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Playing is crucial for children's growth and learning, and it is essential to understand and improve the role of educators in facilitating learning through play. This study aimed to investigate the beliefs of early childhood educators in Colombia's aeioTU program about play, which is based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy and focuses on art, projects, exploration, and play. The study revealed that educators perceive play as a fun, social, and interactive activity that allows children to participate actively and exercise agency. They also emphasized the spontaneous and voluntary nature of play, which is closely linked to the exploration processes in the aeioTU educational model. Most educators reported that they set the materials and space for play, guided children when they needed help, or directed activities such as games. The findings suggests that educators see their role at the two extremes of the play facilitator spectrum. Although the aeioTU curriculum recognizes play as a free and unstructured activity in which children have complete freedom to make decisions, the teachers' report suggests a preference for more structured and directed approaches that limit children's agency. The findings provide valuable insights into the educators' practices and can guide decision-making and teacher training efforts in this area. In addition, the findings provide an opportunity to how play is situated in policy. [For the full report, "Paths to Play Competency (P2P): Teachers' Experiences and Their Professional Development. Final Report," see ED628944. For "Measuring Teacher Facilitation of Playful Learning. Research Note," see ED628956.]

The research note discusses various classroom observation tools used in early childhood classrooms and the degree to which they capture the facilitation of playful learning. We note that while all tools capture some aspects of play facilitation especially the preconditions for play, few tools directly measure techniques that solely facilitate learning within play. We identified two tools that do measure these to a greater extent. However, the challenge remains in capturing the dynamic nature of teacher-child interactions during play throughout the day and even within the same play activity. We propose that time-sampling tools may provide detailed information on the frequency of facilitation techniques used across different activities and settings and how they relate to individual child characteristics and professional development experiences. This type of tool would also allow researchers to understand the differences in learning outcomes between play-based and non-play-based activities. [This report was created in partnership with aeioTu (Colombia). For the full report, "Paths to Play Competency (P2P): Teachers' Experiences and Their Professional Development. Final Report," see ED628944. For "Play Related Beliefs and Practices in Colombia: Implications for Policy & Practice. Policy Brief," see ED628957.]

Over the last several years, a growing number of cities have invested in early care and education for 3- and 4-year-old children, known as "preschool." This paper aims to aid cities in planning preschool programs by outlining a range of factors to consider. We largely do not make recommendations, but rather try to identify a range of options so communities can choose a course that best meets their needs. We focus on nine major components: (1) Governance and Administration -- Some cities govern their program through a new agency, and others add the program to an existing city agency. Some assign responsibility to the school district. Cities also need to determine whether to administer the program directly, contract out the services, or run a hybrid model; (2) Financing and Cost - Most localities have identified revenue on top of their state preschool funding. They have employed a range of strategies, including ballot measures, property taxes, and general funds; (3) Eligibility and Pace of Scale -- Some localities strive for universal access, while others target eligibility based on income. Local programs also differ in how rapidly they plan to scale; (4) Enrollment and Outreach -- Cities should mount serious efforts to reach out to families and maximize enrollment; a number of design dimensions and enrollment pathways are presented; (5) Structural Program Features -- When planning for preschool programs, local leaders will consider several structural design questions; (6) Workforce -- Building a high-quality workforce is critical to the success and sustainability of a preschool initiative; several factors are presented; (7) Program Standards and Supports for Program Implementation -- Local leaders will decide what program standards and supports will be a part of preschool programs; (8) Continuous Improvement and Evaluation -- Many programs have implemented systems of quality improvement. Quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) and research partnerships are two elements; and (9) Integration with Other City Services -- Cities have created models that help families access other services more easily by integrating preschool with other local services. [This report was funded by CityHealth.]

The quality of early childhood programs plays a crucial role in improving outcomes for children. Play-based practices are considered a vital component in early childhood development as they offer opportunities for children to learn and grow. Despite this, the field is still trying to understand the role of teachers in facilitating play and their beliefs and practices related to play, as well as how to best support these practices. The study was grounded in methodology developed within the Paths 2 Play (P2P) project, using definitions from the LEGO Foundation's white paper on play facilitation as a starting point. The study specifically looked at the training processes within aeioTU, a Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood program in Colombia, exploring how learning through play is understood, conceptualized, and practiced, and the degree to which materials support it. The aeioTU program is centered on child-led play, exploration, projects, and aesthetic expression. The study was conducted against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and commenced during the period when children were learning from home. Later, as learning shifted to hybrid and in-person formats, the study shifted to centers. The research focused on gaining insight into the concepts and interpretations of learning through play among train the trainer teams, teachers, and caregivers. Data was collected between June and December 2021 from 55 teachers across 7 municipalities. A small study was also conducted, consisting of video observations and interviews with teachers and parents. The small study took place at two aeioTU centers in Cartagena, Colombia, where 6 teachers were followed through their professional development process. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all data collection was carried out remotely. [For "Measuring Teacher Facilitation of Playful Learning. Research Note," see ED628956. For "Play Related Beliefs and Practices in Colombia: Implications for Policy & Practice. Policy Brief," see ED628957.]

