International Conference on Early Childhood Development Islamabad Pakistan

International Conference on Early Childhood Development Islamabad, Pakistan 2019 Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education Project EPPSE 1997 – 2014 The Power of Pre-school: Evidence from EPPSE A longitudinal study funded by Df. E Research funded by the UK Department for Education Principal Investigators: Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj (Oxford) & Brenda Taggart (UCL Institute of Education) Researchers: Yvonne Anders, Sofka Barreau, Diana Draghici, Karen Elliot, Steve Hunt, Helena Jelicic, Rebecca Smees, Kati Toth and Wesley Welcomme, (UCL Io. E)

Challenges v By 2050 in most industrial counties the working population is decreasing whilst the elderly population is growing. v Economic sustainability requires maximizing the workforce but there is still inequality of opportunity. v Both academic and non-academic skills are critical. v The case for early years investment “ Like it or not, the most important mental and behavioural patterns, once established, are difficult to change once children enter school. ” (Heckman & Wax, 2004). Solutions: Invest in early childhood education 2

Moral and economic arguments for early investment Moral - Equity and social cohesion: Across OECD (2012) disadvantaged groups are at greater risk of poorer : v health, behaviour, social & emotional skills, cognitive & language & numeracy development and employability. They make poorer educational progress and have higher levels of criminality Economic – long term savings to the public purse Return on investment – Programme benefits versus cost – Schweinhart (2005), Belfield (2006) 3

Aims v To compare children from a different social and cultural backgrounds who have differing pre-school experiences v To establish whether some pre-school centres are more effective than others v To discover the characteristics of effective pre-schools v To investigate the contribution of the family and disadvantage The study 6 regions in England, 3, 000 children and their families Assessment of their academic and social-behavioural development between the ages of 3 – 16+ years Interviews with children, family and pre-school workers Studies of effective pre-school practices

EPPSE study: Evaluating influences on outcomes 5

What influences outcomes What is difficult to change: v Social class v Parental education v Living in poverty What we can change: v The Home Learning Environment v Pre-school Education

Influence of pre-school at age 5

The influence of pre-school at age 16 Total scores on General Certificate of Secondary Education – end of compulsory schooling 8

v v What do effective pre- schools do? Focus on quality v 9

What are the elements of high quality provision? Theoretical knowledge Qualifications Leadership: leading practice, setting vision Meeting individual needs workforce practice Continuous Professional Development Relationships: colleagues, parents and children Sustained shared thinking curriculum & environment Curriculum Stimulating activities and environment Safe practices Resources Adult: child ratios 10

Effective pre-schools monitor quality

Effective pedagogy v Five areas were identified with were particularly important: v Quality of the adult-child verbal interaction. v Knowledge and understanding of the curriculum. v Knowledge of how young children learn. v Adults skill in supporting children in resolving conflicts. v Helping parents to support children’s learning at home. 12

Why invest in early years? OECD (2011) report on PISA results “The bottom line: Widening access to pre-primary education can improve both overall performance and equity by reducing socio-economic disparities among students, if extending coverage does not compromise quality. ” Why early years is of global concern? Head US Federal Reserve- Ben Bernanke (2011) “No economy can succeed without a high-quality workforce, particularly in an age of globalization and technical change. Cost-effective schooling is crucial to building a better workforce, but they are only part of the story. . Research increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals and the economy as a whole. The payoffs of early childhood programs can be especially high. ” 13

For more information about EPPSE: http: //www. ucl. ac. uk/ioe/research/featuredresearch/effective-pre-school-primarysecondary-education-project Or contact Brenda Taggart b. taggart@ucl. ac. uk