Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

 

 

 

Every moment of everyday we are curious about the world around us.  We are always asking questions, gathering information and using that information to make better decision. The same is to be said for the early childhood field.  The early childhood field is always evolving and improving, so it’s important to always stay up to date with the latest research, news, and findings that can benefit those in the field.    Just this week I came across an interesting research article that can provide valuable information for parents, families, educators and others in the early childhood field. Back in November of 2010, The National Institute for Early Education Research released an article that documented the advantages and importance of pre-k titled, The New Mexico PreK Evaluation: Impacts From the Fourth Year (2008-2009) of New Mexico’s State-Funded PreK Program.  New Mexico’s children who attend the state-funded Pre-K program have been found to have achieved significant positive effects in vocabulary, math, and literacy skills at the beginning of kindergarten, according to the fourth in a series of annual reports by NIEER (Hustedt, Barnett, Jung, Friedman, 2010).  Once again this research provides valuable information in regards to the importance of providing quality early childhood education in the early years of a child’s life.  More money was spent on every pre-k child and it proved to be beneficial in the long run.  With so much attention and talks from NY’s governor and mayor about universal pre-k, the research article just sheds such positive light and drives the message home about why pre-k is essential and needed.  Thus, research in the early childhood field is crucial, necessary, and it can provide many positive effects for children and families.

 

References: 

Hustedt,, Jason T., W.Steven Barnett, Kwanghee Jung, and Allison H. Friedman. "The New Mexico PreK Evaluation: Impacts From the Fourth Year (2008-2009) of New Mexico’s State-Funded PreK Program." (n.d.): n. pag. National Institute for Early Education Research. Rutgers, Nov. 2010. Web. <http://nieer.org/publications/latest-research/new-mexico-prek-evaluation-impacts-fourth-year-2008-2009-new-mexico%E2%80%99s>.