The years of early childhood, transcending birth to eight years, represent a critically important period of the human lifespan. Policies and practices directed toward the early childhood years, such as the expansion of preschool programs and implementation of home-visiting programs, must be grounded in the current best scientific evidence to achieve their full potential and to equitably support all young children and their families and caregivers.
The Big Ten Early Learning Alliance brings together early childhood experts at the nation’s Big Ten universities to advance this mission. The Alliance originally represented 14 universities across 11 states in the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions, and with expansion of the Big Ten in the summer of 2024, the Alliance is in the process of adding members at four universities in three West Coast states. The Alliance, which is a faculty community of interest within the Big Ten Academic Alliance, offers a unique and diverse perspective on contemporary early childhood policies and practices by convening scholars with expertise in educational psychology, teacher preparation, special education, early education policy and more to achieve two goals:
Explore this website to learn more about the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance. By clicking on the “Who We Are” link in the top menu bar, you will get to know our Co-Chairs and Steering Committee, which comprise representatives from the Big Ten universities. You can find copies of our research briefs, and links to videos from our online panel discussions, by clicking on “Our Work” in the top menu bar. Clicking on “Our Expertise” will take you to a page which contains a searchable bibliography highlighting recent scholarly publications by our members.
The work of the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance has been generously supported by American Family Insurance.
Thank you for your interest in the Big Ten Early Learning Alliance, and in our commitment in bringing attention to scientific discoveries in early childhood development in order to improve the lives of future generations.
American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation believes that equity in education — including early education and care — can be a pivotal lever to break cycles of generational poverty for students and their families. Early education and care are leading priorities in our Equity in Education investment strategy. We invest in equity-centered innovation focused on a strong and diverse educator pipeline, research and coalition-building, direct family and community services, and business/funder roundtables.
