Pew funds a new national institute to study early childhood education
Archived article from Jan 25, 2002
By Joni Scanlon
The Graduate School of Education (GSE) has been awarded a $5.3 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to establish a national institute for the research and support of early childhood education initiatives.
The National Institute for Early Education Research will support new research and work with policy-makers, advocates and public interest organizations to produce critical changes in early education policy in the United States. Education Professor W. Steven Barnett, who will direct the institute, said the new entity will build on the existing work of GSE's Center for Early Education Research (CEER), which he also directs. CEER will be merged with the new institute.
"There is a tremendous need for the development and communication of knowledge about the rapidly growing field of early childhood education," said Barnett, noting that no professional organization or other network currently exists to link early education policy researchers and policy-makers.
"One of the most exciting aspects of the new institute is that it provides a place for government officials and others responsible for early education to turn to for research-based answers to practical questions about implementing high-quality programs," Barnett added.
Joseph J. Seneca, university vice president for academic affairs, said, "I am confident that under Dr. Barnett's excellent direction and scholarship, the institute will influence the entire field of early education policy by providing leadership in setting the research agenda, facilitating coordination and communication among researchers, stimulating improvements in research methods and enhancing the communication of policy-relevant research findings to appropriate audiences."
Research conducted at CEER and elsewhere over the past 40 years has demonstrated the importance of providing preschool educational opportunities as a way to address such problems as the large numbers of children who enter elementary school poorly prepared to succeed.
"The nation now has a tremendous opportunity to improve education and its outcomes by reaching the record number of children who attend early childhood programs outside their homes," Barnett noted.
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