Project Activities
The research team will conduct exploratory secondary data analysis with data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011). The team will carry out three separate studies during the project. Study 1 asks: Who attends school-based pre-k? Study Two asks: What is the association between school-based pre-k attendance and student outcomes in kindergarten through fifth grade? Study Three asks: What factors moderate the association between school-based pre-k attendance and student outcomes in kindergarten through fifth grade? In each study, the researchers will examine how enrollment in school-based pre-k or the association with student outcomes may vary between student subgroups, including race/ethnicity, SES, disability, gender, and ELL status.
Structured Abstract
Setting
A nationally representative sample of students attending elementary schools in the United States. School-based pre-k refers to formal pre-k programs that are located inside of elementary school buildings as opposed to stand-alone preschool centers.
Sample
A nationally representative cohort of children who entered kindergarten in the 2010-11 academic school year. The sample was followed for six years, when most of the students were in the fifth grade.
The project will examine malleable factors related to school- based pre-k and its student and school correlates in elementary school. These factors include school-based pre-k, enrollment patterns from school-based pre-k into elementary school, teacher collaboration, principal leadership, kindergarten transition practices, and structural features of the early grades (i.e., full day kindergarten and class size).
Research design and methods
The researchers will analyze data from the nationally-representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). The ECLSK: 2011 provides the most up-to-date information on the location of pre-k programs, students' attendance patterns, measures of subsequent school environments, and a holistic set of outcome measures (kindergarten through fifth grade). The research team will conduct descriptive and exploratory secondary data analysis to examine associations between school-based pre-k attendance and student outcomes in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Control condition
This is an exploratory study. There is no control condition.
Key measures
Student-level measures include measures of pre-k attendance, location, student outcomes (e.g., achievement, executive function, social emotional learning), and background characteristics (e.g., SES, race/ethnicity, language spoken at home). School-level moderating variables include measures of teacher collaboration, principal leadership, kindergarten transition practices, and structural features of the early grades (i.e., full-day kindergarten, class size).
Data analytic strategy
The researchers will begin their study with simple summary statistics and tests of mean differences to describe the phenomenon of school-based pre-k in the United States. They will then examine the association between school-based pre-k and student outcomes in elementary school using OLS regression models with saturated controls and fixed effects.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
The primary product of this project will be a set of studies, reports, and briefs on the topic of school-based pre-k in the United States. The team will also generate a video and podcast summarizing the key project findings. The aim of the project's dissemination plan is to ensure that these products reach educational researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Cohen-Vogel, Lora; Gottfried, Michael
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
