Are There Long-term Academic

Benefits of Full-Day

Kindergarten? A PATHS Equity for Children Project

Marni Brownell, PhDCPHA Annual ConferenceToronto, Ontario, May 27, 2014

Image courtesy of Vlado: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Project Team:Marni Brownell, Elaine Burland, Dan Chateau, Leah Crockett, Chun Yan Goh, Pat Martens, Nathan Nickel, Rob Santos, Joy Sarkar, Carole TaylorCollaborators:Leanne Boyd (HCMO), Wenda Dickens (ME), Joanne Dumaine (DSFM), Tanis Pshebniski (St. James SD), Beverly Zakaluk (Faculty of Ed, retired)

This Programmatic Grant to Reduce Health Inequity was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca) and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada

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What we already know about Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK)

• Most of the research on FDK comes from the USA

• Tends to show that there are short-term benefits for children attending FDK – improved literacy and numeracy skills in Grade 1

• Studies tend to show that benefits fade over time – usually by end of grade 3

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Criticism of Past Research

• Half-Day Kindergarten (HDK) comparison groups – generally more advantaged

• Few studies follow kids past grade 3

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Manitoba advantage

• Were able to follow several thousand children over time

• Could look at educational outcomes several years after Kindergarten (up to Grade 9)

• Used state-of-the-art statistical modeling to ensure FDK and HDK groups really were comparable

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Full-Day Kindergarten - Populations Studied

Targeted program – School Divisions A and B

FDK classrooms in schools in low SES

since 1998

Compared FDK kids in Division A to matched

HDK kids in Division B

Universal program – School Division C

FDK introduced in 1999 but implemented

gradually across division over 5 years

Compared same schools before and after FDK

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Significant Findings

Grade 3 Reading

Grade 3 Numeracy

Grade 7 Math

Grade 7 student Engage’t

Grade 8 Reading/Writing

Grade 9 Achieve’t

Targeted SES*K

Sex*K

Universal SES*K - -

Sex*K - -

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Significant Findings

Grade 3 Reading

Grade 3 Numeracy

Grade 7 Math

Grade 7 student Engage’t

Grade 8 Reading/Writing

Grade 9 Achieve’t

Targeted SES*K ns Middle SES

Low SES

High SES

ns ns

Sex*K ns ns Girls ns Boys ns

Universal SES*K - - ns ns ns ns

Sex*K - - ns Girls ns ns

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• Likely, there exists some unmeasured confounding.

• How much confounding is needed to nullify our findings?

How confident can we be of these findings?

Not Significant

Impact on Gr. 7 mathCONFOUNDER

STRENGTH OF CONFOUNDER (31.6%)

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• Likely, there exists some unmeasured confounding.

• How much confounding is needed to nullify our findings?

How confident can we be of these findings?

Not Significant

Impact on Gr. 7 engagementCONFOUNDER

STRENGTH OF CONFOUNDER (1.4%)

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Robust, Significant Findings

Grade 3 Reading

Grade 3 Numeracy

Grade 7 Math

Grade 7 student Engage’t

Grade 8 Reading/Writing

Grade 9 Achieve’t

Targeted SES*K ns Middle SES

Low SES

High SES

ns ns

Sex*K ns ns Girls ns Boys ns

Universal SES*K - - ns ns ns ns

Sex*K - - ns Girls ns ns

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Policy Implications

• We found few long-term benefits of FDK

• FDK programs targeted at low income areas may confer some benefits, but these appear to be limited to numeracy and benefit lower income girls

• These limited benefits should be weighed against costs of FDK programs

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Limitations

• Have not examined emotional/social outcomes, self-control – focused on academic (and student engagement)

Thank You / Questions

• umanitoba.ca/centres/mchp • facebook.com/mchp.umanitoba• twitter.com/mchp_umanitoba (@mchp_umanitoba)