how to write a case study in early childhood education

Early Childhood Education: How to do a Child Case Study-Best Practice

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Description of Assignment

During your time at Manor, you will need to conduct a child case study. To do well, you will need to plan ahead and keep a schedule for observing the child. A case study at Manor typically includes the following components: 

• Three observations of the child: one qualitative, one quantitative, and one of your choice. 
• Three artifact collections and review: one qualitative, one quantitative, and one of your choice. 
• A Narrative

Within this tab, we will discuss how to complete all portions of the case study.  A copy of the rubric for the assignment is attached. 

• Case Study Rubric (Online)
• Case Study Rubric (Hybrid/F2F)

Qualitative and Quantitative Observation Tips

Remember your observation notes should provide the following detailed information about the child:

• child’s age,
• physical appearance,
• the setting, and
• any other important background information.

You should observe the child a minimum of 5 hours. Make sure you DO NOT use the child's real name in your observations. Always use a pseudo name for course assignments. 

You will use your observations to help write your narrative. When submitting your observations for the course please make sure they are typed so that they are legible for your instructor. This will help them provide feedback to you. 

Qualitative Observations

A qualitative observation is one in which you simply write down what you see using the anecdotal note format listed below. 

Quantitative Observations

A quantitative observation is one in which you will use some type of checklist to assess a child's skills. This can be a checklist that you create and/or one that you find on the web. A great choice of a checklist would be an Ounce Assessment and/or work sampling assessment depending on the age of the child. Below you will find some resources on finding checklists for this portion of the case study. If you are interested in using Ounce or Work Sampling, please see your program director for a copy. 

Remaining Objective 

For both qualitative and quantitative observations, you will only write down what your see and hear. Do not interpret your observation notes. Remain objective versus being subjective.

An example of an objective statement would be the following: "Johnny stacked three blocks vertically on top of a classroom table." or "When prompted by his teacher Johnny wrote his name but omitted the two N's in his name." 

An example of a subjective statement would be the following: "Johnny is happy because he was able to play with the block." or "Johnny omitted the two N's in his name on purpose." 

• Anecdotal Notes Form Form to use to record your observations.
• Guidelines for Writing Your Observations
• Tips for Writing Objective Observations
• Objective vs. Subjective

Qualitative and Quantitative Artifact Collection and Review Tips

For this section, you will collect artifacts from and/or on the child during the time you observe the child. Here is a list of the different types of artifacts you might collect: 

Potential Qualitative Artifacts 

• Photos of a child completing a task, during free play, and/or outdoors. 
• Samples of Artwork 
• Samples of writing 
• Products of child-led activities 

Potential Quantitative Artifacts 

• Checklist 
• Rating Scales
• Product Teacher-led activities 

Examples of Components of the Case Study

Here you will find a number of examples of components of the Case Study. Please use them as a guide as best practice for completing your Case Study assignment. 

• Qualitatitive Example 1
• Qualitatitive Example 2
• Quantitative Photo 1
• Qualitatitive Photo 1
• Quantitative Observation Example 1
• Artifact Photo 1
• Artifact Photo 2
• Artifact Photo 3
• Artifact Photo 4
• Artifact Sample Write-Up
• Case Study Narrative Example Although we do not expect you to have this many pages for your case study, pay close attention to how this case study is organized and written. The is an example of best practice.

Narrative Tips

The Narrative portion of your case study assignment should be written in APA style, double-spaced, and follow the format below:

• Introduction : Background information about the child (if any is known), setting, age, physical appearance, and other relevant details. There should be an overall feel for what this child and his/her family is like. Remember that the child’s neighborhood, school, community, etc all play a role in development, so make sure you accurately and fully describe this setting! --- 1 page
• Observations of Development :   The main body of your observations coupled with course material supporting whether or not the observed behavior was typical of the child’s age or not. Report behaviors and statements from both the child observation and from the parent/guardian interview— 1.5  pages
• Comment on Development: This is the portion of the paper where your professional analysis of your observations are shared. Based on your evidence, what can you generally state regarding the cognitive, social and emotional, and physical development of this child? Include both information from your observations and from your interview— 1.5 pages
• Conclusion: What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of the family, the child? What could this child benefit from? Make any final remarks regarding the child’s overall development in this section.— 1page
• Your Case Study Narrative should be a minimum of 5 pages.

Make sure to NOT to use the child’s real name in the Narrative Report. You should make reference to course material, information from your textbook, and class supplemental materials throughout the paper . 

Same rules apply in terms of writing in objective language and only using subjective minimally. REMEMBER to CHECK your grammar, spelling, and APA formatting before submitting to your instructor. It is imperative that you review the rubric of this assignment as well before completing it. 

Biggest Mistakes Students Make on this Assignment

Here is a list of the biggest mistakes that students make on this assignment: 

• Failing to start early . The case study assignment is one that you will submit in parts throughout the semester. It is important that you begin your observations on the case study before the first assignment is due. Waiting to the last minute will lead to a poor grade on this assignment, which historically has been the case for students who have completed this assignment. 
• Failing to utilize the rubrics. The rubrics provide students with guidelines on what components are necessary for the assignment. Often students will lose points because they simply read the descriptions of the assignment but did not pay attention to rubric portions of the assignment. 
• Failing to use APA formatting and proper grammar and spelling. It is imperative that you use spell check and/or other grammar checking software to ensure that your narrative is written well. Remember it must be in APA formatting so make sure that you review the tutorials available for you on our Lib Guide that will assess you in this area. 
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The purpose of a case study is to walk the reader through a situation where a problem is presented, background information provided and a description of the solution given, along with how it was derived. A case study can be written to encourage the reader to come up with his or her own solution or to review the solution that was already implemented. The goal of the writer is to give the reader experiences similar to those the writer had as he or she researched the situation presented.

Several steps must be taken before actually writing anything:

• Choose the situation on which to write
• Gather as much information as possible about the situation
• Analyze all of the elements surrounding the situation
• Determine the final solution implemented
• Gather information about why the solution worked or did not work

From these steps you will create the content of your case study.

Describe the situation/problem

The reader needs to have a clear understanding of the situation for which a solution is sought. You can explicitly state the problem posed in the study. You can begin by sharing quotes from someone intimate with the situation. Or you can present a question:

• ABC Hospital has a higher post-surgical infection rate than other health care facilities in the area.
• The Director of Nursing at ABC Hospital stated that “In spite of following rigid standards, we continue to experience high post-surgical infection rates”
• Why is it that the post-surgical infection rate at ABC Hospital  higher than any other health center in the area?

This sets the tone for the reader to think of the problem while he or she read the rest of the case study. This also sets the expectation that you will be presenting information the reader can use to further understand the situation.

Give background

Background is the information you discovered that describes why there is a problem. This will consist of facts and figures from authoritative sources. Graphs, charts, tables, photos, videos, audio files, and anything that points to the problem is useful here. Quotes from interviews are also good. You might include anecdotal information as well:

“According to previous employees of this facility, this has been a problem for several years”

What is not included in this section is the author’s opinion:

“I don’t think the infection review procedures are followed very closely”

In this section you give the reader information that they can use to come to their own conclusion. Like writing a mystery, you are giving clues from which the reader can decide how to solve the puzzle. From all of this evidence, how did the problem become a problem? How can the trend be reversed so the problem goes away?

A good case study doesn’t tell the readers what to think. It guides the reader through the thought process used to create the final conclusion. The readers may come to their own conclusion or find fault in the logic being presented. That’s okay because there may be more than one solution to the problem. The readers will have their own perspective and background as they read the case study.

Describe the solution

This section discusses the solution and the thought processes that lead up to it. It guides the reader through the information to the solution that was implemented. This section may contain the author’s opinions and speculations.

Facts will be involved in the decision, but there can be subjective thinking as well:

“Taking into account A, B and C, the committee suggested solution X. In lieu of the current budget situation, the committee felt this was the most prudent approach”

Briefly present the key elements used to derive the solution. Be clear about the goal of the solution. Was it to slow down, reduce or eliminate the problem?

Evaluate the response to the solution

If the case study is for a recent situation, there may not have been enough time to determine the overall effect of the solution:

“New infection standards were adopted in the first quarter and the center hopes to have enough information by the year’s end to judge their effectiveness”

If the solution has been in place for some time, then an opportunity to gather and review facts and impressions exists. A summary of how well the solution is working would be included here.