State-funded preschool is already offered in mixed-delivery settings in most states, meaning that along with public schools, children are also served in settings such as child care centers, Head Start agencies, and private schools. However, just 39% of 4-year-olds and 14% of 3-year-olds were enrolled in publicly-funded programs, such as state-funded pre-K, special education, or Head Start in the 2020-21 school year, demonstrating many children still lack access to these programs. Increasingly, decisionmakers and advocates are proposing that one part of the solution to ensuring more children have access to state- and other publicly-funded programs may lie in increasing enrollment slots available to children in other settings beyond school- and center-based classrooms, such as in family child care homes (FCCs). In the 2019-20 school year, just 29 of 62 state-funded pre-K programs reported that they allowed FCCs to be included in their program; and of the 24 states that allowed it, only 10 states were able to report enrollment -- with most serving less than 1% of preschool children in home-based settings. This leaves the knowledge base on what works in supporting FCCs in publicly-funded programs extremely limited. In the "Conditions for Success," we have outlined conditions or policies that states could establish that may set up FCC educators for meaningful inclusion in state-funded programs by synthesizing the literature base on high-quality pre-K and on learning in home-based settings. We outline what is known about high-quality pre-K and demonstrate that it could be possible for states, cities and localities to provide high-quality, publicly-funded pre-K in home-based settings if attention is paid to how states provide structures and supports for educators and families.

In the United States, state-level agencies manage a variety of early care and education (ECE) programs serving children birth through age 5, including publicly funded preschool programs. A state office of early learning (SOEL) often oversees and manages select early childhood programs. SOELs typically have a significant role in such tasks as setting policy to ensure the quality of programs, distributing funding to local programs, and collecting data for accountability and continuous improvement. This report shares the results of case studies focused on the SOELs in the four states of Alabama, Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The research questions that guided this project were: (1) What are the structural and organizational capacities of effective SOELs? (2) What are the enabling conditions--leadership, staffing, other contextual factors--of effective SOELs? and (3) What are the critical functions necessary for SOELs to effectively execute their authority to implement major programs, including but not limited to the public preschool program? To set the stage for the case studies, Section 1 highlights prior research that contributed to the conceptual framework. Section 2 describes the study methodology. The individual case studies for each of the four SOELs are provided in Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6. Each case study begins with an overview of the SOEL and its parent agency, including a brief history of early education in the state and the office of early learning, funding of the SOEL, and SOEL structure and staffing. This introductory text is followed by the findings for each of the three research questions. Finally, Section 7 provides a recap of the major findings in each of the four states, as well as a cross-state summary of what was learned.

Virtually all states use a variety of settings to operate center-based pre-K, often making extensive use of child care or Head Start classrooms in addition to public schools. About half of the pre-K programs in 24 states allowed Family Child Care homes (FCCs) to receive state pre-K dollars either directly from the state or through subcontracting. This report examines the policies and provision of state-funded pre-K in FCCs in these 24 states and in four large cities: Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle. This is followed by a discussion of the potential opportunities and challenges derived from an analysis of current state policies and the FCC literature base. Recommendations are provided for state or city leaders considering inclusion of FCCs in their pre-K programs. [This report was produced with Home Grown.]

Until recently, few valid and reliable assessments were available to measure young children's mathematics and science learning in a "comprehensive" way. Now, a number of mathematics assessments have been developed and subjected to testing (Klein, Starkey, & Wakeley, 2000; Ginsburg, 2008; Clements & Sarama, 2008), and progress has been made in science as well (Greenfield, Dominguez, Fuccillo, Maier, & Greenberg, 2008; Greenfield, Dominguez, Greenberg, Fuccillo, & Maier, 2011). To study the relationship between classroom supports and instruction and learning outcomes requires valid and reliable measures of "classroom quality" along with these measures of children's learning. Recent reviews of assessments for classroom quality in science and math have concluded that few comprehensive measures are yet available for use by researchers or educators and that "science is especially weak" (Brenneman et al., 2011; Snow & Van Hemel, 2009). Among the "under development" instruments identified in the Brenneman et al. review was the Preschool Rating Instrument for Science and Mathematics (PRISM), which is the focus of the present paper. The purpose of this work is to develop and validate a classroom observation instrument that objectively measures the presence of classroom materials and teaching interactions that support mathematics and science learning. The overall question that motivates the effort is whether an observational tool can be developed to measure classrooms supports for math and science learning that are correlated with child learning outcomes and school readiness in these domains. Such a tool would make a significant contribution to the field, as it would have both research and professional development applications that would contribute to efforts to improve teaching and learning of key STEM concepts and practices in the critical preschool years. The preliminary findings reported here encourage the authors to continue the development process for the PRISM. Correlations with the ECERS-R are moderate as expected, suggesting that the PRISM is picking up general quality, as well as unique information about observed classrooms. The factor structure of the instrument is strong and matches theoretical predictions, although work remains. Specifically, the authors will be working to better integrate supports for numerical operational thinking into the instrument, most likely by combining it with another number item. Efforts to improve the internal consistency of the scale, especially for science interactions, will also be made. They hope to undertake this work as part of a dedicated, full-scale study of the PRISM that allows for continued development, field testing, more extensive psychometric explorations, and final validation of the instrument. (Contains 4 tables.)

