Early Childhood Policy, University of California, Irvine
The EC Policy postdoctoral position at UC Irvine is now available to begin in Summer 2025 (reposted for 24-25 job market applicants).
The postdoc would work directly with Jade Jenkins and the project Co-PIs, Tyler Watts (Teachers College; Columbia Univ.) and Ken Dodge (Duke Univ.), on a new project examining whether variations in public pre-k investments by the 50 states across the past two decades are associated with better child health, stronger academic achievement, and key family outcomes. The postdoctoral scholar will lead the assembly of the state-by-year national dataset that integrates pre-k funding levels, pre-k program features, state policies, and child and family outcomes. The scholar would execute analyses and author manuscripts related to early childhood policy.
The project aims are to understand:
(1) whether the beneficial impacts of investments in public pre-k generalize across states and contexts,
(2) whether pre-k investments promote equity in child and family well-being across race, ethnic, and income groups, and
(3) which features of state pre-k programs are associated with differential impacts of state preschool investments.
The scholar would be also be expected to present work at annual consortium meetings and relevant academic conferences, and mentor graduate students on the project. The scholar’s doctoral degree may be any discipline related to child development, public policy, economics, or education, but must have strong skills in quantitative data management and analysis.
We hope to find a scholar who is interested in a career as an independent scientist studying early childhood interventions. Toward that goal, we will support the scholar’s career development, authorship of manuscripts, and growing independence.
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