Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Skip to main content

Reflections on quality and dosage of preschool and children's development

Description:
This ambitious monograph tackles several important questions related to children's preschool experiences that have relevance for program and policy initiatives at the state and federal levels. The authors' approach is rigorous: they conduct parallel analyses across eight large and diverse studies of preschool children in center care and use meta-analysis to summarize patterns across studies. The study finds nonlinear associations between preschool quality and gains in language and literacy skills, with larger associations in higher versus lower quality classrooms. Results also show that domain-specific measures of preschool quality were more strongly related to children's development than global quality measures. The "dosage" of preschool was likewise important: more years in Head Start predicted larger vocabulary and literacy gains, whereas more time spent on instruction predicted greater literacy and math skills growth. In this commentary, we situate these findings in the broader literature addressing links between preschool experiences and children's development and discuss key takeaways for research, practice, and policy. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Other

Related resources include summaries, versions, measures (instruments), or other resources in which the current document plays a part. Research products funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation are related to their project records.

- You May Also Like

These resources share similarities with the current selection.

The role of preschool dosage and quality in children’s self-regulation development

Reports & Papers

Quality Care for Children 2013 study: Economic downturn threatens child care quality in Georgia

Fact Sheets & Briefs

Quality Care for Children 2013 study: Economic downturn threatens child care quality in Georgia [Executive summary]

Executive Summary
Release: 'v1.57.0' | Built: 2024-03-14 09:29:08 EDT