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DIT - CSER
8th April 2011
“The Power of Pre-school: Lessons from research on the long term impact of quality pre-school provision”
Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education Project
(EPPSE 3-16)
A Longitudinal Study Funded by the UK Department for Education 1997-2014
Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford Institute of Education, University of London
Intro to the EPPE/EPPSE study
Evidence from EPPE/REPEY, EPPNI and MEEIFP
Exploring quality
The short, medium and long term impact of pre-school
This presentation
The overall research design of EPPSE 3-14 Project as an example of ‘educational effectiveness’ research using valued added methods.
EPPSE combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
The EPPE/EPPSE Design
To compare the progress of children from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds who have differing pre-school experiences.
To separate out the effects of pre-school experience from the effects of primary school.
To establish whether some pre-school centres are more effective than others in promoting children’s development.
To discover the characteristics of pre-school education in those centres found to be most effective.
To investigate the differences in the progress of groups of children, e.g. children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Aims of research on educational effectiveness
25 nursery classes
590 children
34 playgroups
610 children
31 private day nurseries
520 children
20 nursery schools
520 children
7 integrated centres
190 children
24 local authority day care nurseries
430 children
home
310 children
Design of EPPSE : 6 Local Authorities, 141 pre-schools, 3,000 childrenPre-school
Provision (3+ yrs)
KS 1
862
sch
KS2
1,128
sch
KS3
739
sch
KS4
700+
sch
● Child assessment (social/behaviour & cognitive) at 3, 4+, 6, 7, 10 ,11 & 14 years (first 16 outcomes in 2009)
● Family background at 3, 6 and 11 & 14
● Interviews/questionnaires with staff
● ‘Quality’ rating scales in pre-school
● Case studies of effective pre-school settings
● Pedagogical observations in primary school
● School and classroom climate questionnaires
● Children’s views of school at age 7, 10 & 14
● Teachers’ views on school processes and practice in Yr 5 & Yr 9
Sources of data, so far
Different influences on child outcomes
Child Factors
Family Factors
Home-Learning-
Environment
Cognitive outcomes:English & maths
Social/Behavioural:Self RegulationLikes to work things out for self
Pro-socialConsiderate of others feelings
HyperactivityRestless, cannot stay still for long
Anti-social Has been in trouble with the law
Primary School
Pre-School
Drawing on evidence from projects:EPPE/REPEY 3-7 (England)EPPNI 3-5 (Northern Ireland)MEEIFP 3-6 (Wales)
Key Issues – nationally and internationally! Quality of provision formal v informal (care and education) Transitions – especially Summer born children Ratios Training Literacy and interactions Appropriate curriculum and assessments
Early Years and outcomes
If children come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are ‘at risk’ of social problems, then high quality pre-school/early years will make an important contribution to improving their social development.
Children with no pre-school experience (the ‘home’ group) had poorer intellectual attainment, sociability and concentration when they started school, even after taking account of home background.
More terms in pre-school (after the age of 2 years) is related to better cognitive and social progress (dose effect).
Children who attend pre-school settings part-time develop as well as those children attending full-time
Effectiveness
. Integrated settings and nursery schools tend to do better
on cognitive outcomes even after taking account of children’s backgrounds.
Integrated settings (which have fully integrated education with care) nursery schools and nursery classes are better at fostering children’s social development
Settings with higher quality provision decreased children’s anti-social/ worried behaviour.
Quality Settings in the state educational sector have children who make (comparatively)
more progress than those in the private/voluntary sector. In the EPPE sample, nursery schools and centres that integrated education and
care tended to be rated highest on quality, (e.g. ECERS and Caregiver Interaction Scale).
Good quality and better cognitive outcomes for children are associated with higher quality as defined by the ECERS R and E
In the most effective settings, staff had 1. better knowledge of the curriculum and child development2. engaged more in ‘sustained shared thinking’ with children3. Supported children in talking through and resolving conflict Adults had warm, responsive relationships with children. Set clear educational goals. Have recognised early years qualifications. Trained teachers are amongst the staff. Parents are supported in involvement in children’s learning.
