Samuel J. Meisels, one of the nation’s leading authorities on the assessment of young children and early childhood development, has been named the founding executive director of the University of Nebraska’s Buffett Early Childhood Institute, NU President James B. Milliken announced Oct. 19.
Category: Early Childhood Education & Development
Molfese to lead $1.4 million study of toddler sleep habits

ZZZs don’t always come easy for children still learning their ABCs.
Accordingly, three CYFS faculty affiliates are studying the developmental implications of toddlers’ sleep habits – and the factors that might determine whether they sleep like a baby.
CYFS director co-edits early childhood handbook
After years of advancing research on early childhood education, CYFS Director Susan Sheridan recently helped chronicle the state of the science in the latest edition of a handbook recognized as a standard-bearer for the field.
Sheridan served as co-associate editor for the newly published fifth edition of the “Handbook of Early Childhood Education,” a 634-page publication that reviews current research on early education and identifies its implications for practice and policy.
CYFS, Buffett Institute host early childhood summit

The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools surveyed the landscape and mapped the future of early childhood research, practice and policy when it assembled the state’s top minds for an April 25 summit in Lincoln, Neb.
Knoche unveils preliminary results of project evaluation
Coaches typically develop game plans designed to achieve success on the field, court, diamond or ice. CYFS Research Associate Professor Lisa Knoche is helping to ensure that Nebraska adds “classroom” and “home” to that list.
Knoche, CYFS Consultant Sue Bainter and several graduate student affiliates offered a glimpse into their year-long evaluation of the Early Childhood Coaching Project during a Sept. 29 meeting in Lincoln, Neb. The project – developed by the Nebraska Department of Education’s Early Childhood Training Center – prepares early childhood professionals who work with teachers and families to enhance young children’s development.
Knoche studying coaches of early childhood teachers, parents
For many Nebraskans, the word “coaching” is synonymous with revered football figures such as Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney. For CYFS Faculty Affiliate Lisa Knoche, it’s vital to the future of Nebraska’s early childhood education.
CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood
The first CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood was held April 14, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in downtown Lincoln. Approximately 100 early childhood researchers, practitioners and administrators, and policy representatives participated.
The day-long event was designed to communicate cutting edge research findings in early childhood emanating from CYFS; link early childhood research with ongoing efforts in the early childhood field of practice; and advance the science of early childhood education and development via connections between community partners, key stakeholders, early childhood practitioners and CYFS researchers.