Dr. Michal Perlman

Professor, University of Toronto and Director, Dr. R.G.N. Laidlaw Research Centre, University of Toronto

Curriculum vitae

416-978-0596

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

University of Toronto

252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5S 1V6

Is educators' years of experience in early childhood education and care settings associated with child outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal article

Evelyn McMullen, Michal Perlman, Olesya Falenchuk, Nellie Kamkar, Brooke Fletcher, Ashely Brunsek, Gabriella Nocita, Prakesh S. Shah
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 53, Elsevier {BV}, 2020, pp. 171--184

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.004

Cite

APA Click to copy
McMullen, E., Perlman, M., Falenchuk, O., Kamkar, N., Fletcher, B., Brunsek, A., … Shah, P. S. (2020). Is educators' years of experience in early childhood education and care settings associated with child outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.004

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
McMullen, Evelyn, Michal Perlman, Olesya Falenchuk, Nellie Kamkar, Brooke Fletcher, Ashely Brunsek, Gabriella Nocita, and Prakesh S. Shah. “Is Educators' Years of Experience in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings Associated with Child Outcomes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 53 (2020): 171–184.

MLA Click to copy
McMullen, Evelyn, et al. “Is Educators' Years of Experience in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings Associated with Child Outcomes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 53, Elsevier {BV}, 2020, pp. 171–84, doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.004.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{mcmullen2020a,
  title = {Is educators' years of experience in early childhood education and care settings associated with child outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis},
  year = {2020},
  journal = {Early Childhood Research Quarterly},
  pages = {171--184},
  publisher = {Elsevier {BV}},
  volume = {53},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.004},
  author = {McMullen, Evelyn and Perlman, Michal and Falenchuk, Olesya and Kamkar, Nellie and Fletcher, Brooke and Brunsek, Ashely and Nocita, Gabriella and Shah, Prakesh S.}
}

Abstract

Despite extensive study, there is little consensus about the relationship between educators’ years of experience in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings and children's outcomes. Our goal was to systematically review and meta-analyze the literature on educators’ years of experience and children's outcomes defined broadly. Three electronic databases (Medline, ERIC, PsycINFO), reference sections of eligible studies, and websites of large datasets were searched for studies published until February 5th, 2018. Studies that provided a statistical analysis of the association between educators’ years of experience and child outcomes for preschool-aged children in ECEC settings were included. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full publications for relevance and extracted data from all studies retrieved from our search. Thirty-two studies (based on 28,038 different children, and over 4000 educators) were included in the systematic review. Operationalization of educators’ years of experience varied across studies. Over 100 different measures were used to assess child outcomes across studies. Meta-analyses were conducted for receptive vocabulary, letter identification, numerical problem solving, positive behavior, and social skills and problem behavior. All were nonsignificant. Results from the systematic review also showed very few and weak associations between educators’ years of experience and child outcomes. Findings were unrelated to a series of moderators explored. Our findings do not provide empirical support for use of educator years of experience as a quality indicator in the oversight of ECEC programs. More research that takes into consideration the multi-faceted, complex and dynamic nature of ECEC services is very much needed.