Early Years
Insight research reports
Insight is a publication of the Research, Economic and Corporate Strategy (RECS) Unit, one of four units in the Information, Analysis and Communication Division, which is responsible for providing analytical services within the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED).
RECS is a multidisciplinary unit (consisting of researchers and economists) which undertakes and funds economic analysis and social research in the fields of: school education; children, young people and social work; architecture; and tourism, culture and sport.
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In January 2000 the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) began a two-year evaluation of the Classroom Assistant Initiative. The first task of the evaluation team was to draw together the experiences gained and lessons learnt from the pilot phase of the initiative, make them available more widely and set them in an appropriate context. In this Insight the team presents the findings from the main evaluation.
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The Impact of Information and Communications Technology Initiatives in Scottish Schools project was funded by the Scottish Executive Education Department to provide feedback on the effect of the considerable investment made in ICT access and provision in schools. This Insight reports on the impact to date and makes recommendations for future development in the area of ICT.
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This study explored the experience of a group of 27 children during their first year in primary school. The exploration focused on the perspectives of the children, their teachers and parents on the first year at primary school and on changes in the out-of-home care arrangements made for children who had previously had both education and care needs met through varying forms of all-day provision.
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In this report the authors describe the progress the children have made from Primary 1 through to the end of Primary 5, focusing on comparing the attainment of boys with that of girls. They also examined the extent to which children underachieve when taught by synthetic phonics compared with an analytic phonics programme.
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Assessment of Benefits and Costs of Out of School Care
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In 2001 SEED commissioned a review of research on the development of communication and thinking in infants and toddlers. The results provided an overview of the ways in which adults can contribute to children's development from the earliest stages, the types of adult attention and care that are beneficial and the characteristics of out-of-home provision meeting young children's changing needs. This insight offers an overview of the conclusions reached in the review, paying particular attention to the implications of the evidence for practitioners and policy makers.
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A study of the characteristics, costs and benefits of the home-based childcare sitter services provided to parents during atypical hours or as respite care. Specific aims of the study included: identifying existing sitter services; examining the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of different ways of delivering the service; determining the costs for users and providers; establishing the benefits for users, their children and the wider community.
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This is the report of a study into the extent to which current qualifications for the workforce meet the needs of the sector. The research suggested that the existing framework is inflexible, fragmented, and creates barriers to effective skills transfer.
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In 2003, the Scottish Executive commissioned research into the usage and demand for both formal and informal childcare and the relationship between childcare and parents' participation in the labour market.
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This research reviews how a national process of education reform for children aged 3-18 was under way and revision of the existing curriculum guidance for children aged 3 to 5 was being considered. It looks at the kind of educational experiences offered in early childhood and the impact of early years education; asks whether early years education is a distinct phase in the education system; and examines how decisions are made about when children should have particular educational experiences.