One of the most significant recent trends in the U.S. education system is that white students are no longer the majority. This trend is mainly driven by growth in both the number and percentage of Hispanic children. The share of Hispanic students among kindergarten children increased from 19 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2010 (ECLS-K, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 & 2010-2011). Similarly, about 23 percent of state preschoolers are dual language learners (DLLs) (Friedman-Krauss, et. al, 2018). Research on preschool programs has found that young DLLs benefit strongly from participating in high-quality preschool programs, which makes both access to, and improving the quality of, preschool critical. Yet, Hispanics and Hispanic DLLs lag behind their white peers in access to preschool and achievement. Research has shown that high-quality preschool can reduce achievement gaps before children even enter kindergarten. This "policy facts" addresses the lack of information available on DLLs being served and the policies that support them in state-funded preschool.

This issue of ETS Policy Notes focuses on highlights from the ETS African American Education Seminar. The day-long event, which drew more than 100 education and public affairs professionals, assessed the challenges facing African Americans in all levels of education, including access to high-quality prekindergarten, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; the progress made in closing the achievement gap; and the challenges facing colleges and universities in their efforts to enroll, retain, and graduate these students. Three of the presentations are highlighted in this issue of ETS Policy Notes. They include: (1) Affirmative Student Development: Closing the Achievement Gap by Developing Human Capital, (2) Closing the Gap at the Starting Gate: Why the Court Ordered Preschool Education; and (3) African American Teachers' Perceptions of Their Role as Teachers of African American Students: The Unexamined Variable. (Contains 1 figure.)

New Jersey's Abbott Preschool program is of broad national and international interest because the Abbott program provides a model for building a high-quality system of universal pre-K through public-private partnerships that transform the existing system. The program offers high-quality pre-K to all children in 31 New Jersey communities with high levels of poverty and about a quarter of the state's children. The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study (APPLES) assesses the impact of this pre-K program on children's learning and development based on a cohort of children who completed their 4-year-old year in 2004-05. APPLES previously estimated the impacts of Abbott pre-K at kindergarten entry and second grade follow-up. The 4th and 5th grade APPLES follow-up finds that Abbott preschool programs increased achievement in Language Arts and Literacy, Math, and Science. The authors' estimates indicate that two-years of pre-K beginning at age 3 had larger persistent effects on achievement than did one year of pre-K. (Contains 2 figures and 6 tables.)

Improving mathematics and science learning is of great concern to educators and policymakers. Because early experiences affect later education outcomes, providing young children with research-based mathematics and science learning opportunities is likely to pay off with increased achievement, literacy, and work skills in these critical areas. This report addresses the development of mathematics and science understanding in preschool children, reviews the current knowledge base on educational practices in these domains, identifies areas that require further study, and outlines recommendations for early education policy in mathematics and science.

Some research suggests a rise in challenging behaviors among children in early care and education. Among the findings are a high rate of removal from preschool classrooms for behavior problems, a possible link between early non-maternal care and aggressive behaviors in preschool, and concerns from teachers that too many children arrive at school without the social skills required to learn. This begs the question of the role preschool education plays in regard to problem behaviors--whether under certain circumstances it is a contributing factor or whether it can in fact provide positive experiences that lead to a reduction of challenging behaviors. This policy brief reviews the research in order to answer these questions and makes recommendations that can lead to better behavioral outcomes.

Reviews studies that defined and measured the effects of quality in early child care and education, and analyzes successful programs to determine common traits. Common characteristics include small class sizes; teacher support for greater teaching effectiveness; long-lasting intervention; ongoing, child-focused communication between home and school; and similar classroom activities and curriculum to traditional schooling. (GR)