kagan is currently serving as the chair of The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force (supported through The Foundation for Child Development , The Joyce Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts), the goal of which is to assist states in setting standards for early childhood programs.  On the international level, she has continued her work with UNICEF on the Going Global project, traveling most recently to the Republic of Georgia to tackle issues on standards and assessment for early childhood education in that country. 

Closer to home, Dr. Kagan has also been teaching the Federal Policy Institute course at Teachers College, Columbia University.  This course includes a special week-long trip to Washington , D.C. , where students have the opportunity to hear leaders in the educational policy realm speak about their experiences.        

Anne Martin and Kristie Kauerz Named Coordinators at NCCF
Senior Research Scientist Anne Martin, Dr.PH and Graduate Fellow Kristie Kauerz were named Coordinators at the National Center for Children and Families. In addition to their ongoing research activities, Martin and Kauerz will help ensure that all NCCF researchers have access to training in both research and policy, and that all staff members have comparable opportunities for mentorship and growth. In addition, they will assist NCCF's Co-Directors to better integrate the programmatic and administrative activities of the organization's two "sister" offices at Teachers College. Congratulations, Anne and Kristie!

NCCF Researcher Jodie Roth Published on Benefits of After-School Activities
The latest edition of Social Policy Report, a publication of the Society for Research in Child Development, focuses on issues surrounding extra-curricular activities, including articles challenging the notion that today's children are "over-scheduled" and stressed as a result.
In her article, "Next Steps: Considering Patterns of Participation," NCCF Research Scientist Jodie Roth discusses the positive outcomes associated with after-school participation in organized activities, and the developmental benefits of longer-term engagement in those activties. NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is Associate Editor of Social Policy Report. To see the latest issue, including Roth's article, click here.

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn Co-Authors New Study on Effects of Reading to the Young
Very young children whose mothers read to them develop greater language comprehension, vocabulary, and cognitive development by two years of age, according to a study published in the July/August issue of Child Development (Vol. 77, No. 4). The study looked at the effects of maternal bookreading for young children in low-income families. NCCF C0-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D., was a co-author of the study. To see the article, click here.

Office of Policy and Research Announces Fellowships
Awards Cover a Broad Rand of Investigative Research/Policy Initiatives

New York, NY (June 27, 2006) - Twenty-four Teachers College students have been awarded $6,000 each in this year's round of Policy and Research Fellowships, marking a significant expansion from last year's total of nine. The Fellowship program, sponsored by TC's Office of Policy and Research (OPR), was launched in 2005 under the direction of Sharon Lynn Kagan, Associate Dean for Policy Research.

“We are thrilled to award fellowships to a greater number of students this year, all of whom deserve support for their unique research and policy work,” said Kagan. “The OPR intends to keep building momentum for research and policy studies at TC, and to offer students an opportunity to contribute to their field of study.”

In addition to the expanded number of awards available for 2006, students were able to pursue fellowships in either research or policy, depending on the nature of his or her studies (the 2005 fellowships were in a single category of “policy/research”). Students applying for policy fellowships had to show that their research held “promise of hastening the improvement of educational policy at the local, state, federal, or international levels,” according to the OPR, while applicants for research fellowships, similarly, should be engaged in studies that held the promise of “advancing the research domain.” The selection process was highly competitive, with the number of applications far exceeding the number of available fellowships.

Faculty panels from TC's Policy Advisory Committee or the Research Advisory Committee judged each application. “Faculty who reviewed the applications for research fellowships were impressed with the high quality and breadth of interests among applicants. The research topics underline the value TC students are adding to the fields of education, psychology, and health all around the world,” said Victoria Marsick, co-director of the J.M. Huber Institute for Learning in Organizations at TC and member of the Research Advisory Committee.

Among the twenty-four Fellows, sixteen are current TC students, and eight are incoming, scheduled to begin their studies at TC in September. Three graduate Fellows at the National Center for Children and Families received three of the Fellowships - one in policy, two in research. They are:

Kristie Kauerz (Policy) is an Ed.D candidate in early childhood education policy, in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching. Her research interests include re-forming public education for children from birth though third grade, and the role of kindergarten as a link between early learning and elementary school. Kauerz recently defended her dissertation proposal, “From Birth to Third Grade: Constructing a Theory of P-3 for State-Level Policy Reform.” Kauerz is the former program director of early learning at the Education Commission of the States (ECS), based in Denver, CO.

