Three young children playing at a table

Early care and education provide a strong foundation for children's academic success and overall well-being. This focus area has been central to the work of the Institute since its founding more than 50 years ago. One of FPG's first and most influential projects was a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of an early care and education intervention for children from low-income households. This work continues today with research on closing the achievement gap and providing support for dual language learners.

Featured Publication

A recent study from FPG investigators analyzes open-ended survey responses from early care and education professionals about their aspirations, concerns, challenges, and successes in fostering racial and cultural socialization among young children. Research supports introducing conversations about when children’s social and cultural understandings are still forming. However, lack of preparation or materials, discomfort discussing race, and misconceptions about children’s cognitive abilities often lead educators to underestimate a child’s capacity to understand race-related topics.

Featured Project

The STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMIE) Center's purpose is to promote high-quality inclusion of young children with disabilities in STEM learning opportunities. To accomplish this, the center emphasizes the need to individualize the environment, materials, and instruction based on children’s functioning and needs as opposed to a specific disability.

Featured FPG News Story

For many elementary students, early reading difficulties can shape confidence, classroom participation, and long-term academic opportunity. A new project, STAAR-TRI: Supporting Teaching Assistants in Accelerating Reading with Targeted Reading Instruction, aims to help schools provide more students with timely, individualized reading support by preparing paraeducators and non-traditionally certified educators to deliver a proven literacy intervention.

Current Projects

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Center For Home-Based Child Care Research
In partnership with the Erikson Institute, the University of Delaware, the Indigo Cultural Center, and the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), the Equity Research Action Coalition at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute will establish a Center for Home-based Child Care Research to support research about home-based child care (HBCC) in states, territories, tribes, and/or local community contexts through a cooperative agreement with OPRE. The purpose of the Center is to provide leadership, build research capacity in the field, and offer support in the development and facilitation of local research to improve understanding of HBCC settings and providers and access by the families who seek and utilize HBCC.
Georgia's Pre-K: Evaluation study of quality rated language and literacy endorsement
In support of efforts related to Georgia’s Quality Rated Language and Literacy Endorsement (QRLLE), we will collect information on the degree to which the Endorsement helps programs to improve their language and literacy practices, and information to advise next steps in the development and rollout of the Endorsement. This study will involve data collection, analyses, and reporting on the QRLLE related to practices observed during the upcoming school year (2023-24). The study will take place during the 2023-2024 school year and will be divided into three phases: (1) August 2023-September 2023: Preparation of data collection measures, IRB application, data collector hiring, observation refresher training, recruitment and scheduling classroom observations (2) October 2023-December 2023: classroom observations and data cleaning, and (3) January 2023-June 30, 2024: prepare report to summarize quality data and describe QRLLE programs and alignment with the LITTLE Program, convene a national expert panel on language and literacy endorsements, and summarize information gathered about QRLLE programs, endorsements nationally, and recommendations for next steps for the QRLLE.
Meck Pre-K Program Evaluation
This project intends to conduct an independent, unbiased evaluation of the MECK Pre-K program that will be longitudinal in scope, tracking cohorts of MECK Pre-K students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools through 5th grade. Given the longitudinal nature of the evaluation and the need to track multiple cohorts, it is expected that this project will span 10 years. The focus of that evaluation will cover three key areas: program characteristics; program implementation and quality; and student outcomes.
Partnership to Build Teacher Capacity to Promote Language Learning in Infants and Toddlers with and at Risk for Disabilities
This project brings together six Educare Early Learning Network schools and collaborating local evaluation partners (LEPs), UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the University of Kansas in partnership to demonstrate the efficacy of implementing PC TALK, an early language intervention, to support the language learning of infants and young children with and at risk for disabilities. Designed to build the capacity of early educators and parents to promote communication opportunities and the development of infants and young children, the Promoting Communication Strategies will be embedded into randomly selected Educare classrooms across participating schools.
STEMIE 2.0
This project's purpose is to expand the knowledge on the practices and supports necessary to improve access and participation within STEM learning opportunities for young children with disabilities and intersecting identities.
Understanding Mental and Behavioral Health in Head Start
The purpose of this project, in partnership with Mathematica-MPR, is to understand the landscape of program structures and supports for mental and behavioral health in Early Head Start/Head Start for children, families, and staff. To accomplish this, efforts will include engagement with experts; conceptual model development; study design and measurement development; data collection and analysis; dissemination of findings; and archiving data.