Project MUSE®: The Future of Children

Project MUSE®: The Future of Children - Latest Articles https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286 Project MUSE®: Latest articles in The Future of Children. daily 1 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 text/html en-US Vol. 15 (2005) through Vol. 31 (2021) Latest Articles: The Future of Children TWO Project MUSE® The Future of Children 1550-1558 1054-8289 Latest articles in The Future of Children. Feed provided by Project MUSE® Embedding Causal Research Designs in Pre-K Systems at Scale https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790358 Despite decades of research and substantial public investment in early childhood education (ECE), there is still a wide gap between education research and education practice. What happens in classrooms and school districts isn't always based on the latest research evidence, and research studies aren't always designed to solve key problems of practice or yield information with direct implications for practitioners or policy makers. Although tightly controlled research studies such as randomized controlled trials produce the strongest evidence of programs' efficacy, findings from these studies—though methodologically rigorous—aren't always relevant to fully scaled local systems with broader priorities, unique ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Embedding Causal Research Designs in Pre-K Systems at Scale 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Embedding Causal Research Designs in Pre-K Systems at Scale 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 97646 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Introducing the Issue https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790359 High-quality early childhood education programs can have lasting impacts, particularly for children in low-income families or families that have been historically marginalized.1 Beyond their direct benefits for children, early childhood education (ECE) programs also support families and the economy by providing safe, warm environments for young children while their parents work—an attribute that recently gained new significance when COVID-19 upended in-person instruction. But even though the promise of early education—for children, for families, for equity, and for society—is widely recognized, delivering effective ECE programming at scale remains elusive. Findings from promising research studies rarely make their ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Introducing the Issue 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Introducing the Issue 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 87469 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Scaling Early Childhood Evidence-Based Interventions through RPPs https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790360 Many early childhood interventions show great potential in early testing but then fail to scale effectively.1 Likewise, school districts and other public systems may introduce evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to improve the quality of their programs and promote better child and family outcomes, but without adequate support for implementation and continuous improvement, such interventions often remain underused or fail to achieve their aims.2 According to the Society for Prevention Research's Mapping Advances in Prevention Science (SPR MAPS) IV Translational Research Task Force, achieving scaled impact "remains one of the most vexing challenges facing prevention science."3Researchers have argued that traditional ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Scaling Early Childhood Evidence-Based Interventions through RPPs 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Scaling Early Childhood Evidence-Based Interventions through RPPs 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 90427 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Building Capacity for Research and Practice: A Partnership Approach https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790361 Increasingly, people who work in early childhood care and education (ECCE) are emphasizing that research evidence and data should guide the development, implementation, and improvement of programs, as well as decision-making at multiple levels. Yet the capacities needed to effectively achieve this ideal are substantial, and they're rarely achieved by researchers or practitioners alone.1 In recent years, research-practice partnerships (RPPs) have garnered support as a promising solution to improving ECCE programs, outcomes, services, policies, and systems.2 In a seminal report, Cynthia Coburn, William Penuel, and Kimberly Geil define five key aspects of successful RPPs: mutualism, commitment to long-term ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Building Capacity for Research and Practice: A Partnership Approach 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Building Capacity for Research and Practice: A Partnership Approach 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 61100 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 A Unique Opportunity for Education Policy Makers https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790362 When it comes to solving problems and measuring impact, public education organizations primarily rely on two approaches—using civil service to hire personnel directly or using competitive procurement to hire outside experts on contract. These two approaches can limit such organizations' efforts to gain insights, to incorporate cutting-edge research into policy and practice, and to develop innovative solutions quickly, nimbly and affordably. In this commentary, I discuss how public education organizations can use research-practice partnerships (RPPs), especially partnerships with public higher education institutions, to tackle new, unique, and complicated education problems and thereby help children.Consider how ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall A Unique Opportunity for Education Policy Makers 2021-05-05 text/html en-US A Unique Opportunity for Education Policy Makers 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 13546 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Building toward Effectiveess https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790363 Researchers, as well as school districts and other providers, all share the goal of ensuring that early childhood education positively affects young children's social, emotional, and academic development. Because they align practice with the best knowledge