Educare National Evaluation Partner

Building Equitable Research and Evaluation Practices in the Educare Learning Network

Historically, educational research has been conducted through a white-centric lens without critical analysis of how researchers uphold power dynamics, failing to address how racism operates. This article describes a community of practice (CoP) that infuses anti-racism methods into the evaluation practices of Educare. The project used mixed methods to examine how CoP activities influenced knowledge and beliefs about race and racism, thoughts on schools, students, and race, and research practices at two time points. There was an increased number of anti-racism practices used, and qualitative responses described changes.

Teacher Turnover and Children’s Social-Emotional Skills

Within-year teacher turnover was related to social-emotional, but not language, skills in this post-COVID-19 study.  Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in classrooms that experienced turnover showed smaller social–emotional gains, especially infants and toddlers. However, among preschoolers, turnover was not associated with increases in problem behaviors.

Is Starting Earlier Better? A Propensity Score Analysis of Toddler-Year Impacts for English Only and Spanish-Speaking Dual Language Learners

Educare children who started as toddlers, rather than waiting until preschool, showed lasting advantages in English language development without boosting behavior problems. These results highlight the added value of early entry into high‑quality ECE programs.