Effects of the Home Learning Environment and Preschool Center Experience upon Literacy and Numeracy Development in Early Primary School
Corresponding Author
Edward C. Melhuish
Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Prof. Edward Melhuish, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues Birkbeck, University of London, 7 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3RA UK [e-mail: [email protected]].Search for more papers by this authorMai B. Phan
Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London
Search for more papers by this authorKathy Sylva
Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford
Search for more papers by this authorIram Siraj-Blatchford
Institute of Education, University of London
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Edward C. Melhuish
Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Prof. Edward Melhuish, Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues Birkbeck, University of London, 7 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3RA UK [e-mail: [email protected]].Search for more papers by this authorMai B. Phan
Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck, University of London
Search for more papers by this authorKathy Sylva
Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford
Search for more papers by this authorIram Siraj-Blatchford
Institute of Education, University of London
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This study investigates the influence of aspects of home and preschool environments upon literacy and numeracy achievement at school entry and at the end of the 3rd year of school. Individuals with unexpected performance pathways (by forming demographically adjusted groups: overachieving, average, and underachieving) were identified in order to explore the effects of the home learning environment and preschool variables on child development. Multilevel models applied to hierarchical data allow the groups that differ with regard to expected performance to be created at the child and preschool center levels. These multilevel analyses indicate powerful effects for the home learning environment and important effects of specific preschool centers at school entry. Although reduced, such effects remain several years later.
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EDWARD MELHUISH has studied the development of preterm babies; the children of psychiatrically disturbed parents; social, linguistic, and cognitive development; emergent literacy; day care and the evaluation of policy initiatives. Earlier work on day care influenced sections of the 1989 Children Act. He has collaborated with social, economic, biological, and medical scientists in studying child development and the influence of experience. Currently, he is involved in longitudinal studies that are informing policy formation, such the 2004 Children Act and the 2005 Childcare Act. He is a scientific advisor to the Nordic Research Council, the Academy of Finland, the Portuguese Research Council, and the Australian Research Council.
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KATHY SYLVA is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Oxford, Department of Educational Studies. After earning a PhD at Harvard University she moved to Oxford. Her book Childwatching at Playgroup and Nursery School broke new ground by questioning an unbridled “free play” ideology. She has also carried out research on early literacy in Reception and Year 1. She is one of the leaders of the DfES research on effective provision of preschool education. In 2000/2001 and 2004–2007 she served as specialist adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Education and Skills.
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PAM SAMMONS is a Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham and part of the Teacher and Leadership Research Centre there. Previously she was a Professor at the Institute of Education University of London and Co-coordinating Director of its International School Effectiveness & Improvement Centre (1999–2004). Her research over the last 25 years has focused on educational effectiveness and improvement, leadership, and equity in education including preschool influences, as well as primary and secondary school studies. She is a Principal Investigator of the DfES-funded EPPSE longitudinal study.
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IRAM SIRAJ-BLATCHFORD is Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. Her research interests include early childhood curriculum and pedagogy, the quality of early years provision, and parental engagement and children's learning in the home. She is the co/author of over 30 books, monographs, and major published research reports and over 100 chapters, articles, and reports. She is a principal investigator of the DfES-funded EPPSE longitudinal study.
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BRENDA TAGGART has a background in preschool and primary education as a teacher, advisory teacher, deputy and acting head teacher. She has worked extensively in initial and continuous professional development for teachers. Her research includes commissions for research bodies, government agencies, and private funders as well and numerous local authorities. She has worked on a number of research projects that have investigated the impact of government initiatives at school level. She is currently the Research Coordinator/Principal Investigator for the Effective Preschool, Primary, and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE 3–14), a longitudinal study funded by the U.K.'s Department for Education and Skills.
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MAI B. PHAN is a PhD candidate at the University of Kent, Canterbury. She is the recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Canadian Graduate Scholarship. Currently, she works as a researcher at the Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues on a part-time basis.
