A new study by ISOTIS researcher Thomas van Huizen (Utrecht University) and colleague Janneke Plantenga examines the effects of universal Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) on child development and children's later life outcomes.

The researchers analysed the findings from 30 studies conducted between 2005 and 2017. They found that:
- Age of enrollment is not a major factor in explaining the impact. Some evidence indicates that more intensive programs produce more favorable outcomes.
- Program quality matters critically: high quality arrangements consistently generate positive child outcomes.
- Publicly provided programs produce more favorable effects than privately provided (and mixed) programs.
- The evidence does not indicate that ECEC effects are fading out in the long run.
- The gains of ECEC are concentrated within children from lower socioeconomic families.

The title of the article is "Do Children Benefit from Universal Early Childhood Education and Care? A Meta-Analysis of Evidence from Natural Experiments", and it is published in the journal Economics of Education Review.

Find the access to the article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.08.001

Reference:
van Huizen, T.M. & Plantenga, J. (2018). Do Children Benefit from Universal Early Childhood Education and Care? A Meta-Analysis of Evidence from Natural Experiments. Economics of Education Review, forthcoming.