Complex value-added model: the effect of pre-school’s quality on children’s cognitive
progressPre-
readingEarly
number concepts
Language
Non-verbal
reasoning
Spatial awarene
ss
ECERS-E
Average total positive* positive positive
Literacy positive* positive
Maths positive
Science/Environment positive#
Diversity positive# positive positive
ECERS-R
Average total
Space and furnishings
Personal care
Language and reasoning
positive#
Activities
Interaction positive
Programme structure
Parents and staff positive#* When change of centre is not in model # verging on statistical significance
Complex value-added model: the effect of pre-school’s quality on children’s social-
behavioural development
Independence and concentration
Cooperation and Conformity
Peer Sociability
Anti-social/ Worried
ECERS-E
Average total positive# positive#
Literacy positive#
Maths
Science/ environment
positive#
Diversity positive# positive#
Home learning before 3 years
reading to children;teaching children songs and nursery rhymes;playing with letters and numbers;painting and drawing;taking children to libraries;(for social outcomes) creating regular
opportunities for play with friends.
What parents and carers do is most important and makes a real difference to development. Activities for parents which help children’s development include:
Training: Relationship between Quality and Manager Qualification: EPPE evidence
0
1
2
3
4
5
Literacy Mathematics Science and environment Diversity
ECER
S-E
scor
e
Level 2 Level 3 / 4 Level 5
EPPE -ECERS-R and Manager Qualifications
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Language reasoning Activities Interaction Programmestructure
Parents and staff
EC
ER
S-R
score
Level 2
Level 3 / 4
Level 5
Best Practice in the Foundation Phase (achieved by 10% of the pilots, all maintained)
4th December, 2006
The best settings in terms of implementing the FP appear to have the following common characteristics:
More detailed, focused planning.
Lead practitioners with good leadership and management skills and the ability to allocate effective roles for other adults whilst planning together for children’s learning
Guided and supported play activities with higher levels of adult-child interaction that support children’s thinking.
Clear and dynamic vision and leadership from setting heads who have a good grasp of effective early years practice and are able to communicate this effectively to FP staff.
Best Practice in the Foundation Phase
4th December, 2006
The best settings did not slavishly adhere to the FP guidance but took it seriously and built the FP into existing good practice.
A move away from over-formal practice in the basics towards a more experiential, child centred and adult guided, play based practice.
The leadership of the setting has a culture of investing in staff development.
Some well trained and qualified staff who have a good understanding of child development and pedagogy and who actively support other staff in working with children.
Sustained shared thinking:
An episode in which two or more individuals “work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend.
Open-ended questions
Playful learning
Effective Pedagogy
Percentage of high cognitive challenge activities within each initiation category in
each setting type
0
20
40
60
good excellent
child initiatedchild but adultadult initiatedp
erc
en
tag
e
0
20
40
60
Good Excellent Reception classes
% o
f 'pe
dago
gica
l' in
tera
ctio
ns
Shared sustained thinking Instruction Monitoring
Proportion of adult cognitive pedagogical interactions in settings varying in
effectiveness
Time spent by children in different social groupings across settings of varying
effectiveness
0
20
40
60
Good Excellent Reception classes
% o
f in
terv
als
Alone/1:1 Child pair Small group Whole class
From: Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2009) ‘Early Childhood Education’ in Maynard, T. and Thomas, N. (Eds.) An Introduction to Early Childhood Studies, (2nd Edition) London: Sage Publications (in press)
Table 1: OECD Curriculum Outlines
Teacher’sinitiating activities
Teacher’s extending activities
Differentiation and Formative
Assessment
Relationships and conflict
between children
Sustained Shared
Thinking
EEL[1] “Introducing new activities”
“Enriching interventions”
“Observe children”
“Work out sustaining relations”
“Engagement”
High Scope “Sharing
Control”“Participation as
partners”
“Plan - Do -
Review”
“Adopt a problem solving
approach”“Authentic dialogue”
Reggio Emilia
“Development of short and long-term projects”
“Sustaining the cognitive and
social dynamics”
“Teachers first listen don’t talk”
“Warm reciprocal
relationships”
“Reciprocity of interactions”
EPPE/REPEY
Correlations found with
effective practice
Correlations found with
effective practice
Correlations found with
effective practice
Correlations found with
effective practice
Correlations found with effective practice
Reducing Inequality
Investing in good quality EYFS provision is an effective means of achieving targets concerning social exclusion and breaking cycles of disadvantage, but more is only better if the quality is right.
