Basis in Theory and Research

The educators who develop curricula for young children are informed and influenced by ongoing research that continually refines our understanding of how children learn. Thousands of researchers from around the world, coming from a variety of perspectives, have contributed to our body of knowledge on early childhood. However, they often differ in their interpretation of data and conclusions and in the questions that drive their inquiries. The nature of such questions, some general and others very specific, has changed over time, largely in response to societal priorities.

For the first half of the twentieth century, primarily by observing children at play, researchers focused on finding out how children learn and grow (Barbour, 2003; Goffin & Wilson, 2001). During the 1960s, federal funding for the fledgling Head Start program, spurred by a government commitment to equal opportunity for all children, produced efforts to identify a “best model” for academic achievement. When that proved difficult, researchers began to try to tease out the benefits of a particular curriculum from the benefits of early childhood education overall (Goffin & Wilson, 2001). After 2001, the No Child Left Behind legislation and increasing demands for accountability spurred research that helped connect curricular elements to specific desired outcomes.

Today, researchers examine early childhood education in broader contextual terms than they did in the past, partly as a result of the changing demographics of our population (Cohn & Caumont, 2016; Goffin & Wilson, 2001). Recent economic conditions have led to reduced funding for many government programs, including those tied to early childhood education. Such conditions have encouraged bureaucrats to reassess the value of early childhood programs as long-term investments. Some large-scale national studies have also been supplemented by research funded and targeted at increasingly local levels. Written summaries and testimonials of research are often used to support the effectiveness of specific curriculum products.

Let’s look at a selection of research efforts, from laboratory schools to various longitudinal studies, which are considered to have had a significant impact on curriculum development.