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Publications and Presentations

Coming in late Fall 2011. Contact Lisa Hood at lhood@ilstu.edu if you would like to receive a copy of publications related to this study.

Study of Effective Practices in Building a Learning Continuum

Purpose

As a result of our work with the LINC project, we have discovered several collaborations and partnerships engaged in building a P-12 learning continuum. Recognizing this, this proposal includes funding for a national study on birth-12 learning collaborations to identify effective policies and practices that enable stakeholders to align the early learning and K-12 systems. In particular, we are studying this P-12 work at the state, provincial, and county level to describe the effective policies and practices stakeholders are using to create a comprehensive learning continuum system in their state/province/county. The findings of this study will be shared with members in the early learning and K-12 communities, as well as state and local policymakers, to help shape local and state practices that better align our education sectors.

Goals

• Identify and describe effective policies and practices in creating a state/provincial, county system of aligned P-12 programs and schools,
• Define the role of leaders in facilitating and sustaining the alignment (includes leaders in K-12 education and early learning programs, as well as some community organizations), and
• Describe the challenges to creating and fostering an aligned P-12 system, and identify the policies and practices leaders at all levels of the P-12 continuum used to overcome them to develop a set of policy and practice recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.

Research Questions

1. What is the context and nature of the P-12 alignment work?
2. How are early learning program directors/coordinators and elementary school principals facilitating and sustaining the alignment of a P-12 learning continuum? What practices are they engaging in to facilitate and sustain the alignment?
3. What are the most current issues and barriers to creating a seamless learning continuum?
4. What actions do practitioners recommend that would facilitate their efforts to develop and sustain a P-12 learning continuum?

**Reports on the findings will be published here in late Fall 2011.