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Early years are a critical period for skill development. In this sense, the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programmes have an important role in promoting children's learning during this period. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of ECEC programmes by analysing the relationship between students' ECEC attendance and their later academic proficiency using PISA 2015 data. PISA results show that across the OECD countries, students who had attended ECEC tend to have higher scores in academic proficiencies at the age of 15. However, these differences in academic proficiencies between those who attended ECEC versus those who did not attend are almost nil when students' socio-economic status (SES) is considered. This relationship reflects differential access to learning opportunities for children from deprived contexts. Furthermore, results show that entering ECEC programmes earlier than the typical time is associated with lower proficiencies at the age of 15. Therefore, earlier entry to ECEC is not necessarily beneficial. Learning benefits of ECEC provision vary considerably across PISA countries illustrating the importance of a country-specific policy context and the quality of their ECEC provision. The analyses of several quality indicators point out that the improved quality of ECEC programmes is associated with higher academic skills at later stages. These results highlight that mere attendance to ECEC programmes is not enough to ensure better academic performance. The quality of the educational provision, especially concerning those students from disadvantaged backgrounds, should be ensured.

Parents, educators, government ministers and policymakers in all contexts and countries around the world are concerned with learning and how to improve it. There are many reasons for this, but none is more important than the fact that learning is at the heart of success at the individual, community and global levels. Learning First is the title of this report, with the strong implication that learning should be the foremost goal of education policies worldwide. The present review seeks not only to explain why this is the case but also focuses on what education stakeholders need to know--that is, what research is needed--in order to improve learning in the decades to come, particularly among those children most in need. This question is addressed in the following six sections: (1) Learning Goals and Research; (2) Learning Definitions and Contexts; (3) Global Change and the Contexts of Learning; (4) Five Domains of Research on Learning; (5) Learning: A Proposed Research Agenda; and (6) Conclusions: Learning to Make a Difference. Appended are: (1) Boundary Constraints: Methodological Considerations for Cross-Cultural Research on Learning; (2) Research Proposal Sketches Based on three learning stories; and (3) Abbreviations used. (Contains 16 figures, 3 tables, and 199 endnotes.)

This paper describes a simulation in which students pretend to follow a favorite baseball team on the road and travel to major league baseball cities in North America. Students use the encyclopedia to answer questions about each city they "visit" and then report on what they have learned by designing a postcard to send back to the class. The activities are suitable for most student at the third through fifth grade levels and can be used to motivate students of both genders. Procedures and instructions, a time frame, and a listing of materials and resources are included. (EH)