College of Education and Human Development

School of Education Faculty Awarded Grant to Evaluate Minnesota Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System

Divya Varier

Divya Varier, associate professor in the Educational Psychology program within the School of Education at George Mason University, was awarded a grant from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families to evaluate the state’s innovative Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS). The Minnesota ECLDS is a comprehensive, integrated data system that was designed to provide a better understanding of how young children in Minnesota are developing and learning. The ECLDS is a compilation of data collected by the Minnesota departments of Education, Human Services, and Health into one online, interactive database. The ELCDS links data across programs thus enabling agencies to make better informed decisions about programs and services relevant to early childhood health and education.

Partnering with Varier on this project is Missy Coffey, the lead evaluator, who is a recognized expert in early childhood integrated data systems. Coffey is a graduate of the PhD in Education program with a specialization in Educational Psychology within the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and has also completed graduate work at Claremont Graduate University.

Both Varier and Coffey elaborated on why they chose to work on this project and how it aligns with their research interests. Varier stated, “This project fuels my passion for evaluation, early childhood education research, and data driven decision making. I am always looking for ways to establish partnerships in research and evaluation. This project is a great way to support the professional development of our students and collaborate with field experts!”

Coffey expressed similar sentiments. “I became involved because I am working with states all over the country on their ECLDS and believe that evaluating them will help states make informed decisions about their future directions and their strategic plans. I have spent more than 15 years helping states to develop their ECLDS and I am trained through Claremont Graduate University and George Mason to design and implement evaluations. This project was the perfect blend of my content expertise and educational experiences.”

Varier stated that the project will support two George Mason doctoral students who will offer their methodological skills to support this initiative while gaining valuable experience working on a funded evaluation project. Coffey joined Varier in emphasizing how these students will benefit from taking part in this initiative. “This project,” she commented, “is important because it both offers students a real-world experience to practice their evaluation skills and because it is the first evaluation of an ECLDS in the country,”

One of the students working on the project is Chris Hart who is seeking a PhD in Education with a specialization in International Education in CEHD. Hart is also earning the Education Assessment, Evaluation, and Data Literacy Certificate with a specialization in Program Evaluation offered by George Mason’s Educational Psychology program. Hart’s eventual goal is to work in the international development community, focusing on civic education programs and being involved in program evaluation. “I took a program evaluation course with Dr. Varier, which prompted me to enroll in the certificate program,” Hart stated. “She shared this opportunity with previous students, and I jumped at the chance to work on the project. It is a great opportunity to not only fulfill my internship requirement for the certificate program but also gain valuable experience in program evaluation.”

The other student on the project team is Haoyu Lin, pursuing her PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology in George Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). Lin’s current role in the ECLDS project involves managing quantitative aspects, such as developing survey questions and later analyzing the data. She stated, “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this project. Last year, I took a program evaluation course and a practicum with Dr. Varier, which helped me realize that program evaluation in early childhood programs aligns closely with my research interests and professional goals.”

“My research focuses on preschoolers’ social-emotional development, particularly on understanding preschool teachers’ emotion socialization processes and the longitudinal outcomes of children’s social-emotional growth,” Lin continued. “This evaluation project resonates deeply with my research interests, as it involves educational programs and longitudinal data—providing valuable, relevant experience for my professional development.”

To learn more about the Education Assessment, Evaluation, and Data Literacy Certificate, please visit the website for this offering. More information about the Educational Psychology and PhD in Education programs at George Mason’s School of Education, is available on the program websites.