William Steven Barnett

W. Steven (Steve) Barnett is a Board of Governors Professor and the founding Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Dr. Barnett’s work primarily focuses on public policies regarding early childhood education, child care, and child development. His research includes studies of the economics of early care and education including costs and benefits, the long-term effects of preschool programs on children’s learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities (both participation in out-of-home early care and education as well as home learning activities). Dr. Barnett earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 publications.

Beyond a broad interest in the economics of human development and education his research interests encompass the development of practical policies for translating research findings into effective public investments and bringing greater transparency and prominence to early childhood policies.  His best known works include: research on long-term effects of public preschool programs; benefit-cost analyses of the Perry Preschool and Abecedarian programs; randomized trials comparing alternative approaches to educating children including length of day, class size, monolingual versus dual-language immersion, and curriculum; research on preschool program impacts on executive function; and, the series of State of Preschool yearbooks providing annual state-by-state analyses of progress in public pre-K.

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• Areas of Expertise

  Education Economics

  Education Policy

  Early Childhood Care and Education

  Dr. Barnett’s current research focuses on improving young children’s early experiences in and out of the home with emphasis on early childhood care and education policies and practice in the United States and around the globe.

• Recent & Selected Publications

  Barnett, W. S., & Jung, K. (2024). Auspice and other policy-related variations in preschool practice in the United States: have public preschool programs been more academic?. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 18(1), 13.

  Hahn, R. A., & Barnett, W. S. (2023). Early childhood education: Health, equity, and economics. Annual Review of Public Health, 44, 75-92.

  Barnett, W. S., & Jung, K. (2021). Effects of New Jersey’s Abbott preschool program on children’s achievement, grade retention, and special education through tenth grade. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 56, 248-259.

  Barnett, W. S., & Jung, K. (2021). Seven impacts of the pandemic on young children and their parents: Initial findings from NIEER’s December 2020 preschool learning activities survey. National Institute for Early Education Research.

  Barnett, W. S., Jung, K., Friedman-Krauss, A., Frede, E. C., Nores, M., Hustedt, J. T., … & Daniel-Echols, M. (2018). State prekindergarten effects on early learning at kindergarten entry: An analysis of eight state programs. AERA Open, 4(2), 2332858418766291.

  Diamond, A., Barnett, W.S., Thomas, J. and Munro, S., 2007. Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318(5855), pp.1387-1388.

• Honors & Awards

  Fellow, American Educational Research Association

  Member, National Academy of Education

• Editorships

  Co-editor In Chief, International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy

• Files

  Download Steve Barnett CV