Early Childhood | MDRC

We examine strategies that strengthen the effectiveness and accessibility of child care, early education, and home visiting services to produce long-lasting positive outcomes for children in families with low incomes. We also study ways to support a qualified early childhood workforce.

Video title screen: Collaborating with Programs: A Key Focus of Early Childhood Education Research at MDRC

Video

Collaborating with Programs: A Key Focus of Early Childhood Education Research at MDRC

Male pre-K teacher teaching numbers to diverse group of kids

Issue Focus

A Powerful Window

Early Childhood and the Building Blocks for Combating Poverty

illustration of the volcan/science eperiment

Brief

Advancing Equity in Pre-K Assessments

Elevating the Strengths of Children from Racially and Linguistically Marginalized Backgrounds

a teacher among elementary school kids

Brief

Enrollment and Completion of Early Childhood Education Postsecondary Programs in Colorado

a teacher with elementary school kids

Brief

Using Unemployment Insurance Wage Data to Better Understand the Experiences of the Child Care and Early Education Workforce Over Time

Methods Brief

a terach with elementary school kids

Brief

What Were the Wages and Employment Trajectories of Child Care Workers in Illinois over the Last Two Decades?

elementary school kids around the teacher

Brief

Retention and Credential Attainment

A Profile of Montana’s Child Care and Early Education Workforce

Happy African American teacher and small boy giving high-five during art class at kindergarten

Report

What Do We Know About Building and Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce?

Cross-Cutting Themes from a Literature Review, Environmental Scan, and Data Scan

boy showing something in a book holding by teacher with other kids nearby

Report

Understanding the Child Care and Early Education Workforce

The Need for More and Better Data

a man in a floor surraunded by kids

Report

Influences on the Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of the Child Care and Early Education Workforce

A Conceptual Framework

a treacher sittting among kids standing around her

Report

Child Care and Early Education Workforce Recruitment and Retention

Insights from a Current Landscape of Strategies

kids sitting on a floor in library and listening the teacher

Report

An Annotated Bibliography of Select Literature on the Child Care and Early Education Workforce

A Supplement to the BASE Knowledge Review Series

Project

Best Practices for Estimating Program Effects in Cluster Randomized Trials

Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier

Podcast Episode

Implementing an Evidence-Based and Domain-Specific Pre-K Curriculum: A Conversation with Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier

illudytsyion og woman talking to a parent with kids

Brief

Theory of Change for Coordination and Individualization of Family Support Services in Head Start Programs