Category Archives: Early childhood programs

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 3: what’s the market failure?

Posted on March 10, 2011 by timbartik

The natural question that any trained economist asks about government support for early childhood programs is: what’s the “market failure”? Economics holds that as a general rule, competitive private markets on their own will promote economic efficiency.  Unless “markets fail” … Continue reading →

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Philosophical objections to early childhood programs, part 2: are early childhood programs unfair to the more competitive parents?

Posted on March 9, 2011 by timbartik

I am considering various philosophical objections to early childhood programs. This topic is explored in chapter 11 of Investing in Kids. Yesterday, I considered the issue of excessive governmental control over parental choice. Today, I consider whether early childhood programs … 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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One key point about evaluation

Posted on March 7, 2011 by timbartik

The National Institute for Early Education has recently published a useful report on evaluation for early education programs. The report is entitled “Improving Early Education Programs through Data-based Decision Making”. Its authors are Shannon Riley-Ayers, Ellen Frede, Steve Barnett, and … Continue reading →

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Kevin Drum on Professor Heckman’s work: some comments

Posted on March 4, 2011 by timbartik

Well-known Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum has some comments on early childhood programs. His comments are largely based on his reading of Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman’s work. (Full disclosure: Professor Heckman has provided a quite positive blurb for my … Continue reading →

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Fed Chairman Bernanke makes strong statement on need for early childhood education, even in a time of state and local fiscal challenges

Posted on March 3, 2011 by timbartik

The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke, made a strong statement last night on the need for early childhood education. His statement was made in a speech to the Citizens Budget Commission of New York. Dr. Bernanke made … Continue reading →

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The pros and cons of federal involvement in early childhood programs

Posted on March 2, 2011 by timbartik

An earlier post compared the state perspective on early childhood programs with the national perspective. National economic development benefits of early childhood programs considerably exceed state benefits. This conclusion applies to three types of early childhood programs: high-quality universal pre-k; … Continue reading →

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Kalamazoo event highlights the potential of business support for investing in kids

Posted on February 25, 2011 by timbartik

On Thursday, February 24, I spoke at an event in Kalamazoo about my book Investing in Kids. This “book signing” event was cosponsored by the Kalamazoo community group ISAAC, the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, and the Kalamazoo Great Start Collaborative. … Continue reading →

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