Lizabeth M. Malone (Research) is a Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology in the Department of Human Development. During the 2006 – 2007 term, she will be developing her dissertation plan, which will examine the potential of extracurricular activities (arts, sports, clubs) during the early childhood years to influence academic achievement from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Nitika Tolani (Research) is a Ph.D. candidate in Developmental Psychology, in the Department of Human Development. Ms. Tolani's dissertation, "Social Contexts and Adolescent Achievement: The Interrelated Effects of Families, Peers, and Schools on Disadvantaged Youth in OECD Countries," draws upon the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an innovative, cross-national study implemented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Ms. Tolani will examine the unique and combined effects of financial, human, and social capital available to disadvantaged students both at home and at school on adolescent literacy and mathematics achievement.

National Center for Children and Families Co-Hosts Strategic Conference on Early Care and Education
New York, NY (June 8, 2006) - Now that most state legislatures recognize the positive cost/benefit associated with high quality early learning, how can they best invest limited public dollars? Or choose where the money should go? What constitutes quality early care and education (ECE), and how can state policymakers help sustain ECE systems today, and into the future?

These were some of the issues presented to The State Legislative Leaders Conference (Teachers College, June 8 –11), a gathering of legislators from 38 states, invited business executives, and researchers from Teachers College, the School of Social Work at Columbia University, the University of North Carolina (Greensboro), and several non-governmental organizations, including the Federal Reserve Bank. The conference, “Capitalizing on the Investment: Making the Most of Your Early Care and Education Dollars,” was co-hosted by TC's National Center for Children and Families (NCCF), and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF) of Centerville, MA. State lawmakers in attendance included the majority and/or minority party leaders of each state represented.

The conference brought ECE experts together with policymakers and investors, providing them with a forum to learn, to question, and to bring up issues that weigh heavily on the decision-making process.

The meeting opened with remarks by outgoing TC president Arthur Levine who told the legislators that they have the power to protect education from the shifting winds of public priorities, and noted that “one dollar spent on ECE pays seven dollars later in life.” This long-term view was reinforced by Arthur Rolnick, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank (Minneapolis, MN), who said that the successful preschool programs measured over time – i.e., Perry/High Scope and Abecedarian – have, in monetary terms, a sixteen percent rate of return (adjusted for inflation). Rolnick endorsed the idea of creating a $1.5 billion national endowment to fund either federal or state ECE programs, together with scholarships for preschoolers.

Sharon Lynn Kagan, co-director of the NCCF and the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy at TC, provided the attendees with an overview of ECE in America . Kagan described effective ECE as a holistic system, and called for greater teacher supports and incentives to help secure the future of early child programs. She told the legislators that the three major challenges facing the implementation of good ECE programs are inequity of access, quality vs. quantity, and the challenge of infrastructure. She noted that only twenty percent of kindergarten students from poor families were likely to have attended center-based child care, which researchers have found provides a better learning experience, compared to sixty-five percent of kindergarteners from upper-income families.

Overall, the U.S. provides less public support for ECE compared to “peer nations,” primarily other developed countries in Western Europe, said Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University professor of Social Work. Waldfogel told the audience that the cost of quality preschool programs cost “about the same as a year of school,” or $8,800 per child annually for a full-day program.

Additional highlights of the conference include a panel discussion moderated by PBS education correspondent and producer John Merrow, looking at the structure and governance of early care and education systems, and a session on standard-based accountability systems for early education led by Dr. Catherine Scott-Little, assistant professor at University of North Carolina (Greensboro), and Dr. Jacqueline Jones, former director of early childhood research and development at Educational Testing Service.

The assessment issue was further explored by Dr. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Education at TC, who co-directs the National Center for Children and Families. Her presentation, “How Are You Doing? A Guide to Assessment at the State Level,” advised state policymakers on understanding ECE data they are likely to receive, particularly with respect to “targeting” resources at disadvantaged families. She advised the lawmakers to look at data accumulated over time, ideally in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year, for indicators such as attendance, staff turnover, and quality, to gain a better understanding of how well programs are working.

The conference keynote speaker was James B. Hunt, Jr., the four-term Governor of North Carolina, who implemented many groundbreaking education policies across his sixteen years as Governor, including the “Smart Start” preschool initiative. While his efforts led many to call him “The Education Governor,” Hunt addressed the group speaking as a politician and lawmaker. He spoke of the competition America is facing from emerging nations – particularly China and India – and spoke about education being a necessary component to help the U.S. create more jobs and prosperity. “All states are having a tough time keeping the kinds of jobs that provide for families,” Hunt said. “If we're going to have those jobs, we've got to develop a citizenry that is educated, innovative, and will come up with the products and services that we can sell to the rest of the world.” Hunt credited his wife, a former school teacher, with helping him to understand much about teaching and learning, including early brain development and the importance of early education, especially for disadvantaged children.