Playful learning for children is based on the following ideas:
Building on and extending the child’s interests The child is usually active physically, socially and
intellectually The learning is exploratory without necessarily fixed
outcomes in mind Playful learning motivates children to try more
challenging learning Children use, apply and extend their knowledge, skills
and understanding through active exploration In social contexts children develop their capacities for
cooperation and collaboration and can often explore complex ideas
Supporting playful learning involves the use of a suite of strategies including:
Creating well resourced environments with rich materials Being involved and interacting with children as they play
and explore Maintaining a purposeful focus on the child’s learning and
development Modelling expressive language and consciously extending
children’s vocabulary Constructively engaging with children to scaffold and extend
learning Using sustained shared thinking strategies to build on child-
initiated activity to extend knowledge, skills and understanding
The role of adults in supporting playful learning includes:
The short , medium and long term impact of pre-school
Pre-reading at school entry
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Low duration High duration
Effe
ct s
ize
Low quality High quality
Short Term impact- Aged 5 (entry to school)Reading
Short term impact – Aged 5 (entry to school) Social-behavioural
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Cooperation andconformity
Independence andconcentration
Peer sociability
Effe
ct s
ize
Scores on the total ECERS-R were positively related to children’s progress in Cooperation/conformity
Scores on the ‘social interaction’ sub-scale were related to the development of independence and peer sociability
Total scores on the ECERS-E were significantly related to progress in children’s
- Pre-reading(Phonological awareness, letter recognition)
- Non-verbal reasoning - Number skills
Sub-scale scores were related to- - independence and concentration
Main findings from the ECERS- R & E
Caregiver Interaction Scale (Arnett)
• Positive relationships is a subscale made up of 10 items indicating warmth and enthusiasm interaction with children by the caregiver.
• Punitiveness is a subscale made up of 8 items indicating harsh or over-controlling behaviour in interaction with children by the caregiver.
• Permissiveness is a subscale made up of 4 items indicating avoidance of discipline and control of children by the caregiver.
• Detachment is a subscale made up of 4 items indicating lack of involvement in interaction with children by the caregiver.
Pre-reading
Early numberconcepts
Independence & Concentration
Co-operation & Conformity
Peer Sociability
Positive relationships + + + + +
Punitiveness
- - -
Permissive
- - - -
Detachment
- - - -
Impact of quality as measured by the Caregivers Interaction Scale on cognitive and social behaviour outcomes
READING at key stage 1, social class and pre-school experience
WRITING at key stage 1, social class and pre-school experience
Medium Term Impact – Aged 7 (end of KS 1 ) - Reading and Writing
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
Professional Skilled Un/semi skilled
Social class by occupation
Me
an
ye
ar
2 r
ea
din
g le
vel
Pre-school
Expected minimum
No pre-school
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
Professional Skilled Un/semi skilled
Social class by occupation
Me
an
ye
ar
2 w
ritin
g le
vel
Pre-school
Expected minimum
No pre-school
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
Professional Skilled Un/semi skilled
Social class by occupation
Me
an
Y2
ma
ths le
ve
l
Pre-school
Expected minimum
No pre-school
MATHEMATICS at key stage 1, social class and pre-school experience
The contribution of social class and pre-school to mathematics attainment (age 7)
The impact of Pre-school Quality (ECERS-E: Educational aspects) on English and Maths
Pre-school quality is associated with Key Stage 2 performance in both English and Mathematics.
Also medium or high quality pre-school is associated with significantly enhanced attainment compared to no pre-school or low quality pre-school, and the effects are comparable in size to the effects of gender and FSM.
