Effective Early Childhood Education Programmes : A Systematic Review

This report systematically reviews research on the outcomes of programmes that teach young children in a group setting before they begin reception. Study inclusion criteria included use of randomised or matched control groups, evidence of initial equality, and study duration of at least 12 weeks. Studies included valid measures of language, literacy, phonological awareness, mathematical, and/or cognitive outcomes that were independent of the experimental treatments. A total of 38 studies evaluating 27 different programmes met these criteria for outcomes assessed at the end of preschool and/or reception/kindergarten. The review concludes that on academic outcomes at the end of preschool and/or reception, 6 early childhood programmes showed strong evidence of effectiveness and 5 had moderate evidence of effectiveness. Of the 27 programmes reviewed, 7 are available for implementation in the UK. A few longitudinal studies have followed their subjects into secondary school, and even adulthood. These studies show that comprehensive programmes focused broadly on cognitive development rather than solely academic skills had better long-term effects on social adjustment outcomes such as reductions in delinquency, welfare dependency, and teenage pregnancy, and increases in educational and employment levels

Effects of Co-operative Learning and Embedded Multimedia on Mathematics Learning in Key Stage 2: Final Report

This large, randomised evaluation of a comprehensive approach to maths teaching in Years 4 and 5 found that teachers in England implemented most elements of co-operative learning with embedded multimedia, and most of them liked it. However, they often did not implement programme elements related to group goals and individual accountability for learning, which previous research has found to be essential to the effectiveness of co-operative learning. Perhaps as a result, the intervention did not make any difference in achievement in comparison to what was seen in the control group. Also, teachers expressed concern about the lack of differentiation in the PowerTeaching Maths intervention

Small-Group, Computer-Assisted Tutoring to Improve Reading Outcomes for Struggling First and Second Graders

This study evaluated the relative effects of Tier II computer-assisted tutoring in small groups (Team Alphie) and one-to-one tutoring provided to struggling readers in 33 high-poverty Success for All (SFA) schools. In this year-long study, struggling readers in the Team Alphie schools were tutored in groups of 6. In the control schools, students were tutored using the standard one-to-one tutoring process used in SFA. Analyses of covariance of students' standardized reading scores indicated that the first-grade treatment group significantly outperformed the control group on all 3 reading measures, with no significant differences for second graders. Schools using Team Alphie were able to tutor many more students than the control schools. This study shows that a computer-assisted, small-group tutoring program may be at least as effective as one-to-one tutoring and serve more struggling readers. It may serve as a good example of Tier II instruction in a response to intervention (RTI) model

The influence of cooperative learning activities on the perspective-taking ability and prosocial behaviour of kindergarten students /

This research programme employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to address the question of the effects of cooperative learning on kindergarten children's perspective-taking ability and prosocial behaviour.In an observational study, the kindergarten classes of two teachers who had the reputation for using small-group cooperative activities with their students were observed for one month at the beginning of the school year. Very few cooperative activities were employed during the observation period, making it impossible to determine the effects of engaging in such activities. An analysis of the qualitative observations elucidated techniques that these teachers used to create a smoothly functioning class.A quasi-experimental study was conducted involving kindergarten students working for six weeks in either an individualistic or cooperative programme. Both qualitative and quantitative observations indicate that students who engaged in cooperative learning activities displayed a higher number of instances of prosocial behaviour than those in the individualistic programme. The results revealed that participation in the cooperative programme positively correlated with increases in affective perspective taking

Reassessing RCTs as the ‘gold standard’: synergy not separatism in evaluation designs

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are increasingly used to evaluate educational interventions in the UK. However, RCTs remain controversial for some elements of the research community. This paper argues that the widespread use of the term ‘gold standard’ to describe RCTs is problematic, as it implies that other research methods are inferior. The usefulness of RCTs can be greatly enhanced when used in conjunction with implementation-specific measures (e.g. observation tools, attitude/engagement surveys and interviews). The proposal is advanced through case studies of two evaluations. One relates to the development of science subject leader skills and expertise at primary school level and the other to co-operative learning of primary maths. Both evaluations randomised schools to the intervention or the business-as-usual control, and compared impact using subject knowledge tests. Integral to each study was a process evaluation which looked at evidence from classroom practice along with feedback from the teachers and pupils themselves. We contend that this enabled much more holistic and richly interpretative pieces of research. The paper concludes that privilege for particular paradigms should be set aside when designing effective evaluations of educational interventions, and that it is insufficient to ask ‘what works?’ without also asking ‘why?’, ‘where?’ and ‘how?’

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