Our workshops, seminars and key events help researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and families enhance their skills to support young children by:
- Offering valuable early childhood professional development experiences;
- Providing opportunities for the university and greater community to learn about topics related to children’s learning and development;
- Bringing renowned speakers and experts together to discuss matters related to children’s well-being.
These monthly, Wednesday forums provide opportunities for the university and greater community to learn about topics related to children’s well-being. The forum showcases research from Ohio State faculty across disciplines and encourages community dialogue as it relates to research, practice and policy. Held in the College Commons, 260 Ramseyer Hall, 29 W. Woodruff Avenue from 12:00–1:00pm, these free events provide lunch and are open to all!
November 6, 2019
It’s not that they’re big, it’s just that they’re Black: Understanding narratives regarding suspension and expulsion for Black boys
Dr. Scott Graves, Jr., Associate Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Educational Studies
Dr. Graves earned his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Kentucky. His interests can be broadly categorized as understanding protective factors that lead to appropriate development in early childhood. His research agenda is focused on identifying strengths in African American children that lead to positive social-emotional and academic outcomes. He is the former Chair of the American Psychological Associations (APA) Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA).
October 2, 2019
What we can learn from Europe and Japan about the potential effects of a universal national high-quality preschool program on child outcomes in the US?
Dr. David Blau, Professor, Emeritus Faculty in the Department of Economics
Dr. Blau’s presentation reviewed recent evidence on effects of high-quality universal preschool on child and subsequent adult outcomes in eight studies of six countries: Italy, Germany, Norway, Spain, Denmark, and Japan. Most of these studies are recently published in scholarly economics journals; results have not yet been widely disseminated to non-economists. While these studies involve different settings than the US, the results are informative because of stronger research designs. Dr. Blau argued that this is an important issue because of widespread perception that the child care system in the US is broken: lack of access, affordability, and quality. This discussion was timely as this is a topic of policy proposals from democratic presidential candidates in the US.
September 4, 2019
The Long-Term Benefits of Early Childhood Education
Dr. Arya Ansari, Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Sciences, Faculty Associate at the Crane Center
Crane’s September 2019 research forum hosted Dr. Arya Ansari, Assistant Professor, Human Sciences. Crane Center Research Forums are held monthly throughout the university calendar year, and feature researchers from across the university who share their research and its impact on children and families. Dr. Ansari spoke to attendees about the long term effects of early childhood education. He explored the following research questions:
- Are there academic and psychosocial benefits of early childhood education for children as they transition to middle childhood and adolescence?
- Is there convergence between early childhood education graduates and non-participants, and if so, when and why does it occur?
- Are there any of the long term academic benefits of early childhood education mediated by earlier program benefits?
Dr. Ansari left the audience with a few key take-home messages. First, there is a larger gap in children’s early learning. Second, early education can be an effective remedy for inequality, but there is inequity in access. Third, to boost the long-term efficacy of early education, we need understand what happens next (in elementary school).
March 6, 2019
Testing strategies to increase caregiver-child reading in the home: An implementation-science approach
Dr. Laura Justice, Executive Director, Crane Center for Early Childhood Research & Policy and Schoenbaum Family Center, EHE Distinguished Professor, Educational Psychology
2019 Spring Distinguished Speaker Roberta Golinkoff
Watch the May 2nd presentation, The Magic and Mystery of Language in the First Three Years of Life.
Follow through the presentation with downloadable slides.
Dr. Golinkoff is the Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware. She founded and directs the Child’s Play, Learning, and Development laboratory whose goal it is to understand how children tackle the amazing feat of learning language and much else about their world. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the LEGO Foundation. In addition to over 150 journal publications and book chapters, she has authored 16 books and monographs. She and Hirsh-Pasek (her long standing collaborator) also write books for parents and practitioners including, How Babies Talk, the award-winning Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool, and Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, a New York Times best seller.
