Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child on May 4, 2016 released a report, From Best Practices To Breakthrough Impacts, that calls for a new era of research & development (R&D) in early childhood policy and practice in order to dramatically improve outcomes for young children and families—especially those dealing with serious adversity.
“There are 50 years of research showing that quality early childhood experiences and interventions do improve life outcomes,” Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said in a statement.
“But today’s best practices should be seen as an important starting point, not the final destination. Dramatic advances in the science of early childhood and brain development are just waiting to be used to fuel new ideas that can help us solve some of our most complex challenges.”
Read the full report: From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts: A Science-Based Approach to Building a More Promising Future for Young Children and Families
Read a May 4, 2016 article in The Atlantic about the report: Bringing Brain Science to Early Childhood