Determinants of child outcomes in a cohort of children in the Free Pre-School Year in Ireland, 2012/2013

Figures & data

Table 1. Domains, sub-domains, and sample items in Early Development Instrument.

Domain (5 in total)	Sub-domain (16 in total)	Sample items (104 in total)
Physical health and well-being (3/13 items)	Physical readiness for school day	Arrives at school hungry
	Physical independence	Has well-coordinated movements
	Gross and fine motor skills	Is able to manipulate objects
Social competence (4/26 items)	Overall social competence	Is able to get along with other children
	Responsibility and respect	Accepts responsibility for actions
	Approaches to learning	Works independently
	Readiness to explore new things	Is eager to explore new items
Emotional maturity (4/30 items)	Pro-social and helping behaviour	Helps other children in distress
	Anxious and fearful behaviour	Appears unhappy or sad
	Aggressive behaviour	Gets into physical fights
	Hyperactivity and inattention	Is restless
Language and cognitive development (4/26 items)	Basic literacy	Is able to write own name
	Interest in literacy/numeracy, and uses memory	Is interested in games involving numbers
	Advanced literacy	Is able to read sentences
	Basic numeracy	Is able to count to 20
Communication skills and general knowledge (0/8 items)	No sub-domains	Is able to clearly communicate one's own needs and understand others; Shows interest in general knowledge about the world

Source: Adapted from EDI Handbook (Janus et al. 2007, 5).

Table 2. Highest level of education of professional staff in early years sector and in Ireland.

Category	% Lower secondary level 1–4	% Leaving certificate level 5	% 3rd level non-degree level 6	% 3rd level degree levels 7 and 8	% Total	N
NEYAI	23	17	40	20	100	258
Síolta QAP	17	22	44	18	100	190
All Projects	21	18	41	19	100	448
Early Years Sector^a	8	42	37	13	100	12,838
Ireland^b	33	36	5	26	100	2.9 m

^aSource: Pobal Annual Survey of the Early Years Sector 2012 (Pobal 2013, 43). This refers to early years qualifications only and excludes non-accredited courses (2.8%) and courses accredited outside Ireland (1.1%). Based on responses from 60% of centres (n = 12,838). Note that ‘<Level 5’ includes those with no qualifications in early years.

^bSource: Census of Population 2011 (CSO 2012a, Table 18A). Based on those whose full-time education has ceased and excludes those whose highest completed education is not stated.

Notes: In the National Framework of Qualifications, Levels 4 and 5 are equivalent to a Leaving Certificate; Level 6 is a third-level non-degree qualification; Levels 7 and 8 are a third-level degree qualification; Levels 9 and 10 are a third-level post-degree qualification.

Figure 1. Measurement model for social and emotional skills. Note: Factor loadings are unstandardised and constrained to be equal across waves 1 and 2. *Statistically significant (p < .05).

Figure 2. Structural equation model of influences on children's social and emotional skills. (i) Childcare = duration of childcare prior to Free Pre-School Year. (ii) NESB = Non-English-Speaking Background. (iii) Support = Parent's Support Network. (iv) Negative Affect = Staff Negative Affect. W1, Wave 1. W2, Wave 2. *Statistically significant (p < .05). Notes: χ² = 578 (363 df); CFI = 0.95; SRMR = 0.05; RMSEA = 0.04.

Figure 3. Structural equation model of influences on children's language and cognitive skills. (i) Childcare = duration of childcare prior to Free Pre-School Year. (ii) NESB = Non-English-Speaking Background. (iii) Support = Parent's Support Network. (iv) Negative Affect = Staff Negative Affect. W1 = Wave 1. W2 = Wave 2. *Statistically significant (p < .05). Notes: χ² = 578 (363 df); CFI = 0.95; SRMR = 0.05; RMSEA = 0.04.

Figure 4. Measurement models for latent concepts used in analysis.

Figure 5. Summary of influences on child outcomes during Free Pre-School Year. NESB = Non-English-Speaking Background. Arrows denote the direction of influence.

Janus, M., S. Brinkman, E. Duku, C. Hertzman, R. Santos, M. Sayers, and J. Schroeder. 2007. The Early Development Instrument: A Population-based Measure for Communities. A Handbook on Development, Properties, and Use. Hamilton, ON: Offord Centre for Child Studies.

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Pobal. 2013. Pobal Annual Survey of the Early Years Sector 2012, May. Dublin: Pobal.

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CSO. 2012a. Census 2011 Results: This Is Ireland. Highlights from Census 2011, Part 2, June. Dublin: Stationery Office.

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