Applying Implementation Science in Early Childhood Programs and Systems

Authors: Tamara Halle, Ph.D., Allison Metz, Ph.D., Ivelisse Martinez-Beck, Ph.D.

With this important volume, early childhood programs will use the fundamental principles of implementation science to apply, sustain, and scale up effective practices in early care and education.


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Improving outcomes for young children and their families may start with choosing evidence-based curricula, interventions, and practices—but it doesn't end there. To ensure sustained changes to early childhood programs and systems, interventions must be implemented effectively and consistently over time, which isn't an easy or straightforward task. This important book is the first research volume on applying implementation science—an evidence-based framework for bridging the research-to-practice gap—to early childhood programs and systems.

With contributions from 25+ early childhood researchers, this essential reference will help ensure that interventions are not only implemented effectively, but also scaled up and sustained so they help as many children as possible. Administrators, researchers, and policymakers will

examine how the growing field of implementation science can help close the research-to-practice gap in early childhood
discover the core components needed to implement and sustain change in programs and systems
explore through specific examples how to build practitioner competency and promote high-fidelity implementation of early childhood innovations
get in-depth guidance on replicating and scaling up programs at the district and state level
learn from a helpful five-step model for assessing the fidelity of interventions
understand how to create readiness for change and why it's so important
see how implementation science can inform the process of systems change for early childhood professional development systems and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS)

More than a how-to guide to effective implementation and scale-up, this volume also addresses the theoretical foundation of the stages of implementation science at all levels of early childhood systems and considers research, practice, and policy implications.

A foundational volume on the fundamentals of implementation science, this book will help improve long-term outcomes for all young children. Early childhood programs will learn how to replicate and sustain best practices, researchers will be ready to conduct more informed program evaluations, and policymakers will discover what it really takes to have effective, sustainable programs and systems.

Reviews

Laura Johns, Director, Quality Initiatives, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning March 8, 2013
"Bringing a large QRIS initiative to scale requires ongoing validation at various points of the implementation/intervention process. Halle, Martinez-Beck and Metz provide a valuable road map on how a state system can responsibly utilize diminishing resources to create an effective evidence-based QRIS."

Dean Fixen, Senior Scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute; Co-Director, National Implementation Research Network, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill March 7, 2013
"A pleasure to read from cover to cover . . . the first book to purposefully apply what is known about implementation science to a particular field. For anyone interested in improving early care and education outcomes, this book will provide guidance for years to come."

Karen Blase, Senior Scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill March 4, 2013
"Bringing the 'what' of early childhood evidence together with the 'how' of implementation, this book offers readers a deep, rich, and practical review of what's necessary to achieve socially significant outcomes and sustainable services."

Volume Editors: Tamara Halle Ph.D., Allison Metz Ph.D., Ivelisse Martinez-Beck Ph.D.

Curriculum for Administrators

Graduate (GEE540)

Implementation and Evaluation of Curriculum
Graduate (EDCI6230)

Leadership, Advocacy, and Administration in Early Childhood
Graduate (EDB522)