improving quality of the childcare workforce
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Improving quality of the Childcare Workforce. Social mobility and life chances Oxford. Kathy Sylva University of Oxford. This presentation will explore. Impact of pre-school Effects of quality of pre-school provision on children Staff qualifications and their effect on children’s learning. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Improving quality of the Childcare Workforce
Kathy Sylva
University of Oxford
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This presentation will explore
Impact of pre-school
Effects of quality of pre-school provision on children
Staff qualifications and their effect on children’s learning
Effective Provision of Pre-School EducationE P P E
Kathy Sylva University of Oxford
Edward Melhuish Birkbeck, University of London
Pam Sammons Institute of Education, University of London
Iram Siraj-Blatchford Institute of Education, University of London
Brenda Taggart Institute of Education, University of London
Karen Elliot Institute of Education, University of London
1997-2003, 2003-2008
Questions explored in the EPPE research
What is the impact of pre-school on young children’s intellectual and social/behavioural development?
Are some pre-schools more effective than others? Can pre-school experience reduce social
inequalities? What is the effect of workforce qualifications on
children’s development?
Six local authorities
141 Pre-school centres randomly selected within the authorities to include: nursery classes playgroups private day nurseries day care centres run by local authority nursery schools fully integrated centres
Approx 2,800 children from 141 centres and 300+ ‘home’ children
Sample
25 nursery classes
590 children
34 playgroups
610 children
31 private day nurseries
520 children
20 nursery schools
520 children
7 integrated centres
190 children
24 local authority day care nurseries
430 children
home
310 children
Pre-school Provision(3+yrs)
Reception Year 1 Year 2
(5 yrs) (6 yrs) (7 yrs)
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Plan of Study
Cognition British Ability Scales
Language British Ability Scales
Social and behavioural development Cooperation/conformity, peer sociability, anti-social or ‘upset’ behaviour.
Child Assessments at entry to the study (age 3.0 years to 4 years 3
months)
Cognition British Ability Scales
Language British Ability Scales
Numeracy Early number skills
Literacy skills Letter recognition, phonological awareness
Social/behavioural development Cooperation, peer sociability, independence/concentration, anti-social or ‘upset’ behaviour.
Child Assessments at entry to school (age 4+ to 5+ years)
Child assessments over time
Family background information
Interviews with staff
‘Quality’ rating scales
Case studies of effective centres
Sources of data
Multilevel models established the extent to which the pre-school centre influenced children’s progress.
Children’s progress was assessed controlling for prior attainment at age 3+.
Child, parent, & home learning environment factors were included in the analyses.
Child Measurescontrolled for: gender ethnicity number of siblings
Measuring Value Added
Family Measurescontrolled for:
eligibility to FSM mother’s highest level of qualification highest social class
Home Learning Environment Measures frequency reading to child frequency of library visits frequency child paints/draws at home frequency parent teaches letters/numbers frequency parent teaches the alphabet frequency parent teaches songs, nursery
rhymes, etc
Other Measures length of time in months spent in pre-school
Measuring Value Added continued
Integrated centres and nursery schools are best for cognitive outcomes.
Integrated centres, nursery schools and nursery classes are best for social outcomes.
Does type of pre-school experience matter?
The impact of qualityHow EPPE measures quality
Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R total + subscales)
ECERS-E (total + subscales) Caregivers Interaction Scale (4 subscales, e.g.,
punitiveness, detachment)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Literacy Mathematics Science andenvironment
Diversity
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Level 2 Level 3 / 4 Level 5
ECERS-E subscales by manager qualification
% staff time at different levels (unqualified, level 2, level 3 & 4 and level 5*) was tested in models.
For cognitive progress, % staff contact time at level 5 was positive significant for outcome (pre-reading).
For social behavioural development: % staff contact time at level 5 was positive significant for ‘Co-operation & Conformity’ and also significantly associated with reductions in ‘Anti-social / Worried’ behaviour
* Level 5 = degree level teacher (QTS)
Staff qualifications and children’s learning
After taking into account the impact of child, family, home environment
characteristics…at the end of year 1
children from high quality pre-schools had higher reading attainment
children from pre-school centres with high ECERS-R subscale scores showed fewer Conduct problems
qualified teachers made a difference in children’s academic and social outcomes
A ‘take-home’ message?Children who stayed at home were more likely to be
identified as ‘at risk’ at the beginning of school than children who had attended some type of pre-school.
A pre-school of high quality can help children move out of cognitive risk by the start of primary school.
This positive impact remains evident at least until the end of Year 2.
The higher the staff qualifications, especially QTS, the more developmental progress children make in the pre-school period.
For further information on EPPE Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B & Elliot, K.
(2002). Technical Paper 8a: Measuring the Impact of Pre-School on Children’s Cognitive Progress over the Pre-School Period. Institute of Education, London.
Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B & Elliot, K. (2003). Technical Paper 8b: Measuring the Impact of Pre-School on Children’s Social/behavioural Development over the Pre-School Period. Institute of Education, London.
Sammons, P., Smees, R., Taggart, B., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Elliot, K. (2004). EYTSEN Technical Report No.2. Institute of Education, London.
Sammons, P., Taggart, B., Smees, R., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Elliot, K. (2003). The Early Years Transition and Special Educational Needs (EYTSEN) Project. DfES Research Report 431.
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2004). Effective Pre-school Education. DfES Research Report.
visit the EPPE website: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/projects/eppe
For further Information about EPPE visit the EPPE website at:
http://www.ioe.ac.uk/projects/eppe