Preschool attendance trends in Australia: Evidence from two sequential population cohorts

M O'Connor; S Gray; J Tarasuik; E O'Connor; A Kvalsvig; E Incledon; S Goldfeld

Journal article

Preschool attendance trends in Australia: Evidence from two sequential population cohorts

M O'Connor, S Gray, J Tarasuik, E O'Connor, A Kvalsvig, E Incledon, S Goldfeld

Early Childhood Research Quarterly | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.11.004

Abstract

Participation in a preschool program in the year before starting school can promote children's healthy development, and has the potential to reduce inequities in developmental outcomes for at-risk subpopulations. In Australia, boosting preschool attendance has emerged as a national policy priority. In this paper, we draw on data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to describe preschool attendance in two sequential population cohorts, with preschool experiences in 2008 and 2011 reported retrospectively by teachers of children in their first year of school. Overall, findings show that the proportion of children attending preschool remained relatively stable between the two AEDC..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Meredith O'Connor Author

Elodie O'Connor Author

Sharon Goldfeld Author

Sarah Gray Author

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

There are a number of key groups to be acknowledged for their support of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC): including the Australian Government who funded the study; all schools, principals, and teachers across Australia that participated in the AEDC; and each of the State and Territory AEDC Coordinators and their Coordinating Committees who helped to facilitate the AEDC data collection in their respective jurisdictions. We appreciate their time and commitment.