Effects Of Early Childhood Education Research Articles

Academic performance in childhood and the risk of attempting suicide as an adult

Background and objectivesPrevious studies have identified education as an important indicator of future psychological outcomes through the lens of parental education level. Here, we seek to understand how education affects suicide through the perspective of the child's education. MethodsThe current study follows a cohort from the Providence National Collaborative Perinatal Project from birth to adulthood with a follow-up at age 7. Through measures of reading, writing, and IQ administered at follow up, we examine the effects of early childhood education on adult mental health status and suicide attempt. ResultsWe found that among males, those scoring below 88 on the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) had a suicide attempt rate of 14.4% while those whose scores were above 106 had a suicide attempt rate of 8.8%. In females, the suicide attempt rates for those with WRAT scores below 88 and above 106 were 18.6% and 9.5%, respectively. We also found that females scoring below 89 on measures of Full-Scale IQ had much higher suicide attempt rates (16.6%) than those with higher scores. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that reading and writing, and thus educational attainment at age 7, were predictive risk for suicide attempt in adulthood. Educators, parents, and mental health professionals should be aware of this association and monitor students who perform poorly academically for signs of depression and suicidal ideation, offering the appropriate support when necessary.

Early Childhood Education to Promote Health Equity: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

Children in low-income and racial and ethnic minority families often experience delays in development by 3 years of age and may benefit from center-based early childhood education. A meta-analysis on the effects of early childhood education by Kay and Pennucci best met Community Guide criteria and forms the basis of this review. There were increases in intervention compared with control children in standardized test scores (median = 0.29 SD) and high school graduation (median = 0.20 SD) and decreases in grade retention (median = 0.23 SD) and special education assignment (median = 0.28 SD). There were decreases in crime (median = 0.23 SD) and teen births (median = 0.46 SD) and increases in emotional self-regulation (median = 0.21 SD) and emotional development (median = 0.04 SD). All effects were favorable, but not all were statistically significant. Effects were also long-lasting. Because many programs are designed to increase enrollment for high-risk students and communities, they are likely to advance health equity.

The long-run impacts of early childhood education: Evidence from a failed policy experiment

We investigate short and long-term effects of early childhood education using variation created by a policy experiment in British Columbia, Canada. Our findings imply being in kindergarten longer increases the probability of repeating the third grade, and decreases tenth grade math and reading scores. Effects are highest for low income students and males. Estimates suggest that more time in kindergarten may have a detrimental effect on future outcomes.

Some children are more different than others

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore how professional educators in early childhood education cope with diverse linguistic environments in their daily work. The article addresses this issue by focusing on practices of language use in Luxembourgian nurseries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is reflecting on empirical data of an ethnographic research project currently conducted in six different day care facilities for children from three months to four years old. The study uses participant observation and videography as data collection strategies. Data analysis was based on field notes and protocols, video recordings, photographs, documents, and artifacts.FindingsOn the basis of the ethnographic observations, two different practical regimes of “doing linguistic diversity” are discriminated: an area of “practicing super‐diversity” and an area of “practicing difference”. In the context of the second regime it becomes visible that the use of Luxemburgish as lingua franca for the communication between educators and children produces unequal distributed opportunities for foreign children when participating linguistically in the everyday life of daycare facilities.Originality/valueThe paper raises serious questions about the language policies in the Luxembourgian daycare sector as well as in respect to the supposed inclusion effects of early childhood education and care, effects that both politicians and professionals emphasize regularly. This especially concerns the conceptualization of “the child” which is in use while professionals treat children as foreign language speakers.

The effects of early childhood education on literacy scores using data from a new Brazilian assessment tool

The aim of this study was to identify the effects of early childhood education (ECE) on literacy scores of 2nd grade students in elementary school. To do that, the Provinha Brasil was administered in Sertãozinho-SP, in conjunction with a socioeconomic questionnaire. Despite external validity problems, the evaluation of the effects of ECE in one municipality is advantageous, as we can estimate the effects of one kind of treatment. Other studies ignore this fact. Often, they estimate an average effect of various treatments effects (not just one), as they use data from different municipalities where ECE programs have different levels of quality. The OLS and Propensity Score Matching results show that students who started school at the ages of 5, 4, and 3 years had literacy scores between 12.22 and 19.54 points higher than those who began school at the age of 6 years or later.

