Commentary: What happens next? Delivering on the promise of preschool

Abstract

Although scientific research has clearly shown that preschool programs prepare children for kindergarten, increasing attention has been drawn to whether these early investments in children’s education have long-term impacts. Here, we argue that long-term impacts of preschool cannot be viewed in isolation from children’s subsequent experiences and, in fact, are unlikely absent of continued investments in children’s education. In this commentary, we focus on the following two key themes: (a) What we can expect from one year of preschool education?; and (b) What happens after children enter elementary school. In addressing these themes, we contextualize the work of Lipsey, Farran, & Durkin (2018) in the existing evidence base and discuss areas in need of continued empirical attention.