Occasional Paper Series

Sharon Ryan is currently Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Graduate School of Education and a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Early Education Research at Rutgers University. Before undertaking graduate studies in the United States, she worked in the early childhood field in Australia as a preschool teacher, center director, consultant, curriculum advisor, and special educator. Dr. Ryan uses a range of mixed methods designs to research early childhood curriculum and policy and workforce issues including teacher education and professional development. Much of her research has focused on the implementation of publicly funded preschool in the state of New Jersey and she has published several reports, policy briefs, and papers looking at implementation issues from the perspectives of practitioners. In addition to her research, Dr. Ryan is Editor of the early childhood series of Teachers College Press and serves on a range of Editorial Advisory Boards. In the state of New Jersey, Dr. Ryan has been involved in various state committees and advisory roles including the state’s Early Learning Council, where she co-chaired the workforce development subcommittee for several years.