Tell the whole story

Case study-writing is about telling the story of a problem that has been fixed. The focus is on the evidence for the problem and the approach used to create a solution. The writing style guides the readers through the problem analysis as if they were part of the project. The result is a case study that can be both entertaining and educational.

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Learning Stories: Observation, Reflection, and Narrative in Early Childhood Education

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Editors' Note

Refer to the links below for examples of two Learning Stories:

• Learning Story: Waiting for Dad on this Side of the Border
• Learning Story: Under the Same Sun

When I think of children, the image that comes to mind is that of competent human beings: resourceful, creative, and able to collaborate with peers and adults. Young children are today’s citizens of the world, with their own ideas, theories, inquiries, strong preferences, and stories. As citizens, they have needs, but also rights—one of which is to be seen as contributors to their own education. Their interests, questions, and thoughts should influence what they do and learn at school.

I am an early childhood educator. I am also an immigrant and an American citizen by naturalization. I began teaching and learning from young children in San Francisco, California, when I began volunteering in a multilingual early childhood program. Because I lacked the knowledge of child development and curriculum planning required to do this work most effectively, I enrolled in classes at City College and took as many child development classes as I could. I am currently a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership Program at San Francisco State University, where I have been a lecturer for the past five years. I teach undergraduate courses on children’s language development in multilingual early childhood education settings, classroom observation and children’s evaluation, and more recently, a graduate course on narrative inquiry in ECE and elementary school.

I am also a preschool teacher: I have taught preschool for 18 years—the past 10 at Las Americas Early Education School in San Francisco’s Mission District. As an early childhood educator committed to equity of voice, I believe that educational activities with preschool children should be based on daily observations of children at play both in the classroom and outdoors. These observations should include teachers’ reflections and, as much as possible, families’ opinions and perspectives on their children’s learning, curiosity, talents, agency, hopes, and dreams. As a preschool teacher in a multi-language setting, I am required to conduct classroom observations to assess children’s learning. This has led me to the following questions:

• How can early childhood educators support and make visible children’s emergent cultural and linguistic identities?
• How can teachers embed story and narrative to document children’s growth and strengthen families’ participation in their children’s education?

This article examines the use of an observational approach in the form of Learning Stories, a narrative-based formative assessment created by New Zealand early childhood education leaders. By encouraging teachers to recognize children as competent explorers and learners at any given moment, Learning Stories provide a way to document children’s strengths and improve instruction based on the interests, talents, and expertise of children and their families (Carr & Lee 2012, 2019).

The Role of Documentation

My concept of documentation has evolved over the years and will likely continue evolving as I gain new insights about its relevance in the early childhood classroom. My views have been influenced by the Reggio Emilio approach (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman 1998, 2012); the inquiry work carried out at the former Prospect School (Himley & Carini 2000; Carini 2001) in North Bennington, Vermont; and New Zealand’s Learning Stories (Carr & Lee 2012, 2019). Each of these approaches emphasizes teachers observing, writing, reflecting, and documenting classroom life as a way to better understand and teach children.

The Reggio Emilia early childhood schools of Northern Italy (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman 1998, 2012; Turner & Wilson 2010) use the term “documentation” to refer to the process of observing and recording children’s learning experiences through different media (Helm & Katz 2001). Their curricular framework is an approach “based on adults listening rather than speaking, where doubts and amazement are welcome factors along with scientific inquiry and the deductive method of the detective” (Rinaldi 1998, 115). Systematic and meaningful observations of children’s learning are routine classroom practices that guide the curriculum.

Likewise, in the Prospect School’s approach to schooling, general theories of education take second place to teacher reflection. Teachers reflect on their teaching practices through a collaborative analysis known as “descriptive review,” or the deep analysis of one particular child, one piece of work, one classroom, or one issue that stimulates new kinds of thinking about children, curriculum, and larger educational challenges (Himley & Carini 2000; Carini 2001). While in operation, Prospect teachers documented children’s daily activities through richly detailed observations and descriptions that became narrative accounts over time. They focused on children’s interests and strengths to understand the intricacy of their thinking and to see children and their learning contexts in all of their complexities.

In New Zealand, educators use the Learning Stories approach to assess children’s progress. This narrative tool is a record of a child’s life in the classroom and school community based on teachers’ observations of the child at play and work. It tells a story written  to  the child that is meant to be shared  with  the family. Learning Stories serve as a meaningful pedagogical tool to assess children’s strengths and help educators reflect on their roles in the complex processes of teaching and learning (Carr & Lee 2012, 2019). As formative assessments, they offer the possibility of reimagining all children as competent, inquisitive learners and all educators as critical thinkers and creative writers, genuinely invested in their children’s work.

Documentation in Marginalized Communities

Learning Stories break away from the more traditional methods of teaching, learning, and assessment that often view children and families from a deficit perspective, highlighting what they cannot do. By contrast, Learning Stories offer an opportunity to reimagine children as curious, knowledgeable, playful learners and teachers as critical thinkers, creative writers, and advocates of play. Learning Stories are based on individual or family narratives, and they recognize the value of Indigenous knowledge. For native, Indigenous, and marginalized communities, the telling of stories or historical memoirs may be conceived as something deeply personal and even part of a “sacred whole” (Benham 2007). When we engage in writing and reading classroom stories—knowing how they are told, to whom, and why—we uncover who we are as communities and, perhaps, develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of other people’s stories.

My preschool is part of the San Francisco Unified School District’s Early Education Department. Our school reflects the ethnic, economic, cultural, and linguistic mosaic of the school’s immediate neighborhood, which consists primarily of first- and second-generation immigrant families from Mexico, Central America, and Asia. When children enter our program, only about 10 percent feel comfortable speaking English. The others prefer to speak their home languages, meaning Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin are the most common languages in our school.

Most of my students receive subsidized services, and their families primarily work in the hospitality, child care, or construction industries, or are in training for new employment. The school has three preschool-age classrooms: one Spanish-English dual language classroom with 24 children; one Cantonese-English dual language classroom with 24 children; and one classroom of children with special needs, which has 12 children. Each of our preschool classrooms is composed of one lead teacher and two assistant teachers, and each classroom has been assigned a district instructional coach.

Our preschool’s academic framework is based on the project approach, which embraces children’s interests and the immediate environment for engaging in in-depth studies of specific topics from multiple perspectives (Helm & Katz 2016). Investigations are undertaken by a whole class, a small group of children within a class, or by an individual child. Each project focuses on finding answers to questions about a topic posed by the children, the teachers, or the teachers and children together. Classroom investigations may last from a few days to several months and are carefully documented by teachers and children. Photographs, recorded conversations, short videos, children’s artwork and dictations, classroom-made booklets, and teachers’ reflections and interpretations are all part of what eventually becomes a child’s Learning Story and our teachers’ rich observation, reflection, and assessment tools.

For instance, during a class investigation on families, my 5-year-old student Juanito shared why his family did not live together in San Francisco. He described in graphic detail how his grandfather had been shot to death several years before while crossing a river in El Salvador. He also shared how his dad and mom had come to San Francisco, leaving behind their two older daughters, his sisters. Juanito’s sense of family was marked by a sense of longing for a foreign country he had never visited and two siblings he had only seen in photographs.

Juanito used drawings to express his feelings. In them, he depicted El Salvador as both beautiful and dangerous: a place that offered warmth (because his two young adult sisters lived there) but also a place with gangs who made people live in fear. “El Salvador is very pretty and has a big soccer field where one can play  fútbol  [football soccer],” he told us, his teachers. “My sister is a soccer player, like me. And I know there are gangs that go around killing people. My Daddy told me, and I’ve seen it on the TV.”

In my reflective role as Juanito’s preschool teacher, I began to understand his behavior much better as I watched and talked to him and assembled his Learning Story. As a result, I greatly improved my communication with him and my relationship with his parents. Juanito’s mom and dad have been very open about their family history and the story behind their decision to leave El Salvador and come to the United States. Their search for that envisioned future has brought a lot of stress to a family living in two countries—especially for little Juanito, who is developing his own identity as an American citizen with strong emotional ties to El Salvador.

