(OECD Secretariat) Research can be an influential tool to inform policy & practice. It plays a key role in: •Identifying the success or failure of programmes •Prioritising important areas for investment •Informing practices through evidence •Explaining how children grow, ensuring healthy child development

1. 10th Meeting of the OECD Network on ECEC:
Focus on “Research” from Policy Lever 5 of
Starting Strong III
Miho Taguma, Ineke Litjens, Janice Heejin Kim, Kelly
Makowiecki, Matias Egeland
OECD ECEC Team
Directorate for Education, OECD

2. Research can be an influential tool
to inform policy & practice.
It plays a key role in:
• Identifying the success or failure of programmes
• Prioritising important areas for investment
• Informing practices through evidence
• Explaining how children grow, ensuring healthy child
development

3. Example. Policy Implications of Meta Analysis
• To improve cognitive and schooling outcomes, ECEC have largest
effects.
• To improve health outcomes, nutrition provision and cash benefits
have larger effects than ECEC.
Comparison of Effect Sizes
Nutrition Cash ECEC
Incentives
Cognitive .26 .17 .35
Social .46* .21 .27
Schooling .11 --- .41
Health .38 .38 .23
Percent of 1 standard deviation
Note: *only 1 study in this category.
Source: Nores and Barnett (2010).

4. 3 common challenges are being reported.
Challenge 1: Need for more evidence on the effects of
ECEC and cost-benefit analysis
• More data on costs and financing, and policy/programme
evaluations
• Balance between quantitative and qualitative research
Quantitative – consolidating facts, comparing the effectiveness of
different programme types/ pedagogical strategies
• Descriptive statistics, correlational studies, experimental/ quasi-
experimental research, cost-benefit analysis, etc.
Qualitative – informing practices with local values and democracy
• Case studies, ethnography, narratives, observations, interviews,
etc.

5. Country responses
Setting out research frameworks with sustained funding to
support long-term policy goals
• Launching a longitudinal study at the national/regional
level
(See Table)
• Establishing a national/regional body dedicated to ECEC
research
KOR, AUS, CAN (Manitoba)
• Contracting research to inform policy and practice
CAN (BC), ENG, FIN, IRL, KOR, NOR, POR,GRB

6. Example. Longitudinal Studies
• The oldest longitudinal studies were launched in the United States.
• The first study measuring the impact of participation in preschool on
child outcomes dates back to the High/Scope Perry Preschool
Project, which started in 1962. The sample size of this study was
small, with only 123 children.
• Other frequently cited studies include:
Starting Name of programme/ study Sample
year size
1970s Abecedarian Programme 107
1980s Chicago Child Parent Centres 1,539
1990s Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study 826
NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth 1,364
Development
2000s Head Start Impact Study 4,667
Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies - Birth cohort 14,000

7. • Since 1990s, a growing number of other countries have launched
longitudinal studies:
• Examples include:
1990s-
Country Name of programme/ study Sample
size
ENG Effective Provision of Pre-School Education 3,000
CAN Canadian Longitudinal Survey of Children and 6,685
Youth
DEN Danish Longitudinal Survey of Children 5,000
NZL Competent Children: Competent Learners 500

8. 2000s-
AUS Growing Up in Australia 1st cohort
5,000
SCO Growing up in Scotland 1st cohort
8,000
IRL Growing up in Ireland infant
11,100
KOR Panel Study of Korean Children 2,078
NZL Growing Up In New Zealand 7,000
NLD Pre-COOL 2,000
NOR Behaviour Outlook Norwegian Development Study 1,159
SLN Effects of pre-school on child development and 430
school achievement
2010s-
DEU National Education Panel on Early Education and 3,000
Schooling
POL School effectiveness predictors – Longitudinal 10,000
study of Polish Children II

9. Challenge 2: Advancing in under-researched areas/ areas
with growing policy interest
• Children’s spaces and environments
• Effective interventions for children with diverse backgrounds
• How to optimise ECEC effectiveness
• Effectiveness of universal vs. targeted interventions

10. Country responses
Expanding research agendas to include:
• Children under age 3
FIN, FR-BL, KOR, NOR
• Cultural aspects and socio-cultural analysis
FIN, DEN, KOR
• Children's spaces and learning environments
FIN, JAP, KOR, NOR
• Different pedagogical interventions
DEN

11. Challenge 3: Lack of dissemination
• Linking research and policy/ practice – generic challenge in
education
• Technical language in research
• International dissemination

12. Country responses
• Providing financial or in-kind support for ECEC research
FIN
• Enhancing links between research and policy
CAN (Manitoba), FIN
• Enhancing links between research and practice
SLN, NOR
• Creating a regional/ international research network
• National - NOR
• Regional - DEN, NOR, SWE
• International – OECD, Pacific ECE Research Association (11)
Diversity in ECE (8)