Article summary with The mechanisms and moderators of “Fade-Out”: Towards understanding why the skills of early childhood program participants converge over time with the skills of other children by Abenavoli - 2019

What scientific evidence and theories suggest that early childhood education (ECE) programs have meaningful and persistent effects over time?

• Neuroscience and biology show that the human brain and physiological systems are particularly malleable and open to environmental influences during prenatal and early childhood development. ECE programs can foster healthy brain development.
• Developmental science highlights the bidirectional nature of development and the active role that individuals play in this process.
• Economic science looking at human capital accumulation suggests that earlier skills beget later skills, and that human capital investments are more productive for individuals with higher levels of skill.

What is meant with fade-out and convergence?

The term fade-out refers to the commonly documented trend of declining or disappearing ECE program impacts over the long term. Generally it seems that ECE impacts on IQ and, to a lesser extent, achievement, diminish in magnitude over time. The extent to which ECE impacts fade for social-emotional skills and behavior is less clear. It is possible that the immediate impacts of ECE programs are reduced or eliminated over time because the average skills of program attendees and non-attendees become more similar. The term “convergence” is used to describe developmental patterns among ECE program attendees and non-attendees that contribute to declining program impacts over time.

What is the trifecta-skills hypothesis?

According to the trifecta-skills hypothesis, interventions are most likely to produce enduring effects when they target skills that are malleable, fundamental for success, and would not have developed without intervention.

What are the contributors to convergence?

• Program characteristics. It is possible that certain program characteristics are responsible for long term change among the attendees, whereas in the absence of those factors, change is less likely.
• Participant characteristics. ECE programs appear to have larger effects for higher-risk participants (low income, low education, single parent, low quality parenting, etc.).
• Preschool counterfactual context. By considering carefully the preschool experiences of comparison children who do not participant in ECE programs, ECE impacts can be placed in proper context.
• Subsequent schooling experiences. At this time, no study found clear evidence that alignment between ECE and subsequent experiences sustains ECE impacts.
• Ongoing intervention. It may be possible that intentionally coordinated, ongoing follow-through intervention across preschool and elementary school could sustain ECE impacts.

What are the mechanisms involved in long-term effects of ECE programs?

Five categories of mediators that are likely involved in the process of facilitating persistent intervention impacts over time are distinguished: cognitive improvements, motivational changes, social adjustment, family support, and school support. These five categories together account for large proportions of long-term ECE impacts. Cognitive skills appear to be important initiators of the intervention effect sequence and explain a large proportion of effects. They are followed by school support, family support, motivational adjustment, and finally social adjustment.

What can be recommended for future research into the long-term effects of ECE programs?

• Future research should conduct more long-term follow-up studies of ECE programs. Current research is limited by the few intervention models that have been examined, the methodological rigor of some of the studies, and the possibility that findings from previous trials do not generalize.
• Research should examine the impacts on social-emotional functioning over time. Interventions that improve social-emotional skills may capitalize on a developmental progression that results in better long-term outcomes.
• Future research should measure and test other potential mediators of persistent impacts. Many potential mechanisms remain unexamined, such as executive functioning, learning engagement, children´s stress response systems, and contextual processes.
• A research base on post-ECE contributors to skill convergence should be established. Future research should examine how specific proximal processes or unique combinations of processes contribute to convergence.
• Causal inference should be strengthened.
• The implications of potential ECE impact diffusion need to be considered. Children´s skills, which are in part a function of their prior ECE program participation, may influence their classmates´ experiences and skill development. As a result, the skills of ECE program attendees and non-attendees may converge when they come together in the classroom.