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Toolkit

Talking About Early Childhood Development

A FrameWorks Communications Toolkit

This toolkit features a compendium of over a decade of research on how Americans think about early childhood, childcare, preschool, and development, and how to increase public support for policies that support the healthy development of children.

Introduction

Welcome to Talking About Early Childhood Development – a toolkit compendium of over a decade of research on how Americans think about early childhood, childcare, preschool, and development, and how to increase public support for policies that support the healthy development of children. Also included are applications materials, based on the research findings, that can help engage the public in understanding early child development, understanding potential policy directions, and supporting solutions to pressing problems. This toolkit was developed by FrameWorks Institute for the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, which focuses on improving the systems and policies that impact very young children and their families. Standard rules governing citation and intellectual property usage apply.

Message Memo

Talking Early Child Development and Exploring the Consequences of Frame Choices

This MessageMemo synthesizes recommendations for how to frame early childhood development.

Find out more

Message Briefs

Frame Testing Recommendations

Framing Early Child Development

This Message Brief offers the most essential considerations when framing early childhood issues.
Frame Testing Recommendations

Talking to Business Leaders About Early Childhood Development

This Message Brief offers advice for talking to business leaders about the importance of early childhood development.
Report

Framing Child Poverty by Telling a Development Story

To build support for ending child poverty, we need a powerful framing strategy. This Message Brief offers guidance from the Core Story of Early Development.

Applications

This section provides a variety of framing tools intended to help advocates apply the framing research on early childhood to your daily practice.

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Toolkit File

Elements of the Core Story (Early Childhood Development)

This tool offers an outline of the “core story to tell,” or the key frame elements for communications that seek to promote early childhood policies.

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Toolkit File

FAQs (Early Childhood Development)

A series of questions that advocates tell us are the most challenging to respond to. Examples of  effectively and less- effectively framed responses to each question are included.

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Toolkit File

Talking Points (Early Childhood Development)

The talking points are intended to be used in preparation for media interviews, editorial board visits, or drafting op-eds as a reminder of the core elements of the child development frame.

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Toolkit File

Sample Editorial (Early Childhood Development)

This is an example of how to apply the framing strategies on early childhood to the format of a guest editorial.

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Toolkit File

Sample Letters to the Editor (Early Childhood Development)

Two sample templates for applying the framing strategies to a Letter to the Editor format.

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Toolkit File

Early Childhood Framing Case Study – Example 1

This document is an organizational case statement, used to describe the organization to potential donors, participants and the larger community. This case study looks at the document before and...

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Toolkit File

Early Childhood Development Framing Case Study – Example 2

This document is designed to promote a county-wide early literacy program. This case study looks at the document before and after implementing reframing recommendations and illustrates the...

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Toolkit File

Early Childhood Development Framing Case Study – Example 3

This annual publication reports on the well-being of a state’s children, using a set of data indicators. This case study looks at the document before and after implementing reframing...

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Toolkit File

Early Childhood Development Framing Case Study – Example 4

This document is a letter to the editor promoting statewide legislation to increase investment in early childhood education programs. This case study looks at the document before and after...

Research

Report

Refining the Core Story of Early Childhood Development: The Effects of Science and Health Frames

To translate the science of early childhood development, we need to draw on the science of communication. This report shares findings from a framing experiment.
Report

Telling the Science Story: An Exploration of Frame Effects on Public Understanding and Support For Early Child Development

This experimental study examines the impact of five key features of the Core Story of Early Childhood Development on public attitudes and policy preferences.
Report

Moving the Public Beyond Familiar Understandings of Early Childhood Development

This study examined public reactions to dozens of terms that are often used to explain important scientific insights into early childhood development.
Report

Simplifying Early Childhood Development: Findings from Cognitive Analysis and Phone Interviews

In the research reported on here, cognitive analysis of this general schema reveals several basic features which stand in the way of child advocates’ messaging.
Report

Hearts Souls and Minds: An Analysis of Qualitative Research Regarding Communicating School Readiness and other Child Development Policies

This analysis is based upon qualitative research, specifically 12 focus groups. Focus groups are open-end, structured conversations among 8-10 people, typically lasting about 2 hours.
Report

Promoting School Readiness and Early Child Development: Findings from Cognitive Elicitations

This report explains findings from research that investigated whether the concept of "school readiness," a frame widely promoted by advocates and experts, can be effective at engaging public...
Issues
Child and Adolescent Development
Countries
United States
Partners
A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, Inc.