Massachusetts Early Care and Education and School Readiness Study, 2001-2008

Young children are spending increasingly greater hours in early care and education. While research has clearly documented the importance of the quality of these experiences (National Research Council, 2000), more research is needed in several key areas. This study is an assessment of the impact of varying hours of early care and education on children's school readiness, and the specific factors in both infant and preschool classrooms that promote school readiness, using two samples: one group of 242 children attending child care centers that have been followed since infancy (Family Income, Infant Child Care, and Child Development Study); and another group of 130 children attending child care centers primarily serving low-income families. A developmental-ecological conceptual framework was employed, which considered the influence of ecological contexts on children's developmental trajectories. The following school readiness outcomes were assessed: language development and communication cognition and general knowledge, including early math social and emotional development approaches to learning health and physical development
Additional information is available on the Massachusetts Early Care and Education and School Readiness Study Web site.