During another class investigation—this one on our children’s cultural heritage—we read  A Movie in my Pillow / Una Película en mi Almohada , by Salvadorean writer Jorge Argueta (2007). The children enjoyed this collection of poems in which the main character, young Jorgito, lives in the Mission District but has not forgotten his native El Salvador. Just like Jorgito, we discovered that many of the children in our classroom had “memories” from where their parents had emigrated. Argueta’s poems opened the door to children’s creativity and imagination, which teachers could document, reflect on, write about, and assess.

My student Zahid revealed his story-telling skills by sharing the story of his father’s attempt to cross the border between Mexico and the United States. (See “Waiting for Dad on this Side of the Border" and “Under the Same Sun,” below.) The resulting Learning Story provided a structure for documenting Zahid’s developmental progression over time and for collecting data on his language use, funds of knowledge, evolving creative talents, and curiosity for what takes place in his world—all of this in his attempt to make sense of events impacting his family and his community.

Developing a Learning Story

Educators can use Learning Stories to identify developmental milestones with links to specific assessment measures; however, the purpose is not to test a hypothesis or to evaluate. At the root of any Learning Story is a genuine interest in understanding children’s lived experiences and the meaning teachers, families, and children themselves make of those experiences to augment their learning. As Southcott (2015, 37) reminds us, “Teachers choose a significant classroom moment to enlarge in a Learning Story in order to explore children’s thinking more closely.”

Although no two Learning Stories will be alike, a few core principles underlie them all. The foundational components include the following (Carter 2010, 2017; Carr & Lee 2012, 2019):

• an observation with accompanying photographs or short videos
• an analysis of the observation
• a plan to extend a child’s learning
• the family’s perspective on their child’s learning experience
• links to specific evaluation tools

Suggested Format of a Learning Story

The writing of Learning Stories encourages teachers to recognize children as competent explorers and learners in familiar settings at any given moment during the school day. The following format is a helpful guide for observing, documenting, and understanding children’s learning processes. It also may help teachers organize fleeting ideas into a coherent narrative to make sense of classroom observations or specific children’s experiences.

• Title:  Any great story begins with a good title that captures the essence of the tale being told. Margie Carter (2010) suggests that the act of giving a title to a story be saved for the end, after the teacher has written, reflected on, and analyzed the significance of what has been observed, photographed and/or video recorded.
• Observation:  The teacher begins the story with their own interest in what the child has taken the initiative to do, describing what the child does and says. When teachers talk and write the story in the first person, they give a “voice” to the storyteller or narrator within. In their multiple roles as observers, documenters, and writers, teachers bring a personal perspective that is essential to the story. They write directly to the child, describing the scene in detail and narrating what they noticed, observed, or heard. Accompanying photographs, screenshots, or still frames of a video clip of the child in action serve as evidence of the child’s resourcefulness, skills, dispositions, and talents.
• What Does It Mean? (or What Learning Do I See Happening?):  These are questions teachers can use to reflect, interpret, and write about the significance of what they observed. This meaning-making is best done in dialogue with other teachers. Multiple perspectives can certainly be included here; indeed, objectivity is more likely to be reached when the Learning Story includes a variety of voices or perspectives (Carr & Lee 2012, 2019). Ask your coteachers or colleagues to collaborate to offer their pedagogical, professional, and personal opinions to the interpretation of the events.
• Opportunities and Possibilities (or How Can We Support You in Your Learning?):  In this section, teachers describe what they can tentatively do in the immediate or distant future to scaffold and extend the child’s learning. How can they cocreate with children learning activities that stem from individual or collective interests? This section might also reveal teachers’ active processes in planning meaningful classroom activities while respecting children’s sense of agency.
• Questions to the Family:  This is an invitation for a child’s family to offer their opinions on how they perceive their child as a competent learner. It is not uncommon for a child’s family to respond with messages addressed to the teacher. However, when teachers kindly request parents to reply directly to their child, they write beautiful messages to their children. Sometimes, the family might suggest ideas and activities to support their child’s learning both at home and school. They might even provide materials to enhance and extend the learning experience for all the children in the class.
• Observed Milestones or Learning Dispositions:  Here, teachers can link the content of a child’s Learning Story to specific evaluative measures required by a program, school district, or state. They also can focus on the learning dispositions reflected in the story: a child’s curiosity, persistence, creativity, and empathy. The learning dispositions highlighted in a Learning Story reflect the emerging values of children and the values and beliefs of teachers, families, schools, and even the larger community.

Making Time for Documentation

A Learning Story recognizes a child’s everyday efforts as milestones in their continuous growth. It is a beautiful personal and pedagogical gift to a child and family based on what teachers observe, analyze, and interpret. Yes, documenting and making children’s learning visible through detailed observations, photographs, and reflections require time, intention, and incentives. But as Carini reminds us, children are more than a sum of unchanging traits, and it takes time and patience to paint a fuller picture of how they are evolving (Himley & Carini 2000).

When beginning the Learning Story process, remember that there is a storyteller in everyone. Creating a short Learning Story as a record of a child’s learning, playfulness, resourcefulness, experimentation, and drive can turn documentation into something enjoyable. Write just a few lines of what was observed, identify its possible meaning, then plan for a tentative activity to support the child’s interest. Add a photograph or series of photographs as illustrations, then share the Learning Story with a coteacher or other colleague to get feedback on composition, language, and narrative. Think of the Learning Story as another way of making a child and family feel special, and remember that families are always appreciative when teachers take note of their children’s accomplishments. Invite the family to add a few lines to the story by sharing what they have noticed their child doing at home related to the topic.

Waiting for Dad on this Side of the Border

What happened? What’s the story? Zahid, I admire your initiative to tell us the tale of the travels your dad has undertaken to reunite with you and your family in California. On a map you showed us Mexico City where you say your dad started his journey to the North. You spoke about the border ( la frontera ), and you asked us to help you find Nebraska and Texas on our map, because that’s where you say your dad was detained. We asked you, “What is the border?” and you answered: “It is a place where they arrest you because you are an immigrant. My dad was detained because he wanted to go to California to be with me.”

What is the significance of this story? Zahid, through this story where you narrate the failed attempt of your dad to get reunited with you and your family, you reveal an understanding that goes well beyond your 5.4 years. In the beginning you referred to the map as a planet, but perhaps that’s how you understand your world: a planet with lines that divide cities, states, and countries. A particular area that called your attention was the line between Mexico and the United States, which you retraced in blue ink to highlight the place where you say your dad crossed the border. It is indeed admirable to see you standing self-assured in front of the class ready to explain to your classmates your feelings and ideas so eloquently.

What activities could we plan to support you in exploring this topic that you are so interested in? Zahid, we could invite you to share with your classmates the tale of your dad’s travels and invite your friends to share the stories of their families too. We could take dictations of what it means for you to be waiting for Dad on this side of the border. We could support you to put into practice your interest in writing so that you could write a letter or message to your dad. Perhaps you would be interested in making a painting on a canvas representing your ideas and feelings with paint strokes and acrylic colors.

What’s the family’s perspective? Zahid is not very fond of writing, but he talks a lot and also understands quite a lot. He doesn’t like drawing but maybe with your support here at school he could find enjoyment in drawing or painting. —Mom

Under the Same Sun

What happened? What’s the story? Zahid, of the several options we proposed to you to continue exploring the topic of the journey of your dad from Mexico to the United States, you chose a canvas, skinny paint brushes, and acrylic colors to represent the word  frontera . Until now, you had hardly showed any interest in using painting tools, the process of writing, or making graphic representations of your ideas. Your preferred mode of expression was to communicate orally, and you have been doing it quite well! The fact you chose paintbrushes and acrylic paints reveals that every child should have the right to be an active participant when it comes to making decisions about their individual learning.

What is the significance of this story? Zahid, I’m very pleased to see your determination to make a graphic representation of the word frontera. After so many sessions singing the initial sounds corresponding to each letter of the alphabet in Spanish, I thought you would be inclined to sound out the word  frontera  phoneme by phoneme and spell it out to write it on paper, but that was not the case. Instead, you decided to undertake something more complex, and you chose a paint brush and acrylic colors to represent (write)  la frontera  the way you perceive it based on the experiences you have lived with your family and, especially, with your dad.

What possibilities emerge? Zahid, you could perhaps share with your classmates and your family your creative process. Throughout the entire process of sketching and painting you demonstrated remarkable patience since you had to wait at least 24 hours for the first layer of paint to dry before applying the next one. You chose the color brown to paint the wall that divides Mexico and the United States because that’s what you saw in the photos that popped out in the computer screen when we looked for images of the word “ frontera .” You insisted on painting a yellow sun on this side of the wall because according to you, that’s what your dad would see on his arrival to California, along with colorful, very tall buildings with multiple windows. I hope one day you and your dad can play together under the same sun.

