The effects of early childhood education and care quality on academic competences in early primary school: A systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality is typically determined by key components such as the child-to-teacher ratio, teacher qualifications, the learning environment, and the quality of teacher–child interactions. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of different ECEC quality components on children's language and mathematical competences in early primary school. Suitable search terms were entered in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and ERIC in February 2024. To be included the articles needed to report on quantitative studies that examined the association between ECEC quality components and children's mathematical and/or language competences in Grade 1–2. Articles needed to be published in English or German in a peer-reviewed journal from the year 2000 onwards. Additionally, articles were excluded based on certain designs, and if the focus was on special populations, psychometric evaluations, bilingual or second language learning, and ECEC comparisons. The narrative synthesis includes 17 articles (N = 31656), of which 11 are included in the meta-analysis. The quality of the included articles was assessed with a NHLBI checklist. The meta-analysis revealed a small but significant pooled effect of process quality, specifically for student–teacher relationships and interaction quality ( Δ = .11, p < .001, CI [.05, .18]), albeit with high heterogeneity. Similarly, pre-academic activities demonstrated a small, significant effect ( Δ = .07, p < .001, CI [.02, .11]) with low heterogeneity. However, structural quality was not significant. The narrative synthesis provided additional insights, highlighting that emotional support and classroom organization often showed inconsistent associations with academic competences, whereas targeted pre-academic activities are more consistently linked to positive outcomes. Limitations include the small number of studies, substantial heterogeneity, reliance on older data, and a lack of global representation beyond Europe and North America. Nonetheless, the importance of high quality ECEC in fostering children's academic competences in primary school is demonstrated, emphasizing the need for further research to strengthen the evidence base.
Funding Information
  • Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

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