The impact of Early Childhood Education and Care on cognitive and non­cognitive development. A review of European studies.

This paper provides an overview of existing studies on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive acquisitions through participation in ECEC services and their importance to social development, successful transitions to school and social inclusion. The paper analyses the findings of recent academic research carried out in EU member states and current international trends in ECEC policies. The paper draws to a large extent on an extensive literature review of European research and policy documents, that was commissioned by the European Commission DG Education and Culture and published as: Lazzari, A., & Vandenbroeck, M. (2012). Literature Review of the Participation of Disadvantaged Children and families in ECEC Services in Europe. In J. Bennett (Ed.), Early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children from disadvantaged backgrounds: Findings from a European literature review and two case studies, Study commissioned by the Directorate general for Education and Culture. Brussels: European Commission. While this paper provides evidence showing that high quality ECEC matters for children’s cognitive and social development with potentially long lasting effects on their school careers, it also highlights pitfalls and limitations of this strand of research that tends to rely predominantly on the human capital paradigm.