Projects
Research is at the heart of all we do at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. As one of the nation's foremost multidisciplinary centers devoted to the study of children from infancy to adolescence, our scientists are committed to conducting research and evaluation studies that improve children's lives, support families, and inform public policy.
Learn more about our projects—current and completed—by clicking on the links below. And to stay up to date on news and events related to our work via social media, visit our Project Digital Directory.
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The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education is funding a statewide Birth-5 Needs Assessment as part of an initial federal requirement of the Preschool Development Grant. The B-5 NA will be used in developing a statewide strategic plan to strengthen the early childhood system.
This project's purpose is to develop and enhance the knowledge on the practices and supports necessary to improve access and participation within STEM learning opportunities for young children with disabilities.
While there are many benefits to regular engagement in physical activity, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with intellectual disability (ID) often do not engage in healthy levels of
physical activity. This study will examine the impact of using self-management components to increase physical activity for adults with ASD and ID as well as its feasibility in home settings.
The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) is building the knowledge and capacity of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to use the best of implementation science and related tools and resources to address implementation challenges and support quality implementation of programs, practices, and policies. A major aspect of this work is to amplify and advance equitable implementation in research and practice to achieve better results for children, families, and communities.
This project involves a systematic review of literature on evidence-based teaching practices in the K-12 education system in the United States to (1) identify practices that have demonstrated success in academic achievement for diverse students, (2) examine whether these successful teaching practices have been adopted and implemented, and (3) identify system conditions needed to adopt. The literature review will result in an open-access publication to inform the field.
Given the importance of basic memory skills for success in school, it is essential that we understand the development of a range of component skills that (1) affect the acquisition of knowledge and strategy use, (2) emerge in the context of the classroom, (3) are transformed over time into the study skills that are needed for progress in school, and (4) are related to measures of academic achievement.
The FPG Autism Team will provide virtual professional development training on the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS) for nine participants who are team members of Guilford County Schools. Additionally, the team will provide training on the National Professional Development (NPDC) model.
Beginning June 2022 through September 30, 2022, the FPG Autism Team, led by Dr. Ann Sam, will provide virtual professional development training on the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS). The training will be for nine participants who are team members of Guilford County Schools (GCS). The project will include training on the FPG version of the APERS (note Brookes Publishing will publish the full updated APERS in 2022 for purchase). Training consists of virtual didactic training (8 hours), APERS practice conducted in schools by participants, interview and feedback review by trainers, virtual consensus scoring, virtual debrief and professional development planning, and virtual follow-up.
The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) will support effective and quality implementation of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families' Family Success Centers' (FSC) Practice Profile across their network of providers.
This collaborative project with Michigan’s MTSS Technical Assistance Center (MiMTSS) aims to develop blended learning (pairing data captured from eLearning and/or other activities with onsite training) to support Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) within Michigan Public School Systems.
The purpose of this project is to develop the Supporting paraprofessionals-Teachers use of Evidence-based practices with Learners having Autism (STELA) program, a professional development intervention targeting the knowledge and skills that paraprofessionals need to implement evidence-based practices for students with autism spectrum disorder.
This project will provide support for a process to enhance the curriculum at Tacoma Community College by incorporating evidence-based practices and content. The work will include developing opportunities for coursework and practica with an emphasis on young children with disabilities and their families.
The School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill aims to provide an interdisciplinary graduate program of study for Birth–Kindergarten professionals who will be highly qualified to teach young children with and without disabilities with a specialization in working with immigrant children and families experiencing poverty.
This study examines teachers' emotional responses to children's classroom behaviors, focusing on two issues: (1) whether their responses are affected by the race of the child and (2) whether approaches to support teachers in regulating their emotions might reduce the association between teachers' emotions and punitive or negative discipline practices.
This short-term exploratory study will seek to systematically gather input from stakeholders with expertise in technical assistance to develop a compilation of technical assistance strategies used to support the use of research evidence in child welfare, as well as definitions of these strategies. The study will categorize technical assistance strategies that include stakeholder involvement and assess which strategies under what conditions facilitated research use.
The California Abundant Birth Project (CA-ABP) is a guaranteed income program for pregnant people at greatest risk of birth inequities in five California counties (San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Riverside, and Los Angeles), funded by the State of California, municipal governments, and philanthropic funding. The California Abundant Birth Project will provide unconditional, monthly income supplements during pregnancy and postpartum to randomly selected participants, with the goal of curbing financial stress and promoting healthy pregnancy outcomes. The goal of this project is to evaluate the impact of this guaranteed income program on birthing outcomes, maternal and child health, and children’s early outcomes.
This project involved multiple tasks including the provision of intensive, implementation-focused technical assistance to promote the scaling-up of evidence-based practices to improve child and family outcomes post-permanency, and a program evaluation to assess implementation fidelity and outcomes.
This collaborative project will design and deliver a comprehensive professional development system of support for infant and toddler teachers, anchored in an online associate's degree program for English and Spanish-speaking professionals serving infants and toddlers.
This project will provide support for a process to enhance the curriculum at Terra Community College by incorporating evidence-based and competency-based practices and content. The work will include developing opportunities for coursework and practica with an emphasis on young children who are culturally, linguistically, and ability-diverse and their families.
The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) will partner with The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) to build the capacity of Results First States to integrate implementation science into their evidence-based policymaking approaches.
This project will use secondary data analysis of two longitudinal datasets to test if childcare provider language prospectively predicts child executive functions (EFs) directly or indirectly through child language. We will also examine if different ways of measuring preschool teacher language quality are differentially predictive of child language and subsequent EFs.
The purpose of this project is to assist the State of Alaska Early Intervention/Infant Learning Program (ILP) to coordinate the final revisions and dissemination of its revised State of Alaska ILP regulations, State Policies and Procedures, forms, on site monitoring tools, and monitoring and database manuals, and a new request for proposals for local early intervention providers to ensure they comply with the new federal Part C regulations as well as Alaska state laws.
The purpose of this project was to examine the effectiveness of the Targeted Reading Intervention professional development program in helping rural kindergarten and first-grade classroom teachers in low-wealth schools implement evidence-based, individualized reading instruction for the children in their classrooms who are struggling in learning how to read.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of an early reading professional development program, the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), on young English learners' reading achievement.
This validation study of North Carolina's tiered quality rating and improvement system (TQRIS) included two phases. Phase I involved collection of data to inform the development of alternative TQRIS models. Phase II involved the conduct of classroom observations, director interviews, surveys of teachers, and child assessments to examine whether the test model developed in Phase I is related to program and classroom quality and to child outcomes. Findings will inform possible revisions to NC's TQRIS.
This project tests the efficacy of an innovative group-based model of intervention for Toddlers and Families Together to target the early core features of ASD with the goal of improving maternal health and child developmental outcomes. Specific aims include examining the effects of TAFT on caregiver outcomes of stress, coping, support and interaction style; examining the effects of TAFT on children's engagement, behavior regulation, joint attention and play; and examining caregiver and child characteristics affecting optimal treatment outcomes.