The Combined Impact of Pre-School Quality and Primary School Effectiveness (Value add) - Mathematics
Reference Group: No Pre-School and Very low / low Primary School Effectiveness
0.34 0.33
0.480.47 0.470.50
0.53
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
no pre-school low medium high
very low / low
medium / high / very high
Effect of Pre-School Quality and Primary School Effectiveness on Mathematics at Age 10
Eff
ect
Siz
e
Primary School Effectiveness (English):
Reference Group: No Pre-School + very low / low effective primary school
Pre-School Quality
Long Term impact – Aged 10 Pre-school Quality and Self Regulation
• Self regulation is highest in children who have attended medium or high quality pre-schools
The impact of Pre-school Quality (ECER-R: Social/Care aspects)
on Hyperactivity and Pro-social Behaviour
• Children who attend high quality pre-school display higher pro-social behaviour and lower levels of hyperactive behaviour
• Home children show significantly reduced levels of positive social behaviour relative to children who attended pre-school regardless of quality, however, they also show reduced levels of Hyperactivity
Hyperactivity Pro-social
The impact of Pre-school Quality (ECERS-R: Social/Care aspects & ECERS-E: Educational aspect) on Self-regulation
and Pro-social behaviour
Children who attended medium and high quality pre-schools had higher levels of ‘Self-regulation’ in Year 6 than others.
‘Home’ children were rated by teachers as having less ‘‘Pro-social’’ behaviour relative to children who had attended pre-school, although the difference is most marked for those who attended high quality.
“Pre-school quality in practice and policy implications”DIT - CSER
8th April 2011
Professor Iram Siraj-BlatchfordInstitute of Education, University of
London
Curriculum and pedagogical objectives, ‘starting with the child’?
• Communication;
• Collaboration;
• Creativity and
Problem solving ‘learning to learn’ (L2L)
Creativity and Playful learning
Vygotsky (2004) distinguished between two types of cognitive activity, those ‘reproductive’, and those involving creativity: ”Creative activity, based on the ability of our brain to combine elements, is called imagination or fantasy in psychology” (p4). In their fantasy play, young children separate objects and actions from their meaning in the real world and give them new meanings. This provides a basis for early representational thinking.
In more advanced forms of representational thinking ‘props’ are no longer required, problems may be solved entirely ‘in one’s head’.
The development of such sophisticated levels of abstraction are also related to the development of Metacognition – this is the knowledge and awareness children come to develop of their own cognitive processes.
Metacognition develops as the child finds it necessary to describe, explain and justify their thinking about different aspects of the world to others.
For most children such a ‘theory of mind’ develops at about 4½ years, but it can be earlier or later. Research shows that children’s pretend play becomes reciprocal and complementary at about the same time.
To be creative we need two things:
• Knowledge of a broad range of alternative ‘things that can be done (or thought)’.
• The playful disposition to try out these alternatives in new contexts, whether this be in the ‘minds eye’ or in the material world.
When we give children more control of their learning we provide an opportunity for them to be creative
Encourage children:
to playfully look for alternative ways of doing things
to see that there is always a choice
to make connections between things
to make unusual comparisons to see things from others points
of view
Learning to Learn
“Much of what teachers (sic) do in helping students to learn how to learn consists of strengthening their meta-cognitive capacity, namely the capacity to monitor, evaluate, control and change how they think and learn. This is a critical feature of personalised learning”. (Hargreaves et al, 2005, DEMOS p 18)
In the early years this is achieved in… Play
Home learning before 3 years
reading to children;teaching children songs and nursery rhymes;playing with letters and numbers;painting and drawing;taking children to libraries;(for social outcomes) creating regular
opportunities for play with friends.
What parents and carers do is most important and makes a real difference to development. Activities for parents which help children’s development include:
1458 100.01548 100.0Total
224 15.4 122 7.9HLE 33-45
497 34.1 463 29.9HLE 25-32
351 24.1376 24.3HLE 20-24
284 19.5381 24.6HLE 14-19
102 7.0206 13.3HLE 0-13
GirlsBoys
Do parents interact differently with boys and girls?
