Michael Little

View CV 

Bio

Dr. Michael Little is an Assistant Professor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis at NC State University, where he studies early childhood and early grades education policy and leadership. Dr. Little’s research is funded by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) and the Belk Foundation, among others. He currently serves on the editorial boards for two leading journals in the field: Early Childhood Research Quarterly and AERA Open. Dr. Little has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles in top-tier journals, including Educational Researcher and Developmental Psychology, and has been cited over 600 times. His work is regularly featured in popular press and applied in policy and practice.

Selected Recent Scholarly Publications

• Little, M. (2023). The Alignment Agenda: Examining the Movement to Bridge the Early Childhood and K-12 Sectors. AERA Open.
• Little, M. & Gragson, A. (2023). State Leaders in Early Childhood Education: Perspectives on Instructional Policy Supports and Alignment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 62(2), 288-298.
• Little, M. (2021). Nationally representative evidence on the association between preschool and executive function skills in elementary school. AERA Open, 7(1) 1-16.
• Little, M., Drake, T., Cohen-Vogel, L., & Eagle, J.*(2022). When School Doesn’t Start at Age 5: Elementary Principal Leadership of Pre-K Programs in Schools. Elementary School Journal, 123(1), 176-202.
• Cohen-Vogel, L., Little, M., Sadler, J., Merrill, B. (2020). (Mis)alignment of instructional supports in pre-k and kindergarten: Evidence from North Carolina. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
• Little, M. (2017). School-based kindergarten transition practices and child outcomes: Revisiting the issue. Elementary School Journal, 18(2) 335-356.
• Little, M. (2017). Racial and socioeconomic gaps in executive function skills in early elementary school: Nationally representative evidence from the ECLS-K:2011. Educational Researcher, 46(2), 103-109.

Courses Taught

• ED 756 Scholar Leader: Systemic Change in Education
• ELP 795: Early Childhood and Early Grades Leadership and Policy

Honors and Awards

• Editorial Board Member: Early Childhood Research Quarterly; AERA Open
• David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in K-12 Education Educational Administration and Policy (2018), American Educational Research Association.
• Royster Society of Fellows Doctoral Fellowship (2015), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Phi Beta Kappa (2013), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Area(s) of Expertise

Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis; Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education Policy; Leadership; Principals and Early Education; Mixed Methods; Pre-K-to-3rd Grade Alignment.