Does preschool curriculum make a difference in primary school performance: Insights into the variety of preschool activities and their effects on school achievement and behaviour in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad; Cross sectional and longitudinal evidence∗

∗This study was undertaken with the permission of the Ministry of Education, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and analysis was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Abstract

Preschool education is an important and much studied topic in developed countries, and of growing importance in the third world. Studies exploring preschool experience have noted positive effects when comparing children with access to preschool versus children without access, and effects of particular curriculum approaches over the length of primary schooling. This study adopts a focused sample, cross‐sectional design to explore the types of preschool experience available (denoted by types of preschool activities which equate broadly to curriculum approaches) and whether variation in preschool experience affects core curriculum (English, science, mathematics) performance and classroom behaviours throughout the years of primary schooling in Trinidad and when children complete their primary education in the form of a national ‘common entrance examination’ for entry into a stratified secondary school system. Results show that a large majority of the sampled children attended preschool and that most of the preschool experience was traditional and teacher centred. Neither child centred or teacher centred preschool activities affected academic performance in the core subjects during the primary school years or at the end of their primary school career. Type of preschool activity did affect teacher perception of behaviour in class. Child centred experience facilitated a social/peer orientation in children. High levels of teacher centred experience detracted from later relationships with teacher. Results were confounded by social class, with middle class children having most access to (the limited amount available) child centred preschool experience and performing at the highest academic and behavioural levels in the classroom although in limited numbers. The discussion questions the appropriacy of the various preschool activities for pupils within a cultural orientation of traditional upbringing and primary schooling practices.

∗This study was undertaken with the permission of the Ministry of Education, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and analysis was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

Key Word:

• Preschool activities
• effects
• school achievement/behaviour

Notes

∗This study was undertaken with the permission of the Ministry of Education, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and analysis was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.