”Språkkompetanse hos 4-åringer som har gått i barnehage. Foreløpige resultater fra forskningsprojektet Barns sociale utvikling.”

This study has three purposes: 1) to study the correlation between the number of years children have attended preschool (barnehage) and children's language skills, 2) to study whether children at high risk of social vulnerability benefit specifically from attending preschool, and 3) to study the correlation between structural quality parameters, such as the size and age composition of the group of children, and language skills.

The study shows a positive correlation between how long the child has attended preschool and the language skills of the child at the age of 4. However, this correlation only applies for boys. The effects are rather substantial. When comparing boys who have attended preschool for at least 3 years with boys who have attended preschool between 0-1 year, the study shows that the boys who have attended preschool for at least three years do better by more than a half of the standard deviation. There is no unequivocal correlation for girls. Overall the analyses are subject to significant statistical uncertainty. The correlations stated should therefore be viewed in that light, i.e. as trends rather than unequivocal statistical correlations.

As regards the question of whether preschools are particularly important for vulnerable children, the analyses show that these children benefit particularly from attending preschool earlier compared with children who are not vulnerable. However, the analyses are subject to significant statistical uncertainty, i.e. there are no clear statistical correlations.

Finally, the study examines whether there is a correlation between structural quality parameters and language skills. The structural quality parameters are limited to the size and age composition of the group of children. The analyses show no correlation between the age composition of the group and the language skills of the children at the age of 4. However, for the boys, there is a weak statistical positive correlation between the size of the group and their language skills: The larger the group of children, the better the language skills of the boys.  Note that this correlation may be linked to other structural quality parameters, which may vary across preschools. These parameters have not been included in the analysis.

The study is based on data from the research project ”Barns sosiale utvikling” (children's social development), that is a longitudinal study that since 2006 has been following 1157 children (558 girls and 559 boys) in five municipalities in Norway (Porsgrunn, Skien, Bamble, Tinn and Drammen). Data is based on annual interviews with parents. The first interview took place in 2006 when the children were six months old. At the age of 4, the children's language skills, motor development and self-control were tested. The parents also stated when the child had started preschool. Moreover, the study includes many background variables such as the parents' level of education, ethnicity, mental health, housing conditions and reception of social benefits. These variables serve as a basis for constructing an index for social vulnerability.

The main analysis of the study examines the correlation between how long the 4-year-old child has attended preschool and the language skills of the child. The comparison is made using statistical matching to compare children who are similar, except that some of the children have attended preschool for a shorter period than others. In this way, the study can examine whether a possible difference in language skills is due to a difference in how long the children have attended preschool. Girls and boys are analysed separately.

Zachrisson, H.D., Dearing, E., Zambrana, I.M., Nærde, A. (2014). ”Språkkompetanse hos 4-åringer som har gått i barnehage. Foreløpige resultater fra forskningsprojektet Barns sociale utvikling.” Rapport til Utdanningsdirektoratet. Oslo: Atferdssenteret.