Deborah Lowe Vandell is chancellor’s professor and founding dean emerita of education at the University of California, Irvine. Vandell has conducted an intensive study of the development of 1,300 people from birth to 26 years. This work is viewed by many social scientists as one of the most comprehensive studies of the short- and long-term effects of early care and afterschool education to date.

The study found that consistent and sustained participation in high-quality afterschool programs is linked to positive academic and social outcomes for both children and adolescents. However, findings are less clear (and sometimes even negative) when participation is sporadic or activities are lower in quality, so we have to pay close attention to program quality and to participation over time.

Both early child care and out-of-school time during elementary school predicted higher academic achievement at age 15.

Children who received higher quality ECE and who had sustained participation in afterschool organized activities demonstrated higher academic achievement in high school. These effects on academic achievement were additive — with the effects associated with afterschool programs building on or adding to the early care effects. Importantly, the effects associated with early care and afterschool care also were exactly the same size, indicating that both are good investments.

Early care and out-of-school time were related to different aspects of behavioral development. Higher quality ECE predicted fewer behavioral problems in adolescence, whereas afterschool organized activities were linked to greater social confidence.

Consistent participation in afterschool was important for building children’s social competence — including feeling more confident about meeting new people and interacting with peers and adults — which bodes well for students’ future success in school and in the workplace. These benefits were not associated with ECE experiences, suggesting that afterschool programs serve a unique role in this respect.

This particular study is part of a large project called the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which has been following 1,300 individuals from birth into adulthood. The families were initially recruited from 10 sites around the U.S. in 1991, but the participants now live in every state (and around the world).

The study finds effects, evident in the 15-year-olds, suggest that the benefits of early care and elementary school activities do not fade away, but persist over time.

The Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was supported, in part, by a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to the University of California, Irvine. It builds on a series of studies conducted over a 15-year period with support from the Mott Foundation. The research adds significantly to the field’s understanding of the impact of afterschool programs on participating youth and new insights into how participation in afterschool programs in the early years contributes to success in secondary school and adulthood.

To read the full article, visit:
https://www.mott.org/news/articles/results-a-26-year-study-shows-early-care-and-afterschool-are-crucial-and-benefits-last/