Sharon L Kagan
· Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy and Co-Director of the National Center for Children and FamiliesColumbia University · Curriculum & Teaching
Active 1979–2025
About
Sharon L. Kagan is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also serves as Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families. Her scholarly interests focus on the application of child and parent development research to the formation and implementation of public policies, as well as examining the impact of institutions on the development of low-income children. Kagan's educational background includes a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College. Throughout her career, Kagan has contributed extensively to the field of early childhood education and policy through her research, publications, and leadership roles. She has edited numerous influential volumes on early childhood systems, governance, and reform, and her work emphasizes building effective systems that support young children, families, and educators. Her research and writings address critical issues such as early childhood governance, systemic reform, and the development of high-quality, equitable early childhood services, making her a prominent figure in shaping early childhood policy and practice.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Nursing
- Medical education
- Medicine
- Economic growth
- Geography
Selected publications
Cytotherapy · 2025-04-30
articleCytotherapy · 2025-04-30 · 1 citations
articleLinking play to early learning and development guidelines : possibility or polemic?
Zero to three · 2024-01-01 · 2 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingCytotherapy · 2023-05-01
articleReaching for consensus about preschool curricula
Phi Delta Kappan · 2022-09-26 · 6 citations
articleSenior authorThe need for equitable access to high-quality preschool has recently gained unprecedented attention. As states and districts strive to expand access while promoting quality, curriculum quality has emerged as a critical component of preschool programs that promote young children’s learning. Yet many educators make curricular decisions with insufficient guidance on what constitutes curricular quality. Indeed, deep divisions in the field are evident regarding how to define quality in preschool curricula. Jeanne L. Reid and Sharon Lynn Kagan explore the areas of consensus and disagreement among early education leaders. They argue that — using guidance from a study at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and drawing from international models of curriculum frameworks — the field can move toward consensus on what constitutes a high-quality curriculum and thus help to fulfill the promise of equitable access to high-quality preschool.
Toward Quality Early Learning: Systems for Success
The World Bank eBooks · 2022-05-11 · 3 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingPresents a systems approach to implementing early learning services that fosters their quality, equitable distribution, scalability, and efficiency. No matter how effective specific curricula and pedagogy, particular learning environments, or even individual educators and leaders prove, they remain insufficient to fully advance early learning. Early learning sits at the vortex of a diverse array of existing programs, institutions, and systems, each laden with unique and highly influential histories, regulations, workforces, financing mechanisms, governance approaches, and data and accountability requirements. To successfully implement and scale early learning services requires understanding of how these institutions and systems function and interact, which leads to an examination of systems thinking, composition, and infrastructure. Early learning can prove an effective bridge for linking the often-disparate early childhood and education systems, but attention to these systems and the infrastructure that supports them remains crucial for sustaining effective early learning efforts and for realizing returns on fiscal and human investments in young children.
Child Development · 2021 · 27 citations
- Psychology
- Economic growth
- Developmental psychology
National-level monitoring of quality of early childhood education (ECE) is key to achieving inclusive and equitable education. Most countries report structural quality while process characteristics are rarely observed at the national level. This study examined the associations between ECE and children's development in a middle-income country using data from a nationally representative sample of public centers serving Colombian children (N = 3163; M = 4.3 years, 50% girls; 42% Mestizo, 16% White, 15% Afro-Colombian, 4% Indigenous, 23% not reported). Descriptive findings evidenced low to moderate quality. Multilevel models showed several positive associations between structural and process quality and child outcomes. Results have implications for the existing literature and highlight the feasibility of quality monitoring in low- and middle-income countries.
Systems Science and Its Impact on Early Childhood Education and Care
2020-04-23
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingThis chapter focuses on the evolution of systems science and its connection to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). It acknowledges that systems science was extruded at a time when technological advances were rapidly expanding human capabilities and the scope of knowledge available. It also suggests that, like many other sciences, its intellectual corpus evolved over time and was modified by changing contextual needs and opportunities. Systems science and its allied theories represent evolutions in thinking, which are sure to unfold beyond their present formulations. Yet, for those concerned about the status of early childhood education, systems thinking has proved to be a useful rubric within which to better understand and advance the practice of ECEC. Having noted a disconnect between systems science theories and on-the-ground ECEC systems work, there have nonetheless been conceptual and theoretic advances that have indeed impacted ECEC systems work.
Children and Youth Services Review · 2020 · 7 citations
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Nursing
Teachers College Press eBooks · 2019-04-12 · 4 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Frequent coauthors
- 42 shared
María Caridad Araujo
- 38 shared
Martín Ardanaz
- 38 shared
Florencia López Boo
Inter-American Development Bank
- 38 shared
Jere R. Behrman
- 38 shared
Julián Cristia
- 38 shared
Luca Flabbi
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 38 shared
Norbert Schady
- 38 shared
Diana Hincapié
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