UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Thelma Harms Early Childhood Education Award—Ximena Franco-Jenkins, PhD, a senior research scientist at FPG, and Noreen Yazejian, PhD, FPG’s associate director for research, who is also a senior research scientist.

The award, which is designed to further the understanding and improvement of early childhood program quality internationally, is named for Thelma Harms, PhD, FPG director of curriculum development emerita. Award funds support travel so that award recipients can attend an international conference on early childhood programs, or consult, teach, or work collaboratively with a scholar from another country on issues impacting early childhood development.

As lead author of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), Harms has been a leader in comprehensive quality assessment for more than four decades, particularly through the development and use of the family of Environment Rating Scale (ERS) instruments. Each year, FPG’s award selection committee chooses one or two individuals to receive financial support for an activity that most closely matches the career interests of Harms. And this year, the match couldn’t have been more clear.

“Now as much as ever, promoting cross-cultural dialogue, learning, and collaboration is critical for understanding the way all children develop and need support for healthy and happy lives,” said Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian. 

Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian will use the award funds to support their attendance at the 2026 International ECERS Meeting, which will be held at Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway in May. In addition to giving a presentation at the meeting, they are excited to participate in international dialogue with other meeting attendees. “Now as much as ever, promoting cross-cultural dialogue, learning, and collaboration is critical for understanding the way all children develop and need support for healthy and happy lives,” said Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian.  

Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian will also visit a child care program in Norway to see firsthand the early educational experiences of young children in another culture.

“The opportunity to meet with international researchers and practitioners is invaluable to helping identify cultural nuances and local adaptations currently used with the ERS,” said Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian.

The pair shared that previous meetings have resulted in the development of new research instruments, jointly authored papers from researchers in disparate countries, study visits across countries, and sabbatical or other similar research stays here at FPG by researchers from other countries.

“Connecting with this community, having the opportunity to discuss the measurement of emerging quality concepts in diverse global contexts, and continuing to build strong partnerships is integral to FPG’s continued leadership nationally and internationally in comprehensive quality measurement,” said Franco-Jenkins and Yazejian. “And we are thankful to the committee for supporting us in this endeavor.”