Associations between Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) attendance, adversity and language outcomes of 2-year-olds

Abstract

Research evidence suggests children experiencing adversity are at risk of language disparities in early childhood. This puts these children at risk of poor language outcomes, perpetuating disadvantage in later development and academic life. This study aimed to investigate associations between Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) attendance, hours of attendance and quality in a cohort of 2-year-old children experiencing adversity with their language outcomes at age five. Pregnant women experiencing adversity, based on women meeting two or more of 10 factors on a brief risk factor survey, were recruited from maternity hospitals in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. At age 2 years, ECEC data was collected via survey, including ECEC attendance, amount of time spent and ECEC quality (using the Australian government’s national measure of quality, the National Quality Standard assessment) ( n = 161). At age 5 years, child language outcomes were measured using a standardised language assessment. This data was analysed using logistic regressions and the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test to identify associations. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found language scores at age five were higher, on average, for children who attended ECEC at age two compared to those who did not attend. However, hours of attendance and ECEC quality, was not found to be associated with language outcomes. Findings suggest ECEC attendance in the early developmental years (birth to age 3 years) may be a protective factor against social disadvantage factors and contribute to positive language development for children experiencing adversity. This information is important for the ECEC sector, policymakers and families to advocate, enable and ensure high-quality ECEC is accessible, particularly for children experiencing adversity.

Perspectives on Preschool Education and Care

“…Licencing standards are the minimum requirements a programme must meet to be licenced by the state or local government. These standards typically include provisions related to health and safety, such as staff-to-child ratios, background checks for staff and the cleanliness and security of the physical environment [43]. Accreditation standards are voluntary standards that programmes can meet to demonstrate their commitment to high-quality care and education.…”

Patterns of participation in early childhood education before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

“…Inequities in early childhood education attendance and quality can set children on life course trajectories that are difficult to shift (Spencer et al, 2019), particularly for children living in adversity (Lim et al, 2022). Quality preschool programs and centre-based early childhood education and care (ECEC) provide children with rich learning environments and enhance cognitive as well as social-emotional development (Coley et al, 2015; O'Connell et al, 2016).…”

Unpacking and unpicking the challenge of 600 hours of preschool attendance

“…Despite international recognition of the importance of including attendance in studies of the impact of ECE on children’s educational and developmental outcomes, most studies rely on limited evidence. A key concern, as noted by Lim et al (2022), is that attendance tends to be quantified by whether a child attends or not, and the duration of time (as years) spent in ECE. For example, large-scale population-based datasets, such as the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) (O’Connor et al, 2016), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) (Ballandares & Kankaraš, 2020) and the UNICEF Cluster Survey (Sosu & Pimenta, 2023) use a simple yes/no response as to whether the child attended preschool and at what age.…”