Sustained shared thinking:
An episode in which two or more individuals “work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend.
Open-ended questions feature; and
Playful learning, building on the child’s interests.The above are difficult to assess as outcomes but are essential to achieving good outcomes! Necessary but not sufficient, we still require good content.
(Siraj-Blatchford et al., REPEY, DfES 2002)
Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years includes quality interactions:
From the Early Education Project on SST
How can we support children’s sustained shared
thinking? They may include the adult:
Tuning inShowing genuine interestRespecting children’s own decisions and
choices inviting children to elaborateRe-capping Offering your own experienceClarifying ideasWaiting for a responseNot hurrying children
SuggestingRemindingReflecting Using encouragement to further thinkingOffering an alternative viewpointSpeculatingReciprocatingSurprising!Asking a balance of closed and open-
ended questionsModeling and demonstrating thinking
I think… I agree…
I imagine… I disagree…
I like… I don’t like…
I wonder…
The role of the teacher/adult:
Encouraging reflection:
I don’t know, what do you think?
That’s an interesting idea.
I like what you have done there…what…
Have you seen what X has done…why…
I wondered why you had…
I’ve never thought about that before…
You’ve really made me think…
What would happen if we did…
The role of the teacher/adult: Enquiry Questions
Positive questioning/statements:
The role of the pedagogue: Enquiry Questions
Questions can often be started with ‘I wonder…what, if, why, how, when, where…’
InvestigatingFinding outIdentifyingObservingLooking closelyAsking questions
How could you find out?What do you think is happening?Why do you think this happens?What do you think is happening?What can you see?What do you think?What would you like to ask?
Exploration & Investigation
Sense of Time
Finding out When did it happen?Do you think that it was always like this?
Questions can often be started with ‘I wonder…what, if, why, how, when, where…’
The role of the pedagogue
Knowing
Comparing
Why do you think that?
Do you think everyone would think the same?
Questions can often be started with ‘I wonder…what, if, why, how, when, where…’
The role of the teacher/adult: Enquiry Questions
Curriculum and pedagogy
Teaching and learning will be most effective if they engage and build on children's existing understandings.
Key concepts involved in each domain of early years learning,
Metacognitive skill development allows children to learn to solve problems more effectively.
Professional understandings (1)
mastery of information on the pedagogy of teaching early years children, including:
Knowledge of teaching and learning and child development and how to integrate them into practice.
Information about how to provide rich conceptual experiences that promote growth in specific content areas, as well as particular areas of development, such as language (vocabulary) and cognition (reasoning).
Professional understandings (2)
Knowledge of effective teaching strategies, including organizing the environment and routines so as to promote activities that build social-emotional relationships in the classroom.
Knowledge of subject-matter content appropriate for young children and knowledge of professional standards in specific content areas.
Professional understandings (3)
Knowledge of assessment procedures (observation/performance records, work sampling, interview methods) that can be used to inform instruction.
Knowledge of the variability among children, in terms of teaching methods and strategies that may be required, including teaching children who have EAL, children from various economic and regional contexts, and children with identified disabilities.
Professional understandings (4)
Ability to work with teams of professionals.
Appreciation of the parents' role and knowledge of methods of collaboration with parents and families.
Appreciation of the need for appropriate strategies for accountability.
National Research Council (US) Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy. Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers. National Academy Press, Washington (2001) pp1-21.
For further Information about EPPSE project visit the
www.ioe.ac.uk/projects/eppe
or Tel 00 44 (0)20 7612 6219 Brenda Taggart Research Co-ordinator ([email protected])
or the DCSF website at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/
Principal Investigators:Professor Kathy Sylva, University of OxfordProfessor Edward Melhuish, Birkbeck, University of LondonProfessor Pam Sammons, University of NottinghamProfessor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Institute of Education, University of LondonBrenda Taggart , Institute of Education, University of London
Analyses Team at the Institute of Education, University of London:Dr. Stephen Hunt, Dr. Helena Jeličić, Rebecca Smees and Wesley Welcomme
