The goals of the conference are to identify and disseminate research relevant to young children (birth to 8 years) and their families and to encourage collaborations and partnerships among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. The conference focuses especially on research that considers low-income families who are Head Start's service population.

Fostering young children's success in learning and coping constitutes the theme of Head Start's 11th National Research Conference. Children and families in Head Start reflect the increasing diversity of our nation and the need to understand the nuances of diverse development, including what is universal and what is context-specific. As always, attention must be paid to nurturing environments that support children's competency in language, literacy, mathematics, science and social sciences, logic and reasoning, social and emotional development, creative arts expression, physical and nutritional health, and approaches to learning. Current research continues to explore the dynamic complexity within and between these nurturing environments, whether family, classroom, child care, peer group or community. The 2012 Conference will present the latest work that examines the deeper layers of contexts and processes that foster young children's success.