Jumpstart Research Grant Competition
Applications for the 2012 Research Grant Competition are due February 20, 2012
Jumpstart, a national non-profit early education organization, provides small grants ranging between US$7,500 and $10,000 for promising research that addresses significant questions on the processes and impact of Jumpstart for early language and literacy development and social-emotional development. The intent of such grants is to provide researchers with the opportunity to investigate the influence of Jumpstart (1) on the lives of young children who live in low-income and high-stress communities, and (2) on adult volunteers who implement the Jumpstart program. Up to three grants will be awarded each year.
Funded studies may be carried out using any research method or approach as long as the focus of the project is on examining the Jumpstart program. Priority will be given to applications that use rigorous research designs and methodologies.
Information about Jumpstart
Jumpstart is currently serving over 9,000 preschool-age children each year in over 250 preschools, Head Start programs, and child care centers. Jumpstart volunteers are undergraduate college and university students (95%) at over 60 higher education institutions or community members (ages 25 to 75-years-old). The volunteers, hereafter referred to as Corps members, implement two 2-hour Jumpstart supplemental educational intervention sessions each week that focus on early language, literacy and social skills. The curriculum is designed to help children develop early language and literacy skills such as phonological awareness, oral language skills, and books and print knowledge, and socioemotional skills, such as self-confidence, persistence, planning, and selfregulation.
Priority Research Areas
Jumpstart’s goals in supporting rigorous new research are to better understand the program’s impact, find new ways to capture its effects, and add to the body of evidence enabling it to improve and replicate its program. Jumpstart has identified key research areas and questions for future investigation. Applicants should consider at least one of the following research questions:
1. In what ways does Jumpstart contribute to children’s school readiness?
2. What factors affect Jumpstart children’s school readiness (e.g., Corps member characteristics, child characteristics, classroom/environmental quality, implementation fidelity)?
3. Does the Jumpstart Program impact children with different demographic backgrounds in different ways (e.g., English language learners, different ages, or entering language levels)?
4. What impact does Jumpstart have on Corps members?
5. What impact does Jumpstart have on preschools?
In addition, studies that propose new measures or important new avenues for research are welcome. Regardless of the research area selected, applicants must explain how their research design and methodology will address the question(s) chosen for investigation.
Eligibility
Individuals who are faculty members currently engaged in a higher education program at an accredited institution of higher education, or graduate students under the mentorship of such faculty, are eligible to apply for a Jumpstart research grant.
Deadline
For the 2012 grant awards, researchers must submit proposals by February 20, 2012. Electronic submissions are required. Jumpstart’s grant review committee will review all proposals and make award announcements by April 6, 2012.
