Jessica Harding studies early childhood education and programs that support at-risk families to promote their children’s development, including through increasing parents’ income, employment, education, parenting skills, and engagement with their children’s education.
As part of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) team, Harding conducts quantitative analyses of Head Start children’s development. For example, she has led analyses to examine whether changes in children’s demographic characteristics explain changes in their outcomes across FACES cohorts. Harding provides technical assistance to grantees and conducts implementation evaluations, including (1) coaching Strengthening Working Families Initiative grantees who support parents facing barriers to training for middle- or high-skilled jobs and (2) working with the National Center on Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships to inform its continuous quality improvement. Harding also works on systematic evidence reviews and currently leads a review of programs to support pregnant and parenting adolescents.
Harding joined Mathematica in 2016. Her work has been published in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Developmental Psychology, and the Journal of Marriage and Family. She received her Ph.D. in applied psychology from New York University.
Mathematica and its partner, Brazelton Touchpoints Center, are examining how Head Start programs successfully recruit, select, enroll, and retain families experiencing adversities.
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