Effective Preschool Curricula and Teaching Strategies

This issue brief, based on a meeting of a group of distinguished researchers, educators, and policymakers convened by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) explores lessons from research and practice about the role of an intentional curriculum and professional development and supports for teachers in closing the achievement gap for low-income preschool age children. The aim is to take stock of emerging knowledge about how to increase low-income children’s achievement in early literacy and early math and to explore the implications for how administrators and policymakers can best integrate this knowledge into their decision-making.

A special focus on curriculum and teaching strategies in preschool programs is important for two reasons. First, many low-income children in early learning settings fall behind early and remain very much behind their peers in reading and math. Second, we are learning that closing the achievement gap depends greatly on providing teachers with the professional development and supports that can help them more effectively promote early literacy and early math in the context of nurturing and emotionally supportive classrooms.