The challenge
When starting school, some children are already running behind due to not having had the same access to resources as other children. Three-year-old kindergarten aims to create a more level playing field to ensure the best start in life and more equal opportunities for all children by giving them access to quality kindergarten education. Although Victoria is the first State to introduce this, other States are following with similar initiatives.
The research
The EDGE study aims to evaluate the impact of the new three-year-old Kindergarten in Victoria on child development and on parental labour market outcomes. Universal kindergarten of up to 15 hours per week (5 hours by 2022, and 15 hours by 2029) for three-year-old children has been rolled out since 2020 with the aim of making two years of kindergarten available to all children before starting school. The Melbourne Institute researchers focus on the quantitative analyses of parents’ labour market outcomes and provide support for the data linkage and quantitative analysis more generally.
The impact
The Project is still in progress, but with Victoria being the first State to introduce three-year-old kindergarten, its results (once they become available) should be of interest to early childhood policy makers across Australia.
Our researchers
The project is led by Professor Tricia Eadie from the Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne, and a large team from the Faculty of Education is involved in this project. The Front Project collaborates with us on this project, which is funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Ian Potter Foundation.
Melbourne Institute - Sarah C. Dahman, Guyonne Kalb, Yi-Ping Tseng.