Objective: To gain insight into the extent of body mass index (BMI) change during an academic year for children with overweight or obesity at entry to an early learning programme with nutrition and physical activity components ("Head Start"). We explored whether meeting with families to discuss weight and nutrition and age of entry in…

This article examines medium-term trends in global preschool enrolment and attendance by income category, revealing a slowdown in expansion in middle- and high-income countries starting in 2013, followed by low-income countries in 2015. By 2020, the gross enrolment ratio had plateaued at 60.8 per cent. The analysis indicates that conditions for…

The Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K Program (TN-VPK) is statewide full-day program that gives priority to children from low-income families. A regression-discontinuity design with a statewide probability sample of 155 TN-VPK classrooms and 5,189 children participating across two pre-K cohorts found positive effects at kindergarten entry with the largest…

Research on the effects of nursery school attendance still presents divergent results: a possible explanation is that the effects of child care on development outcomes can be modulated by individual characteristics, such as gender or temperament. In the present study, gender differences in nursery adaptation (evaluated by social skills and…

Self-care ability and social skills are potential areas of difficulty for preschool children. However, values about young children's self-care ability are different worldwide. This longitudinal study examined the influence of early self-care ability on social skills at the end of the preschool years. Participants were 509 children recruited from…

In the present study, we investigated the relative impact of age- versus schooling-related growth in school readiness skills using four modeling approaches that leverage natural variation in longitudinal data collected within the preschool year. Our goal was to demonstrate the applicability of different analytic techniques that do not rely on…

This study investigated whether there are significant differences between reading achievements of 15-year-old students and starting age for preschool and socioeconomic factors according to the results from the PISA 2015 and 2018. The quantitative results show that there is a clear and statistically significant difference between reading test…

This small-scale interpretative study, carried out in the reception classes of three English primary academies, examined educator perceptions of summer-born children, their expectations of children on entry to reception classes and whether those expectations were age differentiated. It also investigated the support and intervention strategies used…

This study investigated the effect of children's first formal school years on mathematical skill profiles, measured by a variety of arithmetical skills and Spontaneous Focusing On Numerosity (SFON) tasks. By using person-centered approach the aim was to investigate whether the amount of formal schooling is associated with mathematical skills in…

This case study outlines the challenges of eight Australian mothers with intellectually gifted preschoolers. The ideal ways of nurturing children's giftedness, the parents' role in early identification and the effect of maternal depression and possible association with twice exceptionality (gifted with a disorder) are discussed. The narratives of…

The age pattern of school entry reflects a complex social and empirical reality that is inadequately captured by a single number. Recognising these complexities in national and international research and policy discourse raises important but neglected questions around the identification of vulnerable groups, the relative value of pre-primary and…

Recent research has shown that the age composition of preschool classrooms influences children's early learning. Building on prior research, this study examines whether the association between classroom age composition and children's learning and development vary based on classroom quality and teacher characteristics using a subset of the Family…

Recent research has shown that the age composition of preschool classrooms influences children's early learning. Building on prior research, this study examines whether the association between classroom age composition and children's learning and development vary based on classroom quality and teacher characteristics using a subset of the Family…

Much of the currently available evidence on the causal effects of public prekindergarten programs on school readiness outcomes comes from studies that use a regression-discontinuity design (RDD) with the age cutoff to enter a program in a given year as the basis for assignment to treatment and control conditions. Because the RDD has high internal…

This study, comparing the academic achievement levels of the students with different primary school entrance age, is in survey model. 60 students, at the second grade of a primary school centrally located in Tokat province in the year the study was conducted and were 60-66 and 73-84 months old when entered the primary school, were selected with…