early childhood education

News

Greater than its sum: an update on the Kohn Collaborative

Aug 28, 2024

Six years ago, Harold and Carol Kohn approached the Ford School with a vision to honor their family. Their goal was to build a vibrant research community dedicated to promoting social equity and inclusion. Today, the Kohn Collaborative for Social...

Publication

Transitional kindergarten programs expand early education access, boost academic gain

Aug 16, 2024

Children enrolled in transitional kindergarten programs in Michigan did better in math and English by the time they reached 3rd grade, with higher test scores than other kids who didn't go through the program, according to a new policy brief from...

Kindergarten teacher with students at a table

News

Stange and Weiland promoted to full professors

May 16, 2024

On May 16, the Regents of the University of Michigan approved promotions for Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland. Stange was promoted to professor of public policy, with tenure, and professor of education. Weiland was promoted to professor of...

Headshots of Kevin Stange and Christina Weiland

Publication

NASEM committee including EPI’s Christina Weiland urges changes to preschool curricula to improve equity and support high-quality early education in the U.S.

Apr 18, 2024

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) lays out a new vision for high-quality preschool curricula that support equitable early education for all children. The report recommends that in the next five...

News

Education research in service of others

Apr 11, 2024

2022 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellow and Education Policy Initiative (EPI) Research Assistant Katie Hyland (MPP ‘24) is set to graduate this spring following the completion of her Master’s in Public Policy. She takes with her two years of...

In the Media

Weiland touts her preschool research findings

Feb 8, 2023 MIT News

Christina Weiland, MIT News: "I am really excited by this work. We’re seeing the really positive long-term effects of attending preschool. A really important question is not only whether preschool works, yes or no, but how, and what kind of...

News

Stevenson explores the consequences of female harassment in economics

Dec 4, 2022

Economist Betsey Stevenson comments on the effects of workplace harassment of women on the field of economics as a whole in a recent article in The Atlantic. Stevenson noted that within the profession of academic economics, “We treat women...

In the Media

Erb-Downward on homeless children and early childhood education

Oct 27, 2022 Detroit Free Press

Jennifer Erb-Downward, Detroit Free Press: “The reach of these early learning programs for children experiencing homelessness is not what we need to see if we actually want to see children truly thriving in their lives and in their education. And...

News

Math games: High 5s program brings the 'math out of play'

Apr 11, 2022

TAYLOR—While groups of first graders work in clusters at pods around the classroom, four children face their teacher at a U-shaped desk, backs straight and eyes alert as she deals cards to each of them. They're playing "Chocolate Chip Count," a...

Photo of young students, each reading a book, seated around a small classroom table

News

Weiland and co-authors break down Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K study

Feb 13, 2022

Responding to a recent study that shows the negative impact of Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K program, Christina Weiland, associate professor of public policy and education, and five other authors penned an article defending early childhood education...

In the Media

Pandemic-response "participatory research" can have a long-term effect - Weiland

Feb 10, 2022 Early Learning Nation

Christina Weiland says that research on Parents' Voices and Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development-Early Childhood (RAPID-EC) represent advances in understanding early childhood education which have emerged during the COVID-19...

News

Weiland and partners to examine Boston Archdiocese early childhood education

Feb 1, 2022

Christina Weiland, faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, will join colleagues from MRDC to "develop an early childhood research agenda for the Archdiocese of Boston." The project, funded by the Lynch Foundation, will help...

Publication

Critical tools in preschool program design maximize investments

Jan 13, 2022

As the Biden administration and early childhood advocates across the country push for universal preschool for all three- and four-year-olds, Christina Weiland, professor of education and public policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of...

Photo of young children and their teachers in a classroom. By Yan Krukov

In the Media

Weiland breaks down Michigan universal pre-k

Jan 6, 2022 Metro Parent

Christina Weiland, co-director of the Education Policy Initiative and associate professor of education and public policy, sat down with Metro Parent to discuss what universal pre-k could mean for Michigan. "Universal pre-K can help take financial...

News

2021: A year of public policy

Dec 16, 2021

The Ford School of Public Policy is a top-ranked public policy school dedicated to preparing diverse leaders to take on society’s most pressing challenges and make transformational discoveries through cutting-edge research. Experts from the Ford...

