A group from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) visited ICD this month to hear from our early childhood experts. They met with faculty and students at Campbell Hall, toured the Child Development Laboratory School (CDLS) and heard from researchers at the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED).
The tour was an Early Child pre-conference opportunity for attendees of NCSL’s Education Chairperson Retreat, which was held on campus the first week of October. Legislators from Alaska, New Hampshire, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as policy analysts from New Mexico and NCSL participated in conversations about the intersections of developmental psychology research and early childhood policy.
ICD faculty Megan Gunnar, Arthur Reynolds, and Dan Berry presented to the group on foundations of child development research, as well as recent studies with policy implications. A group of ICD graduate and undergraduate students attended a lunch with the legislators to share more about their research interests and work in various ICD labs.
An important topic for the legislators was cultivating high-quality early childhood educators, especially given concerns about teacher shortages nationwide. ICD Teaching Specialist Ann Ruhl Carlson provided insight into teacher education in Minnesota, including ICD’s unique approach that grounds future early childhood educators in child development. The NCSL group was able to see ICD student teachers in action during their visit to the CDLS.
In addition to the tours, CEED Director Ann Bailey and Research Associate Alyssa Meuwissen presented to NCSL retreat attendees later in the week on issues surrounding the early childhood workforce. They emphasized the challenges that early care and education programs (e.g., child care, Head Start, early childhood special education, etc.) have attracting and retaining staff, a problem that has worsened since the pandemic. They also shared promising practices for improving recruitment, retention, and quality in early care and education.