What’s the family’s perspective? I think it is good for my son to have support from his teachers at school and that he can express what he feels or thinks. Although sometimes I wonder if it’s better to avoid the topic altogether. These months have been very difficult for everyone in the family but especially for him because he is the eldest. He says that he misses his dad even though he hasn’t seen him in a long time. And he says that he wants to go to Mexico when he’s older to be with Dad. —Mom

The Learning Stories framework honors multiple perspectives to create a more complete image of each learner. These include the voice of the teacher as narrator and documenter; the voice, actions, and behaviors of children as active participants in the learning process; and the voices of families who offer—either orally or in writing—their perspectives as the most important teachers in their children’s lives.

Teachers in different types of early childhood education settings can use this framework to observe, document, preserve, and share precious moments of learning and transformation in young children’s school journeys with specific examples of their questions, puzzles, discoveries, and growth (Knauf 2020; Nyland & Alfayez 2021). Through these child-centered stories, teachers engage minds, touch hearts, and enhance their pedagogical and intellectual work. They humanize the early childhood profession, paving the way toward innovative modes of observing, analyzing, and understanding the complexities of children’s learning and behaviors. Children’s active participation in classroom life and curriculum planning supports a sense of inclusiveness, agency, and belonging when they see themselves as the protagonists of their own stories in a school environment that celebrates their voices, experiences, and talents.

This article includes content from Escamilla’s chapter in the  Advancing Equity & Embracing Diversity in Early Childhood Education  book as well as content from an original manuscript by the author accepted for  Young Children.

Photographs: Getty; courtesy of author. Copyright © 2021 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at  NAEYC.org/resources/permissions .

This article supports recommendations from NAEYC's advancing equity position statement Recommendations for Early Childhood Educators Create a Caring, Equitable Community of Engaged Learners Item 1: Uphold the unique value and dignity of each child and family. Observe, Document, and Assess Children’s Learning and Development Item 2: Use authentic assessments that seek to identify children’s strengths and provide a well-rounded picture of development.

Benham, M.K. 2007. “Mo’ōlelo: On Culturally Relevant Story Making from an Indigenous Perspective.” In Handbook of Narrative Inquiry: Mapping a Methodology , edited by D.J. Clandinin, 512–533. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. 

Carini, P.F. 2001. Starting Strong: A Different Look at Children, Schools, and Standards. New York: Teachers College Press.

Carr, M., & W. Lee. 2012. Learning Stories: Constructing Learner Identities in Early Education . London: SAGE Publications. 

Carr, M., & W. Lee. 2019. Learning Stories in Practice . London: SAGE Publications. 

Carter, M. 2010. “Using Learning Stories to Strengthen Teachers’ Relationships with Children.”  Exchange 32 (6): 40–44.

Carter, M. 2017. “Growing Ourselves as Leaders: A Conversation with Annie White.”  Exchange 39 (6): 46–51.

Edwards, C., L. Gandini, & G. Forman, eds. 1998. The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach: Advanced Reflections , 2 nd ed. Greenwich, CT: Ablex.

Edwards, C., L. Gandini, & G. Forman, eds. 2012. The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation. 3 rd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Escamilla, I.M., & D. Meier. 2018. “The Promise of Teacher Inquiry and Reflection: Early Childhood Teachers as Change Agents.”  Studying Teacher Education  14 (1): 3-21.

Helm, J.H., & L.G. Katz. 2016.  Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years . New York: Teachers College Press.

Himley, M., & P.F. Carini. 2000. From Another Angle: Children’s Strengths and School Standards: The Prospect Center’s Descriptive Review of the Child . New York: Teachers College Press.

Knauf, H. 2020. “Learning Stories, Pedagogical Work, and Early Childhood Education: A Perspective from German Preschools.” Education Inquiry  11 (2): 94-109.

Malaguzzi, L. 1998. “History, Ideas and Basic Philosophy: An Interview with Lella Gandini.” In The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections , 2 nd ed., edited by C. Edwards, G.E. Forman, & L. Gandini, 49–97. Greenwich, CT: Ablex.

NAEYC. 2019. “Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education.” Position statement. Washington, DC: NAEYC. www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/equity .

Nyland, B., & S. Alfayez. 2012. “Learning Stories–Crossing Borders: Introducing Qualitative Early Childhood Observation Techniques to Early Childhood Practitioners in Saudi Arabia.”  International Journal of Early Years Education  20 (4): 392–404.

Rinaldi, C. 1998. “Projected Curriculum Constructed Through Documentation—Progettazi-One: An Interview with Lella Gandini.” In The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach: Advanced Reflections , 2 nd ed., edited by C.P. Edwards, L. Gandini, & G. Forman, 113-126. Greenwich, CT: Ablex.

Southcott, L.H. 2015. “Learning Stories: Connecting Parents, Celebrating Success, and Valuing Children’s Theories.” Voices of Practitioners 10 (1): 34-50. 

Turner, T. & D.G. Wilson. 2010. “Reflections on Documentation: A Discussion with Thought Leaders on Reggio Emilia.” Theory into Practice 49 (5): 5-13. 

Isauro Escamilla, EdD, is assistant professor in the Elementary Education Department of the Graduate College of Education at San Francisco State University, where he teaches Language Arts in K–5 Settings and Spanish Heritage Language and Pedagogy for Bilingual Teachers, among other courses.

Vol. 76, No. 2

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How to... Write a teaching case study

• What is a teaching case study?

A discussion-based case study is an education tool to facilitate learning about, and analysis of, a real-world situation.

A case study provides a well-researched and compelling narrative about an individual, or a group of people, that needs to make a decision in an organisational setting.

The case study narrative includes relevant information about the situation, and gives multiple perspectives on the problem or decision that needs to be taken, but does not provide analysis, conclusions, or a solution.

On this page...

How does a case study work in education, top tips for writing a case study, what is the difference between teaching cases and research focused cases.

• Writing the case study

How to write a teaching note

• Final thoughts

The Emerald Cases Hub

Which publication would suit my case study.

Read about getting ready to publish and visit the Emerald Cases Hub for courses and guides on writing case studies and teaching notes.

Teaching cases expose students to real-world business dilemmas in different cultural contexts.

Students are expected to read the case study and prepare an argument about the most appropriate course of action or recommendation, which can be debated in a facilitated case study class session, or documented in a case study assignment or examination.

A case teaching note, containing recent and relevant theoretical and managerial frameworks, will be published alongside the teaching case, and can be used to demonstrate the links between course content and the case situation to support teaching of the case method.

Teaching case studies have a distinctive literary style: they are written in the third person, in the past tense, and establish an objectivity of core dilemmas in the case.

We have gathered some top tips for you to think about as your write your case study.

Collect information

Cases can be based on primary or secondary data; however, carrying out interviews with the protagonist and others in the organisation, where possible, often results in a better and more balanced case study.

Make sure that you have all the materials you will need before you start the writing process. This will speed up the actual process. Most case studies have a mixture of primary and secondary sources to help capture the spirit of the protagonist.

Structure the narrative

Tell the story in chronological order and in the past tense. Identify and establish the central protagonist and their dilemma in the first paragraph and summarise the dilemma again at the end of the case.

Develop the protagonist

Ensure the protagonist is a well-developed character and that students can identify with their motivations throughout the case.

Get permission

When you submit your case study and teaching note, you must include signed permission from the relevant protagonist or company featured in the case and for any material for which you don’t own the copyright. 

Be clear on your teaching objective

The case method offers a variety of class participation methods, such as discussion, role-play, presentation, or examination. Decide which method best suits the case you want to write. 

Identify case lead author

You might want to consider writing your case study in partnership with colleagues. However, if you are writing a case with other people you need to make sure that the case reads as one voice.

You do not have to share the work evenly. Instead, play to your individual strengths: one author might be better at data analysis, one a better writer. Agree and clarify the order of appearance of authors. This is very important since this cannot be changed after publication.

Write a thorough teaching note

A well-written case study needs an equally well-written teaching note to allow instructors to adopt the case without the need for additional research. The standard teaching note provides key materials such as learning objectives, sample questions and answers, and more. See 'What to include in your teaching note' to produce effective teaching note for your case.