In the Media

Weiland discusses need for transitional kindergarten research

Oct 26, 2021 The Detroit News

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) recently launched a two-year study to research the impact of transitional kindergarten (TK) on children's readiness for other grades co-led by Christina Weiland and Brian Jacob. Weiland commented about the...

In the Media

‘Build Back Better’ a game changer, says Weiland

Oct 11, 2021 The Globe Post

The Build Back Better Act includes comprehensive early childhood policy that would benefit children, families, and educators, argues Christina Weiland in an opinion in the Globe Post. “Hand-wringing about the bill’s cost obscures the fact that...

News

Musaddiq details driving factors of school enrollment drops

Oct 7, 2021

Ford School postdoctoral fellow Tareena Musaddiq explains findings from a recent Education Policy Initiative working paper about the pandemic's effects on school enrollment and its consequences in The Conversation. Musaddiq writes that the large...

A parent/guardian and two young children in masks walking outdoors (Credit: Shutterstock)

Publication

Michelmore and Pilkauskas find EITC boosts employment, with decreasing impact as children age

Oct 4, 2021

Existing research has largely overlooked the variation in maternal employment effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) depending on the age of their children. In a new study, Katherine Michelmore and Natasha Pilkauskas, both associate...

Natasha Pilkauskas and Katherine Michelmore

In the Media

Weiland details 'game-changer' early childhood measures in reconciliation bill

Oct 4, 2021 The Detroit News

Within the Congressional reconciliation bill, Democrats are hoping to pass a child care plan that would cap costs of child care, implement a national, free pre-school program, and boost child care workers' wages. "We've documented (these...

News

Stevenson urges lawmakers to consider value over price in economic reforms

Sep 23, 2021

Economist Betsey Stevenson is keeping a close eye on the country's economic recovery, and provides insights in a number of news outlets this week. "Recovery in the labor force requires getting people into jobs and then keeping them there,"...

Photo of Betsey Stevenson leading a class

In the Media

Weiland provides context for kindergarten enrollment numbers

Aug 20, 2021 MLive

With the delta variant on the rise, educators are worried about getting kindergartners in the classroom yet again. Christina Weiland, associate professor of education, explained why kindergarten enrollment shrunk last year, and the variant might...

News

Weiland explains hurdles for early childhood education

Aug 13, 2021

As the new school year begins, many early childhood educators are wondering what the year will look like. Christina Weiland, associate professor of education and faculty co-director of the Education Policy Initiative, explained to WXYZ the obstacles...

Publication

Weiland calls for investment in early childhood programs following pandemic

Jul 21, 2021

As the pandemic continues to drag on, those most affected continue to face adversity — including young children. According to a recent opinion piece authored by Christina Weiland, associate professor of education and faculty co-director of the...

News

Education Policy Initiative's report gains more traction

Jul 6, 2021

The Education Policy Initiative's recent report, "Historic Crisis, Historic Opportunity: Using Evidence to Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis on Young Children and Early care and Education Programs," has gained more traction in the media,...

News

Weiland and colleagues discuss findings of pre-existing inequalities, increased stress within early childhood education

Jun 22, 2021

The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) along with the Urban Institute and other early childhood experts, recently dug into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood development. Their report, "Historic Crisis, Historic Opportunity:...

News

New policy brief reviews evidence of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on young children's learning and ECE programs, highlighting inequities, and points to solutions

Jun 18, 2021

How has COVID-19 impacted young children's educational experiences and learning outcomes? How has the pandemic impacted early childhood education (ECE) programs and the ECE workforce? A new report from the Education Policy Initiative (EPI) at the...

State & Hill

Building strength

Jun 10, 2021

With new leading-edge research and faces at the school, the Ford School builds depth in two key policy areas. Energy and the environment Economics, political science, psychology, and community engagement are at the roots of the Ford School’s...

Publication

New EPI report provides snapshot of pandemic challenges for early childhood education providers

Mar 29, 2021

Even in a steady-funded “best case” scenario, teacher turnover, decreases in enrollment, and new safety protocols strain resources and stall quality improvements. Early childhood education (ECE) centers across the country are facing unprecedented...

News

Meet our new faculty: Christina Weiland

Aug 17, 2020

Christina Weiland, is well-known in the Ford School community, as she has been co-leading the University of Michigan’s Predoctoral Training and Postdoctoral Training Programs in Causal Inference in Education Policy Research and the Education Policy...