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Preschool Children

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Early education helps prepare preschoolers for kindergarten—developmentally, academically, and socially—and also is associated with lasting positive outcomes. RAND research related to preschool children includes studies on early childhood development, effective preschool programs, child care quality, and the costs and benefits of investing in preschool education.

Commentary
Biden's Child Tax Credit Will Bring Lifetime of Improvement
The American Rescue Plan is expected to cut child poverty in the United States by more than 40 percent. The benefits are important to families today and could be compounded over the hundred years these children are expected to live.
Apr 28, 2021
Commentary
Making Preschool Investments Count Through the American Families Plan
The American Families Plan would address disparities in preschool access by adding $200 billion for high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-olds. How can we make sure that this historic investment, if approved by Congress, counts?
Jun 3, 2021

Explore Preschool Children

Report
Vermont Early Care and Education Financing Study: Estimated Costs, Financing Options, and Economic Impacts
Vermont is interested in expanding families' subsidies for early care and education (ECE) programs. This report estimates the costs of a high-quality ECE system with a well-compensated workforce and identifies possible funding sources.
Jan 17, 2023
Report
Early Childhood Educators in Hawai'i
A diverse, well-supported, and well-compensated workforce is essential for the delivery of high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs. What does the employment landscape look like for the ECE workforce in Hawai'i and what policy strategies can improve their compensation and working conditions?
Oct 25, 2022
Report
The Big Lift Evaluation: Research Findings Five Years In
The authors examine participation rates, kindergarten readiness, and third-grade outcomes of children eligible to participate in The Big Lift™, a preschool–third-grade initiative to designed to boost reading proficiency.
Nov 9, 2021
Commentary
Parenting During the Pandemic: Communicating with Children About COVID-19
School and nursery closures, lockdowns, and ongoing pandemic restrictions brought huge changes to children and families. The way parents communicated with their children about these events was vital in helping children to cope.
Sep 20, 2021
Journal Article
Level 4 Group Triple P: Positive Parenting Programme
This report evaluates the Positive Parenting Program, targeted at parents of children aged 3 to 4 years for whom nursery staff and caregivers had concerns around language and communication or children's behavioural, emotional, or social development.
Jul 27, 2021
Research Brief
High-Quality Publicly Funded Pre-Kindergarten Programs: How Much Do They Cost?
There is strong evidence that children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs learn skills that benefit them in school and life. In this brief, RAND researchers estimate the cost of such programs and outline implications.
May 6, 2021
Report
What Is the Cost of High-Quality Publicly Funded Pre-K?
Researchers use cost data collection and cost modeling to estimate the cost of a high-quality publicly funded pre-kindergarten program. They outline the challenges in understanding full program costs and the implications for policymakers.
May 6, 2021
Blog
Biden's First Address to Congress: Insights from RAND
President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress, summarizing his administration's early COVID-19 response and outlining plans that aim to loosen the pandemic's year-long grip on a weary nation. The speech reflected the fact that the United States faces policy challenges across a wide range of domains.
Apr 29, 2021
Essay
China's Disappeared Uyghurs: What Satellite Images Reveal
At least one million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have vanished into a sprawling network of camps and prisons in China's far west. Satellite images show brightly lit compounds, wall after wall of barbed wire, and a sudden rush to build what appear to be fortified preschools.
Apr 29, 2021
Journal Article
Participation in State-Funded Prekindergarten in Oklahoma
This study examined participation in Oklahoma's state-funded preK program for five cohorts of first-time public school kindergarten students and compared the percentages of students by geographic locale and student characteristics.
Mar 16, 2021
Multimedia
From Day One: The Importance of Early Learning
RAND researchers Rita Karam and Gail Zellman discuss the importance of early childhood learning. This video features interviews with families and educators in the Middle East who have experienced the positive effects of engaging children in conversations and educational activities at home and in early childhood programs.
Feb 24, 2021
Journal Article
More "Boarding" Facilities Geolocated in Southern Xinjiang
We identified 21 preschools that house Uyghur children in Qira County, Xinjiang using satellite imagery. These facilities are part of Beijing's efforts to assimilate Uyghurs by erasing their culture to a Communist Party ideal that has been compared to genocide.
Jan 22, 2021
Journal Article
Geolocating Growth of Suspect "Boarding" Facilities in Xinjiang China
GEOINT analysis shows steady construction progress in both 2017 and 2019 of suspect facilities in southern Xinjiang.
Jul 14, 2020
Journal Article
Geolocating Explosive Growth in Preschools in Western China Due to 'Re-Education' Policies
Twenty facilities that imagery analysis, press and professional journals suggest house Uighur children have been identified in this first study of geolocating China's detention infrastructure targeting Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups.
May 1, 2020
Report
The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Progress Across Three Kindergarten Classes
In this report, the authors present results describing early learning outcomes of children from three kindergarten classes who were eligible to participate in The Big Lift, a preschool-third-grade initiative that aims to boost reading proficiency.
Jan 13, 2020
Commentary
Early Childhood Education and Care Services Across the EU Still Fall Short
Children's access to education and care from a young age is vital. Large differences exist between EU countries in access to those services and the quality of child care. Bridging the gap would require more efforts at the EU and national levels to guarantee that each child has access to services that will have lasting effects on their development.
Oct 10, 2019
Journal Article
Distinctions Without a Difference? Preschool Curricula and Children's Development
This study is an examination of preschool curricula and their associations with preschool classroom environments and children's academic and social-emotional development using five samples of low-income children attending public preschool programs.
Sep 19, 2019
Report
Understanding the Workforce of the South Carolina Child Early Reading and Development Education Program: Teacher Education Requirements and Professional Development Opportunities
The authors of this report explore aspects of the South Carolina Child Early Reading Development and Education Program (CERDEP), including teacher education levels and professional development opportunities available in the 2017--2018 school year.
Jul 10, 2019
Report
Cost Analysis of the South Carolina Child Early Reading and Development Education Program
This report estimates the per-pupil cost for public and private providers to deliver the South Carolina Early Reading Development and Education Program (CERDEP) for 2017-2018 and compares the cost to the reimbursement rate provided by the state.
Mar 4, 2019

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Jill S. Cannon

Senior Policy Researcher

Jill Cannon is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. Her work focuses on examining the relationship between early childhood programs and policies and child outcomes. She was previously a policy fellow at the Public Policy…
Lynn A. Karoly

Senior Economist

Lynn Karoly is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. Her research has examined human capital investments, social welfare policy, child and family well-being, and labor markets. Much of her recent child policy research has focused on early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs with…

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