Understanding the Impact of Early Childhood Education

We will implement two early learning experiences for children: one delivered in schools and one supported at home by parents. These will be compared to a third group that does not participate in either program.

We will implement two early childhood education interventions over an 8-week summer period for children aged 5–6 who are expected to enter Grade 1 in the upcoming academic year. The study compares the effects of different early learning experiences on children’s development prior to formal schooling.

Traditional Schooling (Group 1): Children will attend a daily, in-person summer program held at designated school sites. The program follows a condensed curriculum focused on cognitive, executive function, and socio-emotional skill development, delivered by trained teachers over the 8-week period.

Home-Based Learning (Group 2): Children will remain at home and complete weekly learning activities with the support of a parent or caregiver. Families will receive structured materials and regular guidance from the program team.

No Intervention (Group 3): Children in this group will not receive either program during the summer and will serve as a comparison group.

Group assignment will take place following a baseline assessment to support balance across key characteristics such as gender, location, and skill level. Assessments will be conducted before and after the program, with plans to track longer-term outcomes during and after Grade 1.

2025-06-29

2025-08-31

The primary outcomes include measures of cognitive development (via Arabiya), executive function (via NIH Toolbox), and social-emotional skills (via DESSA). These outcomes will be measured at baseline and endline to assess the short-term impact of the interventions.

Cognitive development will be measured using the Arabiya assessment, which includes subtests on reasoning, memory, verbal skills, and academic abilities (literacy and numeracy). Executive function will be measured using NIH Toolbox tasks covering attention, inhibitory control, and working memory. Social-emotional development will be assessed using the DESSA Mini and full DESSA, which generate composite scores across multiple competencies (e.g., self-awareness, relationship skills). For each domain, we will construct standardized scores and, where appropriate, combine subcomponents into index measures to facilitate comparison across groups.

We will assign children to different early learning experiences. Eligible families will apply to participate, and a subset will be selected for the study. The goal is to compare outcomes across the groups.

Children aged 5–6 with limited prior preschool enrollment will be invited to apply to a national early childhood education program. From the applicant pool, 803 children will be selected to participate in the study. These children will be randomized into one of three groups: (1) a school-based early learning experience (n = 266), (2) a home-based experience supported by parents (n = 261), or (3) a comparison group that will not receive either program during the summer (n = 276).

Randomization will be conducted to ensure balance across key characteristics such as gender, location, and baseline skill levels. Baseline assessments will be administered prior to the start of the program using standardized tools to capture cognitive development, executive function, and social-emotional skills. Endline assessments will be conducted after the 8-week intervention period to measure short-term outcomes, with longer-term follow-up planned into and beyond Grade 1.

Randomization into treatment is done in office by computer

Individual

No

803 individuals

803 individuals

276 control individuals, 261 parent academy treatment, 266 school treatment