Increasing Children's Learning Opportunities: Early Childhood Research Institute

The Early Childhood Research Institute was designed to identify, develop, and evaluate strategies and approaches to promote and enhance the learning and development of young children with or at risk for disabilities. Its focus was on strategies and approaches that increased the number and intensity of home and community learning activities available for use by parents, caregivers, and community members.

Strong emphasis was given to maximizing child learning benefits by incorporating appropriate instructional conditions into multiple learning environments. Primary consideration was given to the cultural contexts of young children's family lives while focusing on:

Identification of the family's home and community life and activities.
The relationship of Individual Family Service Plan/Individual Education Plan objectives, goals, and activities to home and community activity settings.
Instructional practices that support family and community life.
Increasing Children's Learning Opportunities was a five-year National Early Childhood Research Institute funded by the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program, Early Childhood Program for Children with Disabilities. (Grant # HO2560008.) The funding agency was the Orelena Hawks Puckett Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

States participating in the Institute included: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin.

For more information on the Increasing Children's Learning Opportunities: Early Childhood Research Institute project, please contact Mary Beth Bruder

Publications

For publications regarding this project, please contact:

Gabriela Freyre-Calish, M.S.W.
University of Connecticut
Center for Developmental Disabilities
263 Farmington Ave.
Farmington, CT 06030

860.679.1563

freyre@nso2.uchc.edu

Contact

Mary Beth Bruder, Ph.D.
University of Connecticut
Center for Developmental Disabilities
263 Farmington Ave.
Farmington, CT 06030

Phone: 860-679-1500
Fax: 860-679-1571

Email: Bruder@nso1.uchc.edu