Later Impacts of Early Childhood Interventions: A Systematic Review

While much has been written on early childhood development and the near-term benefits to children selected to participate in interventions, few studies look at the sustained impacts of these programs. This systematic review aims to contribute to the field's progress by collecting those studies that offer high-quality, causal estimates, providing analysis on interventions shown to have sustained effects across a range of outcomes, and identifying research gaps to help guide future studies.

Published:

April 8, 2016

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Four important findings emerge from this systematic review:

Early childhood interventions can, but do not always, lead to benefits later in life in the areas of cognition, language, socioemotional health, education, and the labor market. Evaluated interventions have not demonstrated consistent lasting advantages for physical development, although these outcomes are less salient to adult welfare.
For findings related to Physical, Cognitive, Language, and Socio-Emotional Development, as well as Schooling and Employment Outcomes, see Part I of the report
Gender-neutrality dominates outcomes generally, but schooling does tend to improve for girls, the poor, and those who are in quality preschool and supplemental feeding programs for longer.
For findings related to Differential Effects by Gender and Socio-Economic Status, see Part II
Nutrition interventions may need to be in place throughout and beyond the first 1,000 days in order to leverage the window of opportunity from conception to age 2 and achieve sustained effects beyond early childhood.
For findings related to how Outcomes change over time and with longer interventions, see Part II
Sizeable knowledge gaps persist but can be closed with careful planning and design.
For findings related to Improving Studies and Filling Knowledge Gaps, see Part III