Category Archives: Early childhood program design issues

Powerpoint on early childhood programs and local economic development

Posted on May 9, 2011 by timbartik

I gave a talk this morning to the Youth Human Capital and Economic Development Network. This network is sponsored by the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group of the Milton Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago. This overall … Continue reading →

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Increasing effective teaching in preschool

Posted on April 25, 2011 by timbartik

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) recently published a useful policy brief on how to increase the quality of teachers in preschool. The policy brief is entitled “Degrees in Context:  Asking the Right Questions about Preparing Skilled and … Continue reading →

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More devilish details about educational investments versus business tax cuts

Posted on April 19, 2011 by timbartik

A previous post responded to a question from an early childhood and education program advocate, who is trying to convince state legislators and their staff that educational investments compare favorably with business tax cuts. Their question was: “Do we have … Continue reading →

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Limitations of special education cost savings as an argument for early childhood programs

Posted on April 11, 2011 by timbartik

A previous post argues that in some cases, some targeted preschool programs may yield large short-term and medium-term savings in special education costs. For example, these cost savings may start out at 11% after 1 year, and then increase by … Continue reading →

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Why Head Start should be improved, not defunded

Posted on March 23, 2011 by timbartik

Head Start is currently threatened with a significant funding cut. As part of the political fight over budget deficits, the House of Representatives has  proposed significant funding cuts to Head Start for fiscal year 2011 (the current fiscal year) of … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs | 6 Comments

Good preschool teaching: what is it?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by timbartik

Several readers have asked me to comment on a recent article in Slate magazine by Alison Gopnik. The article was titled “Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School”. The subtitle was “New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at … Continue reading →

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Early childhood programs can work on a large-scale, without inordinate expense, and without other educational reforms

Posted on March 14, 2011 by timbartik

Linda Perlstein, a well-known education writer, provides a useful review of two recent books on educational improvements: David Kirp’s Kids First, and Wendy Kopp’s A Chance to Make History. The review focuses on the political tension between proposals to improve … Continue reading →

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The economic development benefits of improving early childhood teacher preparation

Posted on March 11, 2011 by timbartik

Laura Bornfreund of the New America Foundation has a useful recent report on improving teacher licensing and preparation for pre-k and early elementary grades. Some highlights of this report include: *** Too many teacher education programs set too low a … Continue reading →

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Philosophical objections to early childhood programs, part 1: are early childhood programs like “Brave New World”?

Posted on March 8, 2011 by timbartik

Some objections to early childhood programs are not based on comparing these programs’ costs with benefits. Instead, these objections are a matter of principle. In chapter 11 of Investing in Kids, I consider some of these objections. Some opponents of … Continue reading →

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Responding to state budget concerns

Posted on February 24, 2011 by timbartik

As outlined in a previous post, many states are facing budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2012 (the fiscal year which starts July 1, 2011 in most states, and runs until June 30, 2012). In another post, I pointed out that … Continue reading →

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