Abstract

This session will examine the methodological challenges associated with the largest study of pre-school education in Europe. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) research programme is the largest in Europe on the effects of pre-school and primary school on children’s development. EPPE has followed 3000 children from 3–14 years of age in England and studied the effects of pre-school on development. The study employs a mixed methods design. Quantitative (multilevel value-added) analyses are applied to longitudinal child assessments and background factors over time; qualitative analyses are applied to case studies of educational settings and also of children and their families. This presentation will explore the role of pre-school quality in relation to children’s developmental profiles when they entered school. It will also present new data on the effect of pre-school quality not only on children’s profiles at school entry, but also on their capacity to make accelerated progress in Key Stage 2. The talk will close by considering what large-scale ‘outcome’ studies can and cannot tell us about pre-school education.