Governments around the world are investing heavily in early childhood development, however it is still not clear what skills early childhood development policies should target or how they are best implemented. In this paper I evaluate the effects of an extended play-based learning policy for early childhood in Wales – the ‘Foundation Phase’ – on cognitive and noncognitive outcomes when children reach age 11 and age 16. I find that, at age 16, male pupils who were in receipt of the Foundation Phase are less likely to achieve a good pass in school leaving examinations or to enrol in the academic track for post-16 education than their male peers who instead received formal schooling between ages five and seven. I find no evidence that the timing of Special Educational Needs or ADHD diagnoses, or the quality of Secondary schools, are drivers of these effects. I conclude that there may be adverse Foundation Phase effects for the long-run academic attainment and progression of male pupils who were in receipt of Foundation Phase provision. This finding is in line with other literature which finds that male children benefit less than female children from self-directed learning environments in early schooling.
Presented by:
Hettie Burn
Date & time:
6 Mar 2024 12:30 pm - 6 Mar 2024 13:30 pm
Venue:
2N2.4.16 (to join us online, please contact the seminar series organisers at iserseminars@essex.ac.uk)
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