available, research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are one of the strongest hopes for bringing the varied perspectives and expertise of these players together and thus maximizing potential benefits for children.1Many RPPs bring together talented university-based researchers with school districts and providers. Yet they can be challenging to sustain, and some last longer than others. RPPs, as the articles in this issue demonstrate, can vary widely in terms of their ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Building toward Effectiveess 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Building toward Effectiveess 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 30530 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Philanthropic Support for a Research-Practice Partnership https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790364 Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) can be compelling experiments in connecting research and practice. But RPPs need financial support, which often comes from philanthropy. How can the philanthropic community help RPPs initiate, expand, and sustain their work?Every philanthropic entity hopes that its investments will have a significant impact on the populations important to the organization, and local events can serve as the catalyst for funding opportunities. The Foundation for Child Development's mission is to build better lives for young children by bringing research to bear on matters related to improving policy and practice. We're based in New York City, where a push to make preschool available to all the ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Philanthropic Support for a Research-Practice Partnership 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Philanthropic Support for a Research-Practice Partnership 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 40584 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 A Dean's Perspective https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790365 I write this commentary from two perspectives: that of an academic researcher who for several decades has relied on partnerships with practitioners and agencies in the field, and that of a dean of a school of education. From both perspectives, it's clear that research-practice partnerships are essential if research in the social and educational sciences is to be both strong and relevant—that is, if research is to have impact. I come to this belief from experience in a wide array of research-practice partnerships, most of which, fortunately, have been constructive. Here I reflect on the benefits and challenges of these experiences and the types of support that higher education institutions must provide to sustain ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall A Dean's Perspective 2021-05-05 text/html en-US A Dean's Perspective 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 21568 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Seeking Questions from the Field: Connecticut Partnership for Early Education Research https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790366 Amain goal of research-practice partnerships is to conduct research, driven by researchers, educators, and policymakers, to seek out new information to improve students' learning. As this issue of the Future of Children illustrates, research-practice partnerships (RPPs) take various approaches to define their mission and establish an agenda to accomplish their goal. This article describes the decision points, processes, benefits, and challenges for establishing a collaborative research agenda, with an emphasis on agendas that are driven by practitioners' interests and concerns. Three main challenges are inherent in this collaborative approach: responding to partners' priorities, partners' readiness for research ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Seeking Questions from the Field: Connecticut Partnership for Early Education Research 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Seeking Questions from the Field: Connecticut Partnership for Early Education Research 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 58678 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Fast-Response Research to Answer Practice and Policy Questions https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790367 Well-executed research-practice partnerships can have many benefits. For the practitioner, partnering with researchers can provide data and analysis to guide important decisions within often-short windows of policy attention; create a narrative of challenges and successes that can bring new district leaders up to speed quickly; and bring in scarce resources and expertise for research. For the researcher, partnering with practitioners can lead to more relevant research questions; access to and buy-in from key groups, such as principals, teachers, and parents; opportunities to assess classroom practice and child development in a way that balances theory and implications for real-world practice; and the ability to ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Fast-Response Research to Answer Practice and Policy Questions 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Fast-Response Research to Answer Practice and Policy Questions 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 113957 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05 Developing Decision-Making Tools through Partnership https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368 In this article, we describe how the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program, a unique research-practice partnership between the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia, Elevate Early Education (an issue-based advocacy group), and the Virginia Department of Education, was developed to answer a key question: how best to assess the readiness skills of incoming Virginia kindergartners. Across the country, departments of education are recognizing the need to understand how children are entering kindergarten and to define the readiness gap between children from low-income backgrounds and their higher-income peers.1 In recent years, many states have established comprehensive ... <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790368">Read More</a> Project MUSE® https://muse.jhu.edu/ 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/286/image/coversmall Developing Decision-Making Tools through Partnership 2021-05-05 text/html en-US Developing Decision-Making Tools through Partnership 2021-05-05 2021 TWO Project MUSE® 79413 2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00 2021-05-05