The two-day event concluded with a roundtable discussion on the political climate around ECE, “The Politics of Early Care and Education,” led by Thom Little, Director of Curriculum Development and Research at the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, and co-host of the conference.

Early Education Shown to Provide Long-Term Benefits for Group of Low Birth Weight Infants
18-Year Study Tracks the Academic and Social Outcomes of Low Birth Weight Children

New York, NY (March 6, 2006) – Early education programs for low birth weight children (2001- 2500 grams) in the first 3 years of life produce positive outcomes through age 18, according to newly published findings in the March 2006 issue of Pediatrics .

The report describes the 18-year follow-up to the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), a national research project involving low birth weight, pre-term infants in 8 cities across the U.S. The program provided educational intervention for a randomly assigned group of low birth weight infants, and has tracked the results since the 1980s. The study found that the heaviest low birth weight children who received early preschool tended to have higher math and reading scores, and engage in less risky behavior, than those who did not participate in the program. The findings point to the efficacy of providing educational and social intervention services to low birth weight infants, who are more likely to experience academic and behavioral problems than their normal-weight peers. The researchers also found that the effects were not uniform across the 18-year span; among the lightest low birth weight children (= 2000 grams), the benefits of the program faded out by age 5.

In terms of public health priorities, the results strengthen the case for greater investment in early education for pre-term infants. “This study shows that providing preschool to low birth weight infants is a smart use of public resources, and in the long term, there are thousands of children who would reap the benefits,” said Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D., one of the principal investigators of the IHDP study, and a co-author of the Pediatrics article. Brooks-Gunn is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and co-director of the National Center for Children and Families at the College.

The study began with a group of 985 low birth weight pre-term newborns, followed up at ages 3, 5, and 8 years of age prior to the 18-year findings, which involved 636 of the original group. The infants were randomly assigned into two groups: one that received the intervention during their first three years, and a second that did not. The intervention for the first group consisted of home visits each week for the first year of life, and every other week at two and three years, as well as daily center-based education for the children from 12 months through 36 months, with parent support groups. All children received regular pediatric care and referrals to community services if needed.

Differences by Birth Weight Open New Grounds for Research

Researchers looked at lighter and heavier low birth weight pre-term infants and found that, as the years progressed, the heavier birth weight group appeared to sustain the positive effects of the intervention longer than the lighter-weight infants. Further research is needed on the reasons why the positive effects were not sustained among lighter-weight infants. (Note: in this study, the lighter weight pre-term infants weighed less than 2001 grams at birth; the heavier birth weight group weighed 2001 – 2500 grams.) In the heavier birth weight group, children who received the intervention continued to score higher than those who did not receive the intervention on academic achievement tests at age 18, some 15 years after the intervention ended.

The researchers also found that the outcomes for heavier birth weight pre-term infants closely mirror the results of early education interventions for normal-weight poor children. The eight sites involved in the study are: Little Rock, AR; Boston, MA; Bronx, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, TX; Miami, FL; Seattle, WA, and New Haven, CT.

In addition to Brooks-Gunn, Marie C. McCormick, MD, ScD. of the Harvard School of Public Health was a principal investigator for this study. At the National Center for Children and Families, Anne Martin, DrPH, served as a site director and was a member of the data analysis team.

The IHDP study is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, at www.rwjf.org . You may view an abstract of the report here; to see a full-text copy of this article, click here.

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn a Panelist at Inaugural Symposium of New Pritzker Consortium
NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn spoke at "Economics of Childhood: When to Invest?" a symposia held at the launch of the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development in Chicago, IL. The Consortium, launched on May 9th, is designed to bring together the world's leading experts to identify the best ways to invest in the children five and under, so as to realize the largest gains to society. Dr. Brooks-Gunn is a member of the Consortium.

Brooks-Gunn Keynotes "The Future of Children" Conference
NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn was the keynote speaker at "The Future of Children", an event sponsored by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT at Brown University (Providence, RI). Over 100 early childhood and K-12 policymakers and practioners from New England attended the March 8th forum, convened to discuss findings from The Future of Children: School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethinic Gaps (Volume 15, Number 1 - Spring 2005). Brooks-Gunn was co-editor of the volume, and co-authored "The Contribution of Parenting to Ethnic and Racial Gaps in School Readiness" with Lisa B. Markman of Princeton University. The Future of Children is published by Princeton University and The Brookings Institution.


For News Items dating before 2006, see the NCCF News Archive 2005.