priorities for early childhood education greg j. duncan school of education university of...
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Priorities for Early Childhood Education
Greg J. Duncan
School of Education
University of California, Irvine
What skills and behaviors matter most for success in school?
How best to structure early education to maximize school readiness?
Skills and Behaviors
Achievement Engagement Problem Behaviors
Description: Concrete math and reading skills
Ability to control impulses and focus on tasks
i) Ability to get along with others
ii) Sound mental health
Example test areas or question wording:
Knowing letters and numbers;
beginning word sounds, word
problems
Can’t sit still; can’t
concentrate; score from a
computer test of impulse control
i) Cheats or tells lies, bullies, is disobedient at school
ii) Is sad, moody
Skill and behavior gaps between high- and low-income kindergarteners
Series1
-10
0
+106
+53
-27 -30Kindergarten gap 5th grade gap
Math or reading
achievement
Mental health
problemsAnti-social behavior
School en-gagement
Source: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort.
Skill and behavior gaps between high- and low-income kindergarteners and fifth graders
Series1
-10
0
+106
+53
-27 -30
+121
+59
-42-31
Kindergarten gap 5th grade gap
Math or reading
achievement
Mental health
problemsAnti-social behavior
School en-gagement
Source: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort.
How important are school-entry academic skills and behavior for school achievement?
How important are K-5 academic skills and behavior for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent academic skills and behavior for labor market success?
Effects of school-entry skills and behaviors on later achievement
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 400
Mental health
Reading
Math
EngagementAnti-social
Effects of school-entry skills and behaviors on later achievement
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 400
Mental health
Reading
MathEngagementAnti-social
How important are school-entry academic skills and behavior for school achievement?
How important are K-5 academic skills and behavior for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent academic skills and behavior for labor market success?
Effects of K-5 skills and behaviors on completed schooling
0 10 20 300
Effects of K-5 skills and behaviors on completed schooling
0 10 20 300
Anxiety Reading
Anti-socialAt-
ten-tion
Math
How important are school-entry academic skills and behavior for school achievement?
How important are K-5 academic skills and behavior for completed schooling?
How important are adolescent academic skills and behavior for labor market success?
Effects of adolescent skills and behaviors on earnings
0 10 200
Effects of adolescent skills and behaviors on earnings
0 10 200
Anxiety Reading
Anti-socialAt-
ten-tion
Math
Bottom line
• Early academic skills are vital and we need to promote them in the home and in early education settings
How well do ECE programs promote
these skills?
• Evidence from 1960-2007
1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015
-0.50
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
Average cognitive impact at end of treatmentA
ve
rag
e e
ffe
ct
siz
e i
n s
d u
nit
s
Perry Preschool
Abecedarian
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
-0.50
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
Average cognitive impact at end of treatment
Head Start Non Head Start
Av
era
ge
eff
ec
t s
ize
in
sd
un
its
Perry Preschool
Y
Abecedarian
National Head Start
Boston pre-K
Bottom line
• Perry and Abecedarian are truly exceptional but ECE can make a difference
Does curriculum matter?
• Most Head Start centers use “global curricula” – Creative Curriculum & High Scope
• Can other curricula do better?
• PCER study comparisons (preliminary)
Impacts of literacy, math and teacher-designed curricula, relative to High Scope/Creative Curriculum
Series1
00
00
00
01
0.14
-0.13
Literacy Math Behavior
Literacy curricula Math curricula Teacher-designed curricula
Impacts of literacy, math and teacher-designed curricula, relative to High Scope/Creative Curriculum
Series1
00
00
00
01
0.14 0.13
-0.13
0.27
Literacy Math Behavior
Literacy curricula Math curricula Teacher-designed curricula
Boston pre-K as a model?
• Curriculum combined proven math & literacy and behavioral curricula
• Strong professional development, including coaching
• Big impacts, but $12K per child
Boston pre-K Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013 Child Development
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0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.44***
0.62***0.59***
0.50***
Eff
ect
size
Positive “Spillover” Effects on All Three Dimensions of Executive Function Skills
Weiland & Yoshikawa, Nov / Dec 2013 issue, Child Development
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.24*** 0.24***0.21***
0.28***
0.11
25
What does Boston pre-K look like?
6-minute video from restoringopportunity.com
