Mathematica Early Childhood Experts at SRCD

As policymakers focus on how best to support children's optimal development and well-being from birth through adolescence, Mathematica's early childhood and education experts will contribute to the discussion at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) in Philadelphia from March 19 to 21. Research findings from Mathematica's notable early childhood studies help ensure interventions for children and families are based on the best measurement and evidence.

Considering the best dosage, timing and programming for 3-year-olds, Harshini Shah will present on an enhanced preschool model, and Yange Xue will describe propensity score analyses that highlight the value of two years of participation in Head Start. Several presentations focus on the development or review of measures, including Sally Atkins-Burnett's discussion of a new tool for measuring caregiver-child interaction for infants and toddlers and Yange Xue's review of psychometric properties of infant-toddler observational measures. Emily Moiduddin and Nikki Aikens will recommend approaches to assess children who are dual language learners both in Head Start and a universal prekindergarten system in California, and Shannon Monahan will describe a tool to assess preschool teachers' ongoing child assessments to individualize instruction. Lauren Murphy and Cheri Vogel will present on health outcomes and obesity risk for children participating in Early Head Start. Gender differences in the impact of the Playworks intervention on student physical activity will be the topic of a paper by Martha Bleeker and colleagues, Lizabeth Malone will present practices supporting the transition from Head Start to kindergarten, and Angela D'Angelo will describe new methods for capturing complex family structures.

Early childhood experts will participate in a series of conference conversation roundtables. Senior fellow Kimberly Boller will chair a session on learning collaboratives and quality improvement. She will also participate in a roundtable about the use of child outcomes in state quality rating and improvement systems. Jaime Thomas will join her for a panel considering informal care in California.