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Contributions of early childhood education to age 14 performance: Evidence from the Competent Children, Competent Learners project

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Author: 
Wylie, Cathy; Hodgen, Edith; Ferral, Hilary & Thompson, Jean
Format: 
Report
Publication Date: 
3 Apr 2006
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Excerpts from the report: This report adds to the research literature on the effects of early childhood education (ECE) by providing findings that show how differences in ECE experience are reflected in differences in performance at age 14, for the Competent Children, Competent Learners sample. In general, the difference between those who had the highest or most level of a particular aspect of ECE experience and others was around 9 percentage points (out of 100), which is a reasonable size difference. Family resource factors (income and maternal qualification) make more of a difference, partially because they are continuing elements in a child's life as they move through school, but ECE experience continue to make a difference once these are taken into account. ECE experience appears to make most of its contribution by the time children start school, but a continuing contribution was still evident at age 14 after taking age-5 performance, family income, and maternal qualification into account.