Consortium on Early Childhood Collaborators

In collaboration with the University of Chicago and project directors of key longitudinal studies (e.g., the High Scope Perry Preschool Study, the Chicago Longitudinal Study, the Nurse Family Partnership), the Consortium on Early Childhood Development was formed to assess unanswered and policy-relevant questions. As a major collaborator in this group, the HCRC is conducting joint projects assessing the causal mechanisms of effects, identifying principles of effective intervention, and identifying early cognitive and non-cognitive predictors of adult well-being.

We are currently conducting research examining data from three longitudinal studies of early childhood education: High Scope Perry Preschool Project, Carolina Abecedarian Project, and Chicago Longitudinal Project. The focus of the current study is examining intermediate factors (cognitive advantage, family support, motivational advantage, social adjustment, and school support) that account for increases in educational attainment in early adulthood for children who attended preschool compared to those who did not. Similar analyses are currently being conducted for other adult outcomes, including substance use, health behaviors, economic well-being, and depression