Using Assessment to Improve the Effectiveness of Early Childhood Education

Using Assessment to Improve the Effectiveness of Early Childhood Education

A large‐scale longitudinal study of the utilization and effects of early childhood education and care in The Netherlands

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are expected to make an important contribution to the prevention of educational disadvantages stemming from social–ethnic factors. In the present study, three services are central: daycare centers, preschools, and special parent–child programs. Whether or not relations exist between the utilization of ECEC services and a number of the characteristics of the parent and the child is examined initially. Thereafter, the effects of such participation in ECEC services on the cognitive and non‐cognitive competencies of the children involved are examined. The recent data from the Dutch cohort study Elementary Education involving a total of approximately 33,500 students from 600 elementary schools are analyzed. The results show significant relations between the utilization of ECEC services and such parent characteristics as education, ethnic origin and paid employment. With regard to the effects of participation in ECEC services, only very weak associations with the cognitive and non‐cognitive competencies of the children are detected but they disappear when the relevant background characteristics of the parents are taken into consideration.

Changes in teachers’ perceptions of developmentally appropriate practice

The recent focus on the effects of early childhood education on future academic success has caused many early childhood teacher educators to examine the relevance of the instruction they give to early childhood professionals for meeting the educational goals for the 21 st century. This study examined the effects of a set of core courses in an early childhood Master's program on teacher's perceptions of their use of developmentally appropriate practices. Thirty Master's students completed a survey about their teaching practices before and after taking a sequence of required courses in early childhood education. The survey measured the graduate students’ perceptions of their movement toward adopting developmentally appropriate practices. There was a significant shift toward developmentally appropriate practice in regard to curriculum, instruction, assessment and materials. The discussion section provides recommendations for curriculum and instruction in early childhood Master's programs.

Persistent Effects of Early Childhood Education on High-Risk Children and Their Mothers

Child and mother outcomes are reported for the Abecedarian Project, an early childhood education, pediatric healthcare, and family support program for high-risk children and their mothers. Three randomized intervention conditions for at-risk participants were compared to a control condition. Randomized control group participants received family support social services, low-cost or free pediatric care, and child nutritional supplements but no additional educational program beyond what the parents and the local school system provided. The local community was generally affluent and well educated; disadvantaged families represented a small minority whose welfare was a high social and educational priority. The educational intervention conditions were (a) preschool education for the first 5 years of life plus a supplementary kindergarten through 2nd grade Educational Support Program (Preschool plus K-2 Support), (b) preschool education (Preschool Only), and (c) K-2 Educational Support Program (K-2 Only). Child outcomes were assessed with respect to cognitive development, academic achievement, grade retention, and special education placements. For mothers, the effect of having educational childcare during the preschool period was examined with respect to maternal educational gains and employment. Positive and systematic cognitive and academic achievement differences were found for children in the preschool treatment conditions, particularly when that condition was combined with the K-2 Educational Support Program. High-quality, consistently available preschool education was also associated with greater maternal educational advancement and higher levels of employment particularly for teenage mothers. These findings have direct relevance for education and welfare policies.

Long-Term Cognitive and Academic Effects of Early Childhood Education on Children in Poverty

It is generally accepted that early childhood education improves the cognitive performance of children in poverty in the short-term, but whether cognitive effects persist in the long-term is hotly debated. This paper presents the results of a critical review of 38 studies of the long-term effects of early childhood programs on children in poverty. Outcomes examined include IQ, achievement, and academic success as measured by grade repetition, special education placement, and high school graduation. Early childhood education is found to produce persistent effects on achievement and academic success, but not on IQ (with some exceptions). Head Start and public school programs produce the same types of effects as better funded model programs, but at least some of the effects are smaller. Cost-benefit analysis based on one randomized trial finds that the economic return from providing early education to children in poverty far exceeds the costs. Head Start, public school preschool education, and education in high-quality child care programs all offer avenues for government investment to improve the long-term cognitive development and academic success of children in poverty.

The Long-Range Effects of Early Childhood Education on a Trainable Mentally Retarded Population

This ex post facto research project examines 9-, 10-, and 11-year old children who were enrolled in programs for the trainable mentally retarded in Oregon and upon whom standardized skill acquisition data were available. In each age group were children who had no, 1, or 2 or more years of preschool experience. Results of students' performance indicated significant differences at ages 9, 10, and 11 in language, academics, self-help, and motor skill performance between those who had 2 or more years of preschool and those who had only 1 year or no preschool. Specific characteristics of preschools were identified that contributed to better skill acquisition scores among the children. No differences could be found in teachers' perceptions of those who had preschool than those who did not. Children's current teachers, however, were highly supportive of preschool experiences for handicapped children. Parents did have different perceptions of their children if they had had preschool experience than if they did not.