Our Priorities

When the Institute was founded, the research literature of the day demonstrated that we knew far more about the impact of the first eight years of life on children’s social, intellectual, and emotional development than we had ever known in the past. Nonetheless, there was clearly a disconnect between what we knew and our ability as a society to translate this research into practice and reduce or eliminate income- and race-based opportunity and achievement gaps among children birth–Grade 3. Researchers described how failures of understanding, will, effort, and imagination were at the root of these persistent gaps, and some proposed methodologies for correcting them—ranging from long-term studies of systematic preschool intervention to quickly debunked myths about the teaching profession.2

Some researchers also emphasized the importance of increasing supports for the early childhood workforce, recognizing that well-prepared and -supported early childhood professionals are indispensable for providing quality early care and education.3

At the Institute, our intention was to apply these research findings to problems of policy and practice in Nebraska—in collaboration with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders across the university and the state—and to communicate findings widely in order to transform early care and education in Nebraska and beyond. Drawing from the research, we began a careful process of determining how to reduce or eliminate the barriers facing children and families living in poverty, with disabilities, or facing bias and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or other characteristics. We identified three crucial constructs we consider essential to effective early care and education—quality, continuity, and equity—and established two signature programs that form the core of our work: Closing the Opportunity Gap and Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce.

Quality, Continuity, and Equity in Early Childhood

Quality refers to experiences of children, families, and educators that produce developmentally and educationally meaningful outcomes for children. It is based on warm, one-to-one, language-rich, cognitively challenging, socially engaging, and culturally responsive interactions between children and caring adults.

This understanding of quality reflects a commitment that all practices used with children, families, and educators will seek to produce meaningful outcomes. The practices that lead to these outcomes must be research-based and open to continuous improvement. Our intention is to enhance the impact of programs and instruction for young children by improving the skills, pedagogy, and support of teachers and practitioners across the early childhood continuum and by refining and enriching the way teachers and caregivers interact with children and families.4,5

Continuity involves creating opportunities for children to experience a related set of learning and educational experiences from birth through Grade 3. What is learned at one age or grade level builds upon the learning that came before, even though that learning may appear qualitatively or quantitatively different from one age, grade, or setting to another. Continuity includes families as key participants and partners with school and community-based services.6,7

Continuity in programs and classrooms is grounded in a shared understanding of child development and a critical recognition of progression and transition in early learning. Skills acquired early on lead to achievements demonstrated later in life. Teachers, caregivers, and family members are the purveyors of this kind of progress. Continuity is only possible when expectations about pedagogical knowledge and adult-child relationships are shared across ages and settings of early learning. Ensuring continuity across early care and education settings requires a wide range of occupational supports, such as professional recognition and parity in compensation, that reflect the complexity of the work carried out by each early childhood professional, regardless of setting or age of the children in care. Meaningful connections between families, schools, and community-based services are also essential for establishing continuity in children’s learning and providing opportunities for ongoing family and community engagement.

Equity involves promoting the development of all children by addressing disparities in learning opportunities, family supports, and child outcomes. Equitable teaching and learning reduces or eliminates the predictability of who succeeds and who fails by making systemic changes in how children are cared for, taught, and treated.

Achieving equity requires prioritizing policies and practices that effectively reduce or eliminate the root causes of institutionalized racism, classism, sexism, and other types of prejudice and bias through fundamental systemic changes in how children are taught, treated, and cared for and how families and communities are perceived. This outlook applies to the classroom as well as to the preparation of, support for, and demographics of the teachers who interact with children and families. In our view, equity is essential for achieving both quality and continuity. It is crucial in our work as well as in our day-to-day interactions with our own colleagues at the Institute and the university.7–10