Writing a teaching case requires a distinctive literary style; it should be written in the third person, in the past tense, and establish objectivity of the core dilemmas in the case.

To begin with, a case has to have a hook: an overriding issue that pulls various parts together, a managerial issue or decision that requires urgent attention. 

The trick is to present the story so that the hook is not immediately apparent but ‘discovered’ by students putting the relevant pieces together. More importantly, the hook must be linked to a particular concept, theory, or methodology. 

A teaching case reflects the ambiguity of the situation and need not have a single outcome, as the intent is to create a dialogue with students, encourage critical thinking and research, and evaluate recommendations.

Research cases are a methodology used to support research findings and add to the body of theoretical knowledge, and as such are more academically-focused and evidence-based.

Writing a case study

How to write & structure a case

• Write in the past tense
• Identify and establish an issue/problem which can be used to teach a concept or theory

The opening paragraph should make clear:

• Who the main protagonist is 
• Who the key decision maker is 
• What the nature of the problem or issue is 
• When the case took place, including specific dates 
• Why the issue or problem arose

The body of the case should:

• Tell the whole story – usually in a chronological order 
• Typically contain general background on business environment, company background, and the details of the specific issue(s) faced by the company 
• Tell more than one side of the story so that students can think of competing alternatives

The concluding paragraph should:

• Provide a short synthesis of the case to reiterate the main issues, or even to raise new questions

Before you start, choose where to publish your case study and familiarise yourself with the style and formatting requirements.

Get ready to publish  

What to include in your teaching note

Case synopsis.

Provide a brief summary (approximately 150-200 words) describing the case setting and key issues. Include:

• Name of the organisation
• Time span of the case study
• Details of the protagonist
• The dilemma facing the protagonist
• Sub-field of academia the case is designed to teach (e.g., market segmentation in the telecommunications sector).

Target audience

Clearly identify the appropriate audience for the case (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, or both).  Consider:

• Possible courses where the case can be used
• Level of difficulty
• Specific pre-requisites
• Discipline(s) for which the case is most relevant

If there are multiple target audiences, discuss different teaching strategies.

Top tip: remember that the deciding factor for most instructors looking to find a case for their classroom is relevancy. Working with a specific audience in mind and sharing guidance on case usage helps develop the applicability of your case.

Learning objectives

Set a minimum of one objective for a compact case study and three to four for a longer case. Your objectives should be specific and reflective of the courses you suggest your case be taught in. Make it clear what students can expect to learn from reading the case.

Top tip: Good learning objectives should cover not only basic understanding of the context and issues presented in the case, but also include a few more advanced goals such as analysis and evaluation of the case dilemma.

Research methods

Outline the types of data used to develop the case, how this data was gathered, and whether any names/details/etc. within the case have been disguised. Please note that you will need to obtain consent from the case protagonist/organisation if primary data has been used. Cases based on secondary data (i.e., any information that is publicly available) are not required to obtain consent.

Teaching plan and objectives

Provide a breakdown of the classroom discussion time into sections. Include a brief description of the opening and closing 10-15 minutes, as well as challenging case discussion questions with comprehensive sample answers.

Provide instructors a detailed breakdown of how you would teach the case in 90 minutes. Include:

• Brief description of the opening 10-15 minutes.
• Suggested class time, broken down by topics, assignment questions, and activities.
• Brief description of the closing 10-15 minutes. Reinforce the learning objectives and reveal what actually happened, if applicable

Assignment questions and answers

Include a set of challenging assignment questions that align with the teaching objectives and relate to the dilemma being faced in the case.

Successful cases will provide:

• Three to five questions aligned to the learning objectives.
• A combination of closed, open-ended, and even controversial questions to create discussion.
• Questions that prompt students to consider a dilemma from all angles.

Successful sample answers should:

• Provide an example of an outstanding (A+) response to each question. To illustrate the full range of potential answers, good teaching notes often go on to provide examples of marginal and even incorrect responses as well.
• Draw from recent literature, theory, or research findings to analyse the case study.
• Reflect the reality that a case may not necessarily have a single correct answer by highlighting a diversity of opinions and approaches.

Supporting material

Supporting materials can include any additional information or resources that supplement the experience of using your case. Examples of these materials include  such as worksheets, videos, reading lists, reference materials, etc. If you are including classroom activities as part of your teaching note, please provide detailed instructions on how to direct these activities.

Test & learn

When you have finished writing your case study and teaching note, test them!

Try them out in class to see if students have enough information to thoughtfully address the case dilemma, if the teaching note supports an engaged class discussion, and if the teaching note assignments/lesson plan timing are appropriate. Revise as needed based on the class experience before submitting.

Guide to writing a teaching note

Our short PDF guide will give you advice on writing your teaching note, what you should include and our top tips to creating an effective teaching note.

Download our guide

Final thoughts on writing

What makes a great teaching case?

• Written in the case teaching narrative style, not in the style of a research article
• Classroom tested, making it much more robust
• Objective, considering all sides of a dilemma
• Aligned with the objectives of the publication in which it is included
• Structured to allow for relevant learning outcomes, enabling students to meet them effectively

Common review feedback comments

• The case requires additional information in order to be taught
• A lack of detail
• Suggested answers are not supported by the case
• Learning objectives which apply a model without a purpose
• No sample answers
• Not written in the third person or past tense
• No analysis or lessons learned

What makes a good teaching note?

• Clear learning objectives
• Suggested class time, broken down by topics
• Suggested student assignment
• Brief description of the opening and closing 10-15 minutes and case synopsis
• Challenging case discussion questions with sample answers
• Supporting materials – worksheets, videos, readings, reference material, etc
• Target audience identified
• If applicable, an update on ‘what actually happened’

Register on the Emerald Cases Hub to access free resources designed by case-writing experts to help you write and publish a quality case study. Develop your skills and knowledge with a course on writing a case study and teaching note, view sample cases, or explore modules on teaching/leaning through the case method.

Visit the Emerald Cases Hub

A key factor in boosting the chances of your case study being published is making sure it is submitted to the most suitable outlet. Emerald is delighted to offer two key options: 

Emerging Markets Case Studies (EMCS)

EMCS welcomes well-researched, instructive, and multimedia online cases about the most interesting companies in complex emerging market contexts, to be used by faculty to develop effective managers globally. 

Cases must be factual and be developed from multiple sources, including primary data sourced and signed-off by the company involved.  

Find out more about EMCS

The CASE Journal (TCJ)

TCJ is the official journal of The CASE Association, the leading online, double-blind, peer-reviewed journal featuring factual teaching cases and case exercises spanning the full spectrum of business and management disciplines.

TCJ invites submissions of cases designed for classroom use.  

Find out more about TCJ

The journal peer review process

Understand the journal and case study peer review process and read our tips for revising your submission.

Submit your case study

Submit your case through your chosen channel’s online submission site, find author support and understand your next steps to publish your case study.

Competitions

We partner with a range of organisations to offer case writing competitions. Applying for an award opens the door to the possibility of you receiving international recognition and a cash prize.

The value of longitudinal studies during the early years

Longitudinal studies — research that tracks large numbers of people over time (see Box 1) — are an essential element of putting data to work for the early years [1] .

Tracking children through early childhood and beyond presents three key opportunities for strengthening our understanding of early childhood, providing evidence of:

Why the early years matter: Longitudinal studies allow us to understand the lifelong effects of early childhood experiences and development. 

What matters during the early years: Longitudinal studies allow us to understand the different factors — including educational, emotional, material and genetic — associated with healthy development and the origins of inequalities.

What works in supporting families during the early years: Longitudinal studies allow us to evaluate the longer-term impacts of support provided to families. 

What are longitudinal studies? 

A longitudinal study follows the same people repeatedly over time. 

One form of longitudinal study of particular importance for the early years is birth cohort studies , which follow a group of people born at the same point in time at the very beginning of life and follows them throughout their lives. 

Longitudinal studies can collect a broad range of information about participants’ lives, including information about physical and mental health, social and emotional development, cognitive development and academic achievement, behaviour and attitudes, and employment, income and poverty. 

By collecting information from the same people over time, longitudinal studies provide uniquely rich evidence bases for understanding how people develop and why differences (and inequalities) between people exist. They help us understand how different aspects of our lives interact with each other to affect outcomes. For example, the association between poverty and mental health. 

