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The effects of early experiences at home and pre-school on gains in English and mathematics in primary school: a multilevel study in England

Die Wirkung früher häuslicher und vorschulischer Erfahrungen auf den Lernerfolg in Englisch und Mathematik in der Grundschule: eine mehrstufige Studie in England

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Abstract

Few studies have explored whether learning experiences during the pre-school period differentiate rates of growth in academic skills during primary school. Here, findings are presented from a longitudinal study on a representative sample of 2,800 children in the UK. This study examined the contribution of the early years Home Learning Environment (HLE) and pre-school quality to children’s academic progress between ages 7 and 11 (i.e. years 2 and 6 of primary school) in English and mathematics. Results indicate that a rich early HLE leads to accelerated progress in English and mathematics between 7 and 11 years. Quality rather than mere attendance was the pre-school factor which promoted academic progress. Children who had a stronger ‘profile’ at school accelerated away from other children over the primary period. The benefits of high quality home and pre-school environments appear to be long-lasting and cumulative, improving children’s developmental trajectories by enabling them to make greater learning gains compared to their peers who experienced lower pre-school quality.

Zusammenfassung

Nur wenige Studien haben untersucht, inwiefern vorschulische Lernerfahrungen das Tempo der Aneignung akademischer Fertigkeiten in der Grundschule beeinflussen. Hier werden die Ergebnisse einer Langzeitstudie in Großbritannien mit einer repräsentativen Auswahl von 2.800 Kindern vorgestellt. Diese Studie untersuchte den Beitrag der frühkindlichen häuslichen Lernumgebung und der Vorschulqualität auf den akademischen Fortschritt der Kinder in den Fächern Englisch und Mathematik in der Altersstufe 7 bis 11 (d. h. in den Klassenstufen 2 bis 6 der englischen Grundschule). Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass eine anregende frühe häusliche Lernumgebung zu schnelleren Lernfortschritten in Englisch und Mathematik bei sieben- bis elf-jährigen Kindern führt. Dabei war die Anwesenheit an sich nicht der entscheidende vorschulische Faktor für den akademischen Fortschritt, sondern die Qualität der frühen Lernerfahrungen. Kinder mit einem stärkeren schulischen „Profil“ ließen die anderen Kinder im Verlauf der Grundschule weit hinter sich. Die Vorteile einer hochwertigen häuslichen und vorschulischen Umgebung sind anscheinend dauerhaft und kumulativ, sie fördern den Entwicklungsverlauf der Kinder und ermöglichen es ihnen, größere Lernerfolge als gleichaltrige Kinder zu erzielen, die eine niedrigere Qualität der vorschulischen Erfahrungen erlebt haben.

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Acknowledgements:

The EPPE 3-11 project is a major longitudinal study funded by the U.K. Department for Education. The research would not be possible without co-operation of six Local Authorities and many pre-school centres, primary schools, children and parents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, University of Oxford, 15 Norham Gardens, OX2 6PY, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Kathy Sylva Ph.D.,  Pam Sammons Ph.D. &  Lydia L. S. Chan

  2. Institute for the Study of Children, Families & Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, WC1E 7HX, London, United Kingdom

    Edward Melhuish

  3. Department of Early Years and Primary Education, Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, WC1H 0AL, London, United Kingdom

    Iram Siraj-Blatchford & Brenda Taggart

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  1. Kathy Sylva Ph.D.
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  2. Pam Sammons Ph.D.
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  3. Lydia L. S. Chan
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  4. Edward Melhuish
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  5. Iram Siraj-Blatchford
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  6. Brenda Taggart
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Correspondence to Kathy Sylva Ph.D..

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Full contextualised model predicting academic attainment in English at year 6
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Table 7 Full value-added model predicting academic progress in English from years 2–6
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Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Chan, L. et al. The effects of early experiences at home and pre-school on gains in English and mathematics in primary school: a multilevel study in England. Z Erziehungswiss 16, 277–301 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-013-0364-6

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