Promoting content-enriched alignment across the early grades: A study of policies & practices in the Boston Public Schools

Publication date: Available online 7 September 2019Source: Early Childhood Research QuarterlyAuthor(s): Meghan P. McCormick, Christina Weiland, JoAnn Hsueh, Michelle Maier, Rama Hagos, Catherine Snow, Nicole Leacock, Laura SchickAbstractAs states and districts expand access to publicly funded PreK programs, researchers and policymakers have been grappling with experimental evidence demonstrating that the benefits of PreK on academic skills are not likely to last into early elementary school. A leading hypothesis to explain this phenomenon is that PreK and the elementary grades are not aligned with respect to content and mode of instruction. The Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood has begun to implement an aligned curriculum and professional development model called Focus on Early Learning to address this issue. The current study describes the components of this aligned model, identifies the facilitators and barriers to implementation, and examines the extent to which the model has been implemented to date. Findings demonstrate that a critical component of Focus on Early Learning is a combination of aligned structures and rich instructional content. A number of structural and process factors have facilitated implementation, but the district has also faced barriers, including funding and the challenge of creating a culture that supports alignment. Although survey and observational data suggest that PreK and kindergarten teachers are implementing the curriculum a...
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - Category: Child Development Source Type: research