For further information on longitudinal studies, such as data collection methods and the strengths and weaknesses of longitudinal data, see: https://learning.closer.ac.uk/learning-modules/introduction/

The UK has the largest and longest-running collection of longitudinal studies in the world [2]. These include nationally representative birth cohort studies, including the Millennium Cohort Study, locality-focussed studies, such as Born in Bradford, and longitudinal studies that look at specific aspects of the early years, for example the effects of early childhood education and care (see Figure 1).

These studies have provided a unique window into the importance of the early years, identifying associations between early childhood experiences and development, and outcomes through adulthood. The Dunedin Study, which has followed over 1,000 people since birth for over 50 years, provides perhaps the clearest evidence of the lifelong opportunities presented by promoting healthy development in early childhood [3]. The study also highlights the long-run risks of adverse early experiences, such as socioeconomic disadvantage or maltreatment, which are associated with an elevated risk of mental and physical ill health during adulthood [4]. Evidence from UK birth cohort studies supports these findings, demonstrating the important influence early childhood development has on later outcomes, including educational attainment at the end of secondary school and economic and social outcomes in midlife, such as obesity [5]. 

This evidence of lifelong associations should not be cause for fatalism. We know that associations between early skills and later outcomes decrease in magnitude as people grow older. Most important is learning from the studies about what factors are associated with good outcomes and providing timely support that helps address the challenges families with young children face. 

Longitudinal studies have promoted an increasingly sophisticated understanding of what matters in supporting healthy development in the early years. For example, they have shown us:

Positive early social and emotional development is critical for life-chances: The Dunedin study found that children who had developed strong self-control at age three were more likely to have better health, to be financially secure and less likely to be convicted of a criminal offence—even with childhood IQ and family social class taken into account [6]. Recent analysis in the UK has found a clear correlation between cognitive and socio-emotional development, suggesting a ‘double disadvantage’ for children who have high emotional and behavioural problems [7]. 

Inequalities emerge early: The Millennium Cohort Study shows large gaps in cognitive and socio-emotional development among children at age 3 [8]. Inequalities in development are visible by sex, ethnicity, family socioeconomic circumstances, household structure and maternal mental health. A significant proportion of inequalities in development at age 3 can be traced back to inequalities in the educational, emotional and material environments young children are raised in, explaining over 45% of the inequalities in socio-emotional development [9]. Comparing the Millennium Cohort Study (2000–02) and Study or Early Education and Development (SEED, 2010–12) cohorts, socio-economic inequalities in early cognition and socio-emotional development have not changed significantly [10]. One of the strongest associations between early circumstances and inequalities in development remains family income. Children in the poorest 10% of families rank 31 percentiles lower in cognition and 24 percentiles higher in emotional and behavioural difficulties [11]. While the direct and indirect effects of family income on children’s outcomes are complex, the current context of increasing rates of poverty among families with young children is of concern [12]. 

‘What parents do is more important than who parents are’ [13]: The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) study found that, for all children, the quality of the home learning environment was more important for young children’s development than parental occupation, education or income. Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study has found that the quality of relationships between parents and children are a significant source of variation explaining differences in emotional and behavioural difficulties in children at age 3 [14]. The most recent SEED wave found that higher scores for the home learning environment – which includes activities like reading and play – and warmth of the parent-child relationship were associated with better outcomes on all Early Years Foundation Stage Profile measures [15].   

Parental mental health is closely linked to early childhood inequalities: Analysis of Millennium Cohort Study data shows that children whose mothers have high levels of psychological distress score significantly lower on cognitive tests at age three and are more likely to report socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties [16]. In analysis to understand inequalities in the parent-child relationship, the largest differences are observed in relation to maternal psychological distress, with ‘far lower’ levels of closeness and higher levels of conflict among mothers with high levels of psychological distress. The Born in Bradford study found that while up to 40% of pregnant mums report low mood, very few cases are reported in health data systems. The study also found significant inequalities among ethnic groups, with Pakistani women at greater risk of mental ill health, but half as likely to have a diagnosis recorded with their GP than White British women [17].  

The transformative potential of early childhood education and care: The Perry Preschool Study in the US, which began in the 1960s, identified short- and long-term effects of high-quality preschool education for young children living in poverty, with better high school education outcomes and better rates of employment at age 40 [18]. In the UK, the EPPE study found that pre-school experience enhanced children’s all-round development, with high-quality provision combined with longer duration having the strongest effect on development [19]. Subsequent research of the EPPE cohort found sustained effects on educational outcomes, with those who attended early years education having a greater likelihood of achieving more than 5 GCSEs at grade A-C – with this effect twice as large for children whose mothers had low educational qualifications compared with the whole sample [20]. Recent evidence from SEED has painted a more mixed picture, with some poorer social and emotional outcomes associated with formal early education, especially for young children in group provision for a high number of hours from the age of two [21], providing evidence that the quality and quantity of formal early education are important considerations [22].

The insights provided by longitudinal studies have led to tangible changes in policy and practice to support families with young children. For example, Born In Bradford data found that less than 10% of eligible pregnant women were taking a Vitamin D supplement, with many unaware of the supplement’s importance. Born in Bradford worked with clinicians to promote awareness of and access to Vitamin D supplements during ultrasound appointments, resulting in 97% of women remembering being offered supplements and 87% taking up the offer [23]. Data from the Millennium Cohort Study demonstrated the substantial educational disadvantage of being born at the end of the academic year. This insight led to changes in admissions policy so that parents of children born in late summer could decide which year their child should enter school, depending on the child’s needs.

Challenges of longitudinal studies

While longitudinal studies provide rich insights into the early years, they do face particular challenges and limitations [24]. Longitudinal studies — particularly nationally representative birth cohort studies — are complex and costly. Available administrative data places limitations on sampling of families with young children: identification of nationally representative samples is not currently practicable before children reach nine months of age, limiting our understanding of pregnancy and the earliest months of a baby’s life. Likewise, available data and approaches to sampling and data collection have resulted in “less often heard” populations being under-represented, including babies born into disadvantaged and ethnic minority families — limiting our understanding of these groups’ experiences. 

One specific limitation of existing studies has been a comparatively high focus on mothers rather than fathers, with particular challenges in including non-resident parents. Ensuring longitudinal studies reflect the diversity and complexity of early childhood experiences and development is an ongoing project. The Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study is testing the feasibility of a new nationally representative UK-wide study of babies, with a specific focus on maximising participation of traditionally ‘less often heard’ populations [25].    

Understanding early childhood today:

The children of the 2020s study.

2022 marks an important milestone in longitudinal studies and the early years, with the launch of the first new nationally representative birth cohort study in England for more than two decades: the Children of the 2020s study [26].

What is the Children of the 2020s study?

The study is a nationally representative birth cohort study of babies born in England. Drawing from HMRC Child Benefit records, approximately 8,500 families have been invited to take part, comprising babies born in September, October and November 2021. The sample will include boosted representation of babies from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The study will include five waves of data collection starting when the cohort of children are 9 months and completing when they are age 5, with the potential for the survey to be extended beyond the age of five, subject to funding. Face-to-face interviews will be part of this, taking place when the cohort children are nine months old and three years old. 

Data collected will look at child development, neighbourhood and family context, family structure, health and mental health, the home learning environment, and formal and informal childcare provision and preschool education. The study also links to both parent and baby Department for Education and NHS digital health records enabling researchers to draw on official information, with parents’ consent.

The study is housed in the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at University College London (UCL) and will be led by UCL researchers in partnership with Ipsos and the universities of Cambridge and Oxford and Birkbeck, University of London. The study has been commissioned and funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge meets with Professor Alissa Goodman, CLS director, Professor Pasco Fearon, director of the Children of the 2020s study, on a visit to the CLS, 5 October 2021.

What makes the study so exciting?

Part of what makes the Children of the 2020s study so exciting is its timing: coming over 20 years since the last nationally representative study in England, it will provide evidence about early childhood following a period of extraordinary societal and technological change. Since the Millennium Cohort Study, digital technology has become a ubiquitous part of life, with most young children today having access to internet-connected devices [27]. 

The study also comes following what has been an incredibly difficult time for many families with young children, with the study providing invaluable evidence following the COVID-19 pandemic and through the cost of living crisis. As such, the study will provide insights into what may become the “new normal” following the pandemic, such as increased parental working from home, reduced attendance in formal pre-school education, and greater reliance on digital service delivery [28]. The critical need to better understand the experiences of today’s young children is underscored by emerging evidence that the proportion of children achieving a ‘good level of development’ in 2020/21 has fallen 13 percentage points since 2018/19 [29].

“The landmark Children of the 2020s study will illustrate the importance of the first five years and provide insights into the most critical aspects of early childhood, as well as the factors which support or hinder positive lifelong outcomes.”

What new questions will the study seek to answer?

Critical to the study’s usefulness is its comparability with previous birth cohort studies. Questions have been aligned with past and existing studies, enabling researchers to understand, for example, how inequalities in young children’s development are changing over time.

“This will be an in-depth study of the wide range of factors that affect children’s development and education in the early years, including the home environment, nurseries and preschool, the neighbourhood, early years services and the broader social and economic circumstances of the family. We want to understand how these factors impact children’s social, cognitive, and early language development, their mental health and readiness for school.”

But the Children of the 2020s will also explore new topics for research. The study will collect information on how parents and young children use technology, with the potential to strengthen the evidence base on how technology affects children’s development and experiences, including parent-child relationships. It will collect more information about fathers and different family forms than previous studies. And it will also collect more information from families about their use of services, with the potential to better inform policymakers about the accessibility and effectiveness of services in meeting the needs of families with young children.

What new methods will the study employ?

One novel aspect of the Children of the 2020s study is its use of an innovative smartphone app called BabySteps. Whereas many previous birth cohort studies have only been able to collect data on an annual basis, BabySteps will allow, at low cost, the research team to collect data more frequently. Participating families will be asked to complete a monthly questionnaire using the app, and have the option to record a range of information — including photos and videos — about their child’s day-to-day experiences. It is hoped that this approach will allow for a more detailed and nuanced understanding of early childhood development, such as language acquisition, and the impacts of aspects of their home environments.

The study also plans to include early years professionals who work with children in the cohort to record their experiences through an app called Teacher Tapp. This has the potential to provide new insights into what quality early education and care looks like.

You can learn more about the Children of the 2020s study at the study’s webpage: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/children-of-the-2020s-study/

[1] Putting data to work for the early years is one of the six areas of opportunity in the early years identified in our Big Change Starts Small report.

[2] Park, A. and Rainsberry, M. (2020). Introduction to longitudinal Studies. CLOSER.

[3] Belsky, J., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., and Poulton, R. (2020). The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life. Harvard University Press.

[4] Centre for Early Childhood. (2021). Big Change Starts Small. Royal Foundation.

[5] Drawing on the Millennium Cohort Study and 1970 British Cohort Survey: Cattan, S., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A., Phimister, A., Ploubidis, G. B., and Wertz, J. (2022). Early childhood inequalities. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. IFS.

[6] Belsky, J., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., and Poulton, R. (2020). The Origins of You: How Childhood Shapes Later Life. Harvard University Press.

[7] Cattan, S., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A., Phimister, A., Ploubidis, G. B., and Wertz, J. (2022). Early childhood inequalities. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. IFS.

[8] Drawing on the Millennium Cohort Study: Cattan, S., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A., Phimister, A., Ploubidis, G. B., and Wertz, J. (2022). Early childhood inequalities. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. IFS.

[11] Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammon, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B. (2004). Technical Paper 12. The Final Report: Effective Pre-School Education. London: UCL Institute of Education, p14.

[12] Cattan, S., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A., Phimister, A., Ploubidis, G. B., and Wertz, J. (2022). Early childhood inequalities. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. IFS.

[13] Melhuish, E. C. and Gardiner, J. (2020). Study of early education and development (SEED): Impact study on early education use and child outcomes up to age five years. Department for Education.

[14] Cattan, S., Fitzsimons, E., Goodman, A., Phimister, A., Ploubidis, G. B., and Wertz, J. (2022). Early childhood inequalities. IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities. IFS.

[15] https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/Key-Findings_FINAL_Designed.pdf

[16] https://image.highscope.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/16053615/perry-preschool-summary-40.pdf

[17] Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammon, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B. (2004). Technical Paper 12. The Final Report: Effective Pre-School Education. London: UCL Institute of Education.

[18] Cattan, S., Crawford, C., Dearden, L. (2014). The economic effects of pre-school education and quality. London: IFS.

[19] Melhuish, E. C. and Gardiner, J. (2020). Study of early education and development (SEED): Impact study on early education use and child outcomes up to age five years. Department for Education.

[20] Archer, N. and Oppenheim, C. (2021). The role of early childhood education and care in shaping life chances. Nuffield Foundation.

[21] See https://learning.closer.ac.uk/learning-modules/introduction/what-can-longitudinal-studies-show-us/weaknesses-of-longitudinal-studies/

[22] See https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/early-life-cohort-feasibility-study/

[23] The author would like to thank Pasco Fearon for his time in speaking about the study, which forms the basis of this section.

[24] Batcheler, R., Ireland, E., Oppenheim, C., Rehill, J. (2022). Time for parents. Nuffield Foundation.

[25] Oppenheim, C. (Forthcoming). Bringing up the next generation: from research to policy. Nuffield Foundation.

[26] Tracey, L., Bowyer-Crane, C., Bonetti, S., Nielsen, D., D’Apice, K. and Compton, S. (2022). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s socio-emotional wellbeing and attainment during the reception year. Education Endowment Foundation.

Drawing to Learn: A Classroom Case Study

• Published: 27 February 2020
• Volume 49 , pages 15–25, ( 2021 )

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• Seong Bock Hong 1 ,
• Jane Tingle Broderick   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3235-7915 2 &
• Cynthia M. McAuliffe 1  

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As early childhood educators of young children, we recognize that children draw what they know from cultural transmissions, moving through many developmental transitions with drawing. As children’s skills developed, a PreK/Kindergarten teacher in a university laboratory school classroom with 27 children was interested in studying ways children can use drawing to enhance their learning of critical concepts within the curriculum. This paper explores her teacher research, a case study using an action research approach guided by these questions: (1) How do young children use drawing during short and long-term projects? (2) What can teachers learn from close attention to children’s representation drawing? A Drawing to Learn protocol was developed to study children’s drawings of curriculum topics like the wind, affording opportunities to use drawing to express their understanding of motion and their theories of how something works. The teacher research was organized around the Cycle of Inquiry process typically used for curriculum planning in the classroom. The curriculum planning data (observation, interpretation, questions, reflections) informed teachers’ understanding of the meaning of children’s drawings and guided teachers as to how to proceed to inquire more deeply into meaning and discovery with children. The findings of this two-semester study indicate multiple purposes and strategies for using drawings in the learning process (predict, study functions of objects, revisit and reflect, and plan).

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Hong, S.B., Broderick, J.T. & McAuliffe, C.M. Drawing to Learn: A Classroom Case Study. Early Childhood Educ J 49 , 15–25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01041-9

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Case studies.

EI/ECSE Standards – Annotated case study for each standard.

Standard 1: Child Development and Early Learning

• EI-ECSE Standard 1 Case Study

Standard 2: Partnering with Families

• EI-ECSE Standard 2 Case Study

Standard 3: Collaboration and Teaming

• EI-ECSE-Standard-3-Case-Study

Standard 4: Assessment Processes

• EI-ECSE-Standard-4-Case-Study

Standard 5: Application of Curriculum Frameworks in the Planning and Facilitation of Meaningful Learning Experiences

• EI-ECSE-Standard-5-Case-Study

Standard 6: Using Responsive and Reciprocal Interactions, Interventions, and Instruction

• EI-ECSE-Standard-6-Case-Study

Standard 7: Professionalism and Ethical Practice 

• EI-ECSE-Standard-7-Case-Study

Cross Disciplinary Case Studies

Case studies illustrate the cross-disciplinary competencies and are for use by Higher Education faculty and Professional development staff. 

• Case Study Maria – Professionalism
• Case Study Aiden – Coordination Collaboration
• Case Study Antonia – Family-Centered Practice
• Case Study Robert – Evidence-Based Intervention

The purpose of this guide is for the reader to enhance one’s early childhood knowledge and practices through the application of the identified core cross-disciplinary competencies. The intended users of the guide include educators, practitioners, students, and families. It can be used for state team training, professional development, and higher education.

• Cross-Disciplinary User Guide

Tips for parents: assessing early childhood care and education options

K-State specialist shares tips on how to find the right provider for children’s needs

When anticipating a new baby, oftentimes pregnant families face a challenge in trying to arrange infant care for their little one while they go to work.

But in Kansas and other places, meeting the demand for early childhood care and education is a challenge, said Bradford Wiles, a K-State Research and Extension specialist in applied human sciences.

The demand for early childhood care and education

“We would need to add 84,000 slots to meet the current demand for early childhood care and education in Kansas,” Wiles said.

Not only is the need great, but the affordability for young families can also be a challenge, he added.

“Early care and education facilities are essentially private schools, and you are asking people at the start of their lifetime of earnings to pay for a private school at a time when they can least afford it,” Wiles said.

He said it is also hard for providers to make a living wage in many communities.

“By helping our communities solve early childhood care and education needs there is a collective benefit for the children, families, and businesses in those communities,” Wiles said.

Selecting an early childhood care and education provider

“In most counties in Kansas, home care providers provide 50% of the overall care in any community, and they go through the same licensing and professional development as those who serve in an early childhood care and education center,” Wiles said. “It is best to secure licensed care whenever possible.”

With that in mind, what do parents need to look for when evaluating a potential early childhood care and education provider?

“Look at how the providers talk to the children. Do they get down to talk with them at their level? What is their tone of voice? High-quality professionals use a tone of voice that is supportive of everyone,” Wiles said.

Other things to observe are the cleanliness of the facility and if there are any obvious safety issues. He also said to see if the children are ever out of the view of the provider.

When speaking to the provider, he encourages parents to ask about discipline protocols and learn about what type of early education curriculum they follow. Wiles also recommends asking for referrals.

For those who are interested in learning more about this topic, Wiles recommends two publications:

• ChoosingCare for Your Children: Child Care Centers and Preschools.
• Choosing Care for Your Children: Child Care Homes.

“If the provider is concerned by the questions that you are asking, that is a sign; good providers are proud of how they care for children and welcome questions,” Wiles said.

PHOTO: Preschool teacher with children playing with colorful wooden didactic toys (Photo: iStock – Lordn)

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Kovin was struggling. He had lost his friend and partner the year before, and after their decades of partnership, taking over as CEO had made sense. But he could feel the tension in the senior management meeting. The team were enjoying the benefits of their commercial success –   they could attract talent, offer competitive salaries, develop more meaningful patents. But at what cost? Could they really still consider themselves a non-profit social enterprise? 

In the age of AI and Co-Pilot, the teaching case is gaining attention as a useful teaching tool. It not only consolidates lessons around central analytical themes, but also tests students’ analytical and interpretation skills. 

• Flip students’ presentations for more in-depth learning
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A teaching case like this one brings real-world difficulties into the classroom, allowing students to apply what they’ve learned and solve problems. This case tells the story of anti-apartheid activist-turned-optometrist Kovin Naidoo, who finds himself leading a multinational social enterprise after the death of his partner. He struggles to balance his deeply held commitments to social change with the benefits of a fast-commercialising organisation. Studying this, students experience CEO-level tensions balancing profit and purpose, and work through how to balance competing value systems.

How do teaching cases work?

In the classroom, the lecturer introduces the case, describing the main protagonist, the context that they are operating in, and the dilemma that they are faced with. Teaching cases are not short of drama. They typically end on a cliffhanger, that nail-biting “now what?” moment, which students must then solve. Like a detective in a novel, students piece together the main facts, identify the red herrings, and through this process apply theoretical frameworks. Teaching cases are wonderful tools for critical thinking , synthesis and analysis.

For many years, the teaching case was seen as the domain of law and business schools. But steady work by publishers such as Emerald, IVEY, Harvard, Yale and the Case Centre has seen the scope of cases widening. 

What they have in common is a commitment to developing cases that transport students to different contexts, where they can immerse themselves in the detail of the problem and apply their learnings, across a range of disciplines. It is this DNA that makes them a useful tool in the AI learning world.

Cases contextualise and tailor our curriculum. In doing so, they are an anchor in our efforts to build nuanced teaching materials, providing alternatives to standard scenarios which, when repeated, risk one-dimensional, monocausal teaching.

Because of their focus on different situations, they contribute to inclusivity . Not only do they provide contextual variation but they engage with core concepts in a multitude of ways to facilitate learning . They allow us to use storytelling to address difficult topics that have the potential to marginalise or exclude. They encourage simulation and group work and create a dialogue between theory and practice , both teaching processes that contribute to professional relevance . As a result, students are immersed in problem-based, action-oriented learning techniques, which results in them being “ engaged in, and structuring their own learning ” – one of the pillars of inclusive teaching practice .

But it is the teaching note that is the lecturer’s friend. It introduces new pedagogy and approaches. Anchored in Bloom’s Taxonomy , it builds the teaching narrative, specifying the learning outcomes and how theoretical frameworks can be taught.

We are seeing innovations in case writing as the format gains popularity, such as:

• Short cases: Harvard is pioneering cases of 800 words (the length of this article) with a snappy dilemma. These can be fictional or drawn from secondary literature, building an informed narrative around a figure they can relate to. Taylor Swift is the focus of this case, for example, which requires little preparation time and sparks lively discussion. 
• Visual cases: We’ve been seeing comic book-style teaching notes that encourage storyboarding and description of both theory and process. Visual cases encourage broad discussion as students read between the lines, stimulated by both the style of graphics and minimised narrative. IMD’s Netflix: streaming wars and IBS’ Turbulence on the Tarmac are stylistically different, setting a different tone for discussion and debate.   
• Multimedia cases: Animation or short-form interviews that students can interact with are becoming common in teaching cases. Role-playing can range from the classic Oxford-style debate, where students develop opposing arguments, to materials such as this animation by IE Business School, which allows chronological learning across a historical timeline. 
• Raw teaching cases encourage students to research the dilemma that they are presented with. These cases are crisp in their presentation of the dilemma, and require students to then research and investigate the problem and solution. Pioneered by Yale, Raw Cases teach students how to synthesise information. Examples include this case on SELCO , and this debate-style approach to analysing the  Systems of Exchange framework.
• Students writing teaching cases as assignments: The NACRA community and our colleague Maria Ballesteros-Solas have developed the idea of putting students in the driving seat .  Here, students write a teaching case and note as an assignment. It requires students to research a dilemma and establish theoretical links   –   a creative process that encourages deep analysis and application of theory to practice.

Teaching cases are not new but the questions educators are grappling with on the use of AI have refocused our attention on the value that they bring to the classroom. They bring real-world dilemmas for students to think through, where the applied nature of the work means that there is no one-size-fits-all response. By encouraging group work and interactive and inclusive teaching practice, they help us as teachers contextualise our content and create opportunities for rich, structured debate and embedded learning.

Kerryn Krige is senior lecturer of teaching practice at the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics. 

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Contextualising the early childhood workforce

17 October 2024, 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Join this event to hear Pamela Oberhuemer present findings from the project 'Systems of early education and professionalisation in Europe (2021-2024)'.

This event is free.

Event Information

Availability.

It is widely acknowledged that staff working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings are the key contributing factor towards ensuring sensitive interactions with young children, enhancing their individual and group wellbeing and providing a stimulating environment for exploration and learning.

The 'Systems of early education and professionalisation in Europe' study investigates core characteristics of the ECEC workforce in 33 European countries. Pamela will discuss its findings which  focus on both system and staff-related issues – also briefly linking these to features of the ECEC system in England. In a current context of acute staff shortages across countries, workforce-related policy initiatives and challenges in Europe will also be highlighted. 

This in-person event will be useful to researchers and educators in early childhood education, policymakers and those interested in aspects of care, gender, work, family and education.

Related links

• Thomas Coram Research Unit (TCRU)
• TCRU seminar series
• Social Research Institute

About the Speaker

Pamela oberhuemer.

Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Thomas Coram Research Unit, University College London.

Pamela Oberhuemer moved from England to Germany in the mid-1970s and worked for 35 years as a researcher at the State Institute for Early Childhood Research and Media Literacy (IFP) in Munich, latterly leading projects on European ECEC systems and workforce professionalisation.

Together with Inge Schreyer, she completed the SEEPRO-3 study (2021-2024) on ECEC Workforce Profiles in European contexts with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs, the fourth in a series of projects based at the IFP spanning multiple countries over a period of 30 years.

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