Tag: Meta-analysis

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Language Development Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

A systematic review and meta-analysis of ECEC process and structural quality and early primary academic competences

A protocol-guided systematic review and meta-analysis examined how components of early childhood education and care (ECEC) quality relate to children’s language and mathematics competences in the first two grades of primary school. 17 peer-reviewed studies met inclusion criteria, and 11 provided effect sizes for quantitative synthesis. The review addressed two questions: (1) To what extent do process and structural quality show direct associations with academic competences in grades 1 and 2, and do component-specific differences emerge across teacher–child relationships, interaction quality, classroom organization, instructional support, and pre-academic activities. (2) Do these associations vary across sample type, continent, or study quality when individual study characteristics are considered.

A meta-analytic approach was used to estimate pooled correlations. ECEC quality was operationalized as process quality and structural quality. Process quality included student–teacher relationships rated with the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale and observed interaction quality with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, as well as classroom organization, instructional support, and targeted pre-academic activities in language and mathematics. Structural quality included class size, child–teacher ratio, teacher qualification, and global environment ratings. Academic competences were assessed with standardized tests or teacher reports in language and mathematics during grades 1 and 2.

Findings showed a small positive pooled association between student–teacher relationships and interaction quality and later academic competences (k = 8, N = 9,896, Δ = .11, p < .001, 95% CI [.05, .18]). Heterogeneity was high (Q = 40.91, p < .001; I² = 77.70%). Subgroup contrasts by continent, sample type, and study quality were not statistically significant. Pre-academic activities and supports also showed a small positive pooled association (k = 4, N = 1,856, Δ = .07, p < .001, 95% CI [.02, .11]) with negligible heterogeneity (Q = 1.07, p > .05; I² = .01%). Structural quality showed a pooled association that was not statistically significant and was highly heterogeneous (k = 3, N = 17,804, Q = 44.96, p < .001; I² = 93.94%). Publication bias tests suggested no small-study effects for the process and pre-academic models, while funnel asymmetry and a significant Egger test indicated bias for the structural model. At the study level, results were mixed. Some analyses linked closeness in kindergarten to later reading and linked teacher certification specific to early childhood to higher grade-1 reading and mathematics, while many associations for class size and child–teacher ratio were null.

This evidence base offers practical guidance for improving early learning trajectories. It underscores the importance of strengthening teacher–child relationships, enriching interaction quality, and implementing purposeful pre-academic activities that support early literacy and foundational mathematics. Structural inputs remain important as enabling conditions, yet clearer and more consistent measurement is needed to establish their longer-term academic links. The findings support professional development that targets relational competencies, classroom organization, and instructional support, together with careful design and implementation of pre-academic practices to promote equitable and effective learning outcomes.

 

Source (Open Access): Rademacher, A., Bäker, N., von Düring, U., Hiltunen, V., & Goagoses, N. (2025). The effects of early childhood education and care quality on academic competences in early primary school: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 40(4), 1-31.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-025-01005-w… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Kindergarten

Educational Robotics and Kindergarteners’ 4Cs Development

A recent meta-analysis by Sapounidis and colleagues examined the effects of Educational Robotics (ER) on the development of kindergarteners’ twenty-first century skills, namely communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. From an initial pool of 2141 records, 22 empirical studies met inclusion criteria, yielding 53 effect sizes based on 2192 participants across 12 countries.

The authors applied a random-effects model, which revealed a significant overall positive impact of ER (Hedge’s g = +0.87). When analyzed separately, the strongest effect was observed for collaboration (g = 2.14), followed by critical thinking (g = 0.86), communication (g = 0.55), and creativity (g = 0.51). Despite notable heterogeneity (I² > 79% across domains) and some publication bias, the results consistently indicated that robotics-based interventions may enhance young learners’ social and cognitive capacities. A meta-regression further showed that longer intervention durations were associated with stronger positive effects, highlighting the importance of sustained engagement with robotics activities.

The findings suggest that ER is particularly powerful in promoting collaborative and critical thinking skills, where children engage in teamwork, problem-solving, and reasoning activities with peers and robots. Communication can also be supported by encouraging idea sharing, while creativity—though less studied—emerges as an area of potential growth if adequately scaffolded.

This study fills a critical gap in early childhood education research, as previous meta-analyses often overlooked kindergarten populations or mixed them with higher age groups. The authors recommend developing tailored robotics curricula and teacher training programs to maximize ER’s benefits. Overall, ER appears to be a promising educational tool for fostering holistic skill development in early childhood.

Source (Open Access): Sapounidis, T., Rapti, S., & Vaiopoulou, J. (2025). Effects of educational robotics on kindergarteners’ collaboration, communication, critical Thinking, and creativity: A meta-analysis. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 34, 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-024-10149-1… Read the rest

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Kindergarten Language Development Primary School Education

The influence of teacher language practices on children’s language development

A recent meta-analysis by Jiang and colleagues explored the role of teachers’ language practices in fostering young children’s language development from preschool to third grade. Analysing 411 effect sizes from 104 unique studies published from 2001 to 2022, the authors investigated the relationship between teachers’ language practices and children’s expressive, receptive, and literacy skills.

The authors employed partial correlation as the effect size, allowing them to control for confounding variables and focus on the unique contribution of teacher language practices. Teacher language was categorized into quality and quantity (the number of words spoken). The quality aspect was further classified into three dimensions: interactive (e.g., responsiveness, feedback), linguistic (e.g., vocabulary diversity, grammatical complexity), and conceptual features (e.g., abstract discussions, decontextualized language).

The results revealed a significant positive association between the quality of teacher language and children’s language development (r = +.11). Furthermore, linguistic (r = +.13), interactive (r=+.10), and conceptual features (r=+.10) did not show significant difference. Interestingly, teacher language quantity showed no significant relationship with children’s overall language outcomes (r = +.15). The effects were stronger in classrooms with older children, more female students, and during language instruction (r=+.21). Notably, studies using systematic coding (r = .16) to assess teacher talk showed stronger associations than those using global ratings (r=+.07).

The findings highlight the importance of language quality over quantity in supporting children’s language development. Therefore, future policy should focus on enhancing high-quality language practices in teacher preparation, particularly for early childhood educators. The non-significant finding for language quantity requires cautious interpretation due to the limited number of effect sizes (no. of ES = 17).

 

Source (Open Access): Jiang, Y., Kaplan, B., & Ko-Wong, L. (2025). Does teacher talk matter too? A meta-analysis of partial correlations between teachers’ language practices and children’s language development from preschool to third grade. Review of Educational Research, 00346543251339131. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543251339131… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership K-12 Education

Impact of hygiene interventions on student outcomes

Chronic infections and illnesses affect more than just children’s health; they also have serious negative effects on school attendance, achievement, and engagement. Efforts to support and improve student health practices through school-based hygiene interventions may serve to improve not just health practices, but also academic outcomes. In a recent systematic review, Ismail and colleagues examined 23 randomized and non-randomized studies conducted across Africa, Asia, the United States, Spain, Denmark, and China. These studies assessed the impact of school-based health interventions on student outcomes, comparing them to standard curricula and practices.

The review focused on hand-body hygiene (including handwashing), genital hygiene, oral hygiene, and dental hygiene interventions. Hand hygiene interventions typically emphasized washing hands after using the toilet and before meals. Beyond improving student knowledge, attitudes, and hygiene practices, hand-body and genital hygiene interventions also led to statistically significant reductions in infection-related absenteeism.

Although the researchers suggest more evidence would improve their confidence, these findings are encouraging in affirming how positive health practices can improve health-related absences. Student attendance has, after all, been shown to have a vital influence on engagement and achievement.

 

Source (Open Access): Ismail, S. R., Radzi, R., Kamaruddin, P. S. N. M., Lokman, E. F., Lim, H. Y., Rahim, N. A., Yow, H. Y., Arumugam, D., Ngu, A., Low, A. C. Y., Wong, E. H., Patil, S., Madhavan, P., Nordin, R. B., Werf, E. van der, & Lai, N. M. (2024). The effects of school-based hygiene intervention programme: Systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 19(10), e0308390. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308390… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

The impact of tutoring programs at scale

Kraft and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 265 randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of 340 tutoring programs to understand what impacts should be expected from tutoring programs when implemented at scale in the U.S., using standardized tests as outcome measures. Most of the included studies were conducted in elementary school and in reading.

The results showed that as the number of students served by the tutoring programs increased, the effects tended to decline. The average effect size was +0.44 for programs with fewer than 99 students and +0.30 for those with 100–399 students. For large-scale tutoring studies, the effect size was +0.21 with 400–999 students and +0.16 with more than 1,000 students. The authors noted that these effects remain substantial. However, similar effects to those observed in the full set of meta-analytic studies should not be expected when tutoring is implemented at scale. The wide variability in effect sizes also suggests that individual programs differ considerably in effectiveness.

The authors tested hypotheses to explain this pattern. One possible reason is that it becomes more difficult to maintain high-quality implementation as the number of students increases. Another is that, in large-scale evaluations, program features are often adjusted to make tutoring more feasible—for example, by assigning each tutor to larger groups of students.

The authors concluded that the effects of tutoring observed in their study remain meaningful and relevant for both practice and policy. But it is also important to maintain realistic expectations about the impact of tutoring when it is implemented broadly in real-world school settings.

 

Source (Open Access): Kraft, Matthew A., Beth E. Schueler, and Grace Falken. (2024). What Impacts Should We Expect from Tutoring at Scale? Exploring Meta-Analytic Generalizability. (EdWorkingPaper: 24-1031). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/zygj-m525… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership K-12 Education

The link between STEM teacher PD and student achievement

Although schools invest heavily in professional development to improve math and science instruction, there has been limited clarity on how these efforts affect teachers and whether changes at the teacher level lead to student learning gains. A new EdWorkingPaper from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University synthesizes findings from 46 randomized controlled trials to investigate the chain of effects from teacher PD to student outcomes.

On average, PD programs produced a large positive impact on teacher outcomes, including knowledge and instructional practice (ES = +0.52). Not all improvements were equally consequential for students. A one standard deviation improvement in instructional practice was associated with a +0.24 standard deviation gain in student achievement, while changes in teacher knowledge showed a smaller and non-significant relationship. PD programs that emphasized formative assessment or included a clear focus on deepening teacher knowledge were more likely to improve instruction.

These findings suggest that strengthening classroom instruction is a critical mechanism for translating teacher professional development into better student outcomes in math and science.

 

Source (Open Access): Lynch, Kathleen, Kathryn E. Gonzalez, Heather C. Hill, and Ramsey Merritt. (2025). A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence Linking Mathematics and Science Professional Development Interventions to Teacher Knowledge, Classroom Instruction, and Student Achievement. (EdWorkingPaper: 24-1023). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/r79z-tf23… Read the rest