Some preschoolers listen to the teacher as others tune her out. While some stay within the lines, others color outside them. Some play by themselves; others share toys. And though some sit still, others fidget endlessly.
Collectively, Kathleen Rudasill sees these routine activities as a window into the emerging personalities of young children – one that potentially offers new perspectives on helping those from difficult backgrounds reach their potential.
Getting children to follow directions has long proven a challenge for early childhood educators. Fittingly, a CYFS research team is examining how well those very teachers do the same.
Dawn Davis, a CYFS doctoral student affiliate, is leading a study to explore how closely the implementation of literacy curriculum in a Head Start program adheres to the curriculum’s design. Davis is assessing this match between plan and practice – commonly called “fidelity” – to determine its influence on children’s oral language, alphabet knowledge, print awareness and other literacy skills.
As the federal government wrestles with the age-old issue of spending versus saving, three CYFS researchers have embarked on a study to pinpoint the economic value of Nebraska’s investments in early childhood.
CYFS Research Associate Professor Lisa Knoche has teamed with new Faculty Affiliates David Rosenbaum and Eric Thompson to evaluate the fiscal benefits of funding the state’s early childhood education and programs.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.