Students thrive when they feel safe enough to wonder.

Early childhood teachers can use these strategies and questions to unobtrusively guide students to develop metacognition.

Explore how the balance of stress and resilience shapes children’s health and development, as well as strategies to support adaptive stress responses.

Liusik: What begins as a participation gap becomes an opportunity gap, and over time the system names what it helped create.

California expanded its transitional kindergarten (TK) program to all four-year-olds this fall—making it one of the largest programs in the nation. What is transitional kindergarten, and what does it look like in California? Find out in our latest video featuring expert insights from PPIC’s Laura Hill.

Toolkit / Jun 23, 2025 Place Matters: Four Strategies to Connect Place with Early Childhood Development DOWNLOAD Place Matters: Four Strategies to Connect Place with Early Childhood Development DOWNLOAD Strategies to Support Child Growth Promote Place Fairness Highlight location-based inequities...

During the past decade, California has made historic investments in early childhood that span income supports, health care coverage, early learning, and family well-being. Yet 3 years of research listening to parents show that families with young children continue to face severe, interconnected economic hardships, with rising costs for housing, child care, health care, and basic needs outpacing available supports. The authors recommend three strategies to support families: simplify governance and shared accountability across the 0–5 ECE system; expand investments for children ages 0–3, where

Preschool teachers can set up opportunities for sensory play to promote calm in young learners and support feelings of safety.

The report is the first release from the 2025 California Early Care and Education Workforce Study, an extensive survey of 10,000 early educators conducted by th

Teachers can focus on promoting a sense of emotional safety to help students develop self-regulation and resilience.

Play can help children become fluent in the language of the nervous system, learning what their bodies and brains need in times of distress and dysregulation.

Explore the Pedagogy of Early Learning: A State of the Field Research Brief —a new resource connecting research, practice, and actionable strategies and recommendations to strengthen teaching and learning from preschool through Grade 3.

NIEER conducts academic research to inform policy supporting high-quality, early education for all young children.

California is making progress in expanding access to publicly-funded early childhood education, with 62% of 4-year-olds enrolled in 2024–25, up from 42% in 2019–20.

Researcher Michael Little says principals should receive specific training and support for leading pre-K programs at public schools.

Children need access to “rich content and playful educational experiences that build their foundational skills.”

UC Berkeley Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood (E3C) is a public impact alliance uniting researchers, educators, and public-sector changemakers to understand what’s working, reimagine what’s possible, and co-create solutions that deliver lasting impact for children, families, and communities.

This report examines the working conditions and teaching experiences of TK teachers during the first year of expansion in 2023. It builds on our 2020 report, wh

California's implementation of universal prekindergarten sets 4-year-olds on the right track for success. Sustained funding is crucial for quality and workforce.

California education officials are working to find the best way to identify 4-year-olds who need extra help learning English. The state superintendent has until March 31 to approve new screening tools.

Teachers who have incorporated guided play into their lessons say they've seen students thrive.