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Research Lab

“Gold Standard” Study Finds High-Quality Care Is Important in Infancy

Study Finds the Benefits Last Well Into Elementary School

Bryce Covert·August 14, 2023·5 min read

By now the benefits of high-quality preschool are widely accepted. But there are still open questions about its impact: Is...

“Baby’s First Years” Offers First U.S. Study to Assess Impact of Poverty Reduction on Infant and Toddler Development

Tom Kertscher·May 8, 2019·5 min read

“What this study is asking is whether or not, as a matter of public policy, is it a straightforward way to achieve the important goal of early childhood development.” -- Matt Klein, executive director, New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity

“How Is My Baby Doing, and How Am I Doing as a Parent?”: Part II of Interview with Brazelton Touchpoints Center’s Joshua Sparrow

Mark Swartz·November 24, 2021·4 min read

In Part I of this interview, Dr. Joshua Sparrow, executive director of the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, delves into the legacy...

“Knowledge Accumulates”: The History of the American Rescue Plan’s Child Provisions and What it Means for Cutting Child Poverty

Mark Swartz·March 26, 2021·4 min read

The American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden on March 12 contains a number of potentially game-changing policies for...

“Value Disorganization and Vulnerability as an Opportunity”: Part I of Interview with Brazelton Touchpoints Center’s Joshua Sparrow

Mark Swartz·November 23, 2021·3 min read

Recently, the anthropologist James Peacock III told me about the night in 1964 when his newborn daughter Louly had swallowed...

3 Top Takeaways from Playful Learning Playbook: A New Resource for the Serious Business of Play

Mark Swartz·December 2, 2020·2 min read

On November 19, the Playful Learning Landscape Action Network (PLLAN) hosted an event to discuss the meaning and importance of playful learning landscapes in celebration of the launch of the Playful Learning Playbook.

3 Top Takeaways from the Conversation: Designing Everyday Places to Play and Learn

Mark Swartz·August 18, 2020·3 min read

Because we can’t take our Early Learning Nation Studio on the road during this time, stay tuned as ELN recaps...

4 Top Takeaways from the Social Entrepreneurs Show + Tell

Mark Swartz·February 4, 2021·3 min read

On January 27, Promise Venture Studio hosted a “Show+Tell” in partnership with Sesame Workshop and The Center on the Developing Child. The showcase featured 10 companies and the social entrepreneurs in the 2020 Promising Ventures Fellowship Program.

5 Takeaways from Jack Shonkoff’s EdRedesign Keynote

Welcome to Our New Column Covering Live Events

Mark Swartz·May 27, 2020·2 min read

On May 19, Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff delivered the Education Redesign Lab (EdRedesign) spring keynote address via YouTube. Among his many distinctions, Dr. Shonkoff—Director of Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child and Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Graduate School of Education—was awarded the 2019 LEGO Prize for revolutionizing the field of early child development. Here are our notes from his remarks.

5 Takeaways from the “2020 Texas Fatherhood Fridays” Summit

Improving Childhood Outcomes in Texas by Supporting Dads

Mark Swartz·July 22, 2020·3 min read

On Friday, July 10, the Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) at the University of Texas at Austin presented a virtual event focused on Fatherhood in Texas. The annual summit was reimagined this year as a series of online presentations titled 2020 Texas Fatherhood Fridays. UT Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Prevention and Early Intervention Division sponsored the series.