Skip to main content
Early Childhood Center

The mission of the Early Childhood Center is to advance early education practices that welcome, include, and bring about successful school readiness practices for all children. To implement our mission, we work to link research and practice in advancing the field of early education by providing leadership and assistance to agencies, organizations, and communities serving all young children (birth through five years), including children with disabilities, and their families.

Visit our site often, as we continue to add information. And, if you are seeking information that you haven't found here in our site, please contact us at eccenter@indiana.edu.

What We're Saying

Michael Conn-Powers

Center Director

contact Michael

Quick Links

New briefs based on our study, Assessing Indiana's Early Education Classrooms

We have completed our final report and three briefs from our research investigating the quality of Indiana's early education efforts. You can find the report, briefs, and a series of tip sheets by clicking the Assessing Early Education in Indiana tab in our left menu bar.

ECC staff presented at the 2013 Indiana Early Childhood Conference

The 2013 Indiana Early Childhood Conference, sponsored by the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children, will take place in Indianapolis April 11-13. We will be there on April 12 and 13, conducting presentations and sponsoring an informational booth in the exhibit area. Our presentations will include:
  • Meaningful Language, Purposeful Literacy, Ready Children, Sue Dixon, Friday, April 12 @ 8:00 am
  • Top Teachers Plan Lessons Based on Objectives, Alice Cross, Friday, April 12 @ 11:15 am
  • Examining the Quality of Indiana’s Child Care and Early Education Classrooms, Michael Conn-Powers, Saturday, April 13 @ 8:00 am
If you would like copies of our handouts, let us know.

New Policy Brief from the Early Childhood Center and CEEP: Hoosier children will play "catch up to close achievement gaps" without action on Pre-K

We've recently completed a brief in partnership with the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy. This new policy brief builds a strong case for Indiana to act now on providing prekindergarten programs.  "Is Indiana Ready for State-Funded Pre-K Programs? Revisited" assesses the need for pre-k and makes recommendations for structuring the program to ensure quality. Indiana is one of only eleven states that do not have state-funded prekindergarten programs.

The authors write "The research is compelling that high-quality prekindergarten programs are a sound investment that generates revenue and tax-savings that far exceed the program costs. Hoosier children will be playing catch-up to close achievement gaps with peers from across the nation if Indiana continues to fail to act in this area."  A one-page Fast Facts concerning the brief is also available from CEEP.

Michael Conn-Powers,  WFIU's Noon Edition panelist, discussing prekindergarten in Indiana

Michael Conn-Powers was a panelist participant on the recent local radio show, Noon Edition. The topic was prekindergarten in Indiana. If you are interested in hearing the show, go to this link:  Noon